The ActionAid Community Centre aims to empower socially and economically vulnerable families and combat their social exclusion through the provision of programmes and services, free of charge. One of the main services of the Centre is the Employment Search Counselling, which offers personalised holistic support to unemployed people with multiple coexisting vulnerabilities, as well as vocational guidance to adolescents and young people up to 22 years old. In 2023, funding from the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation was utilised to cover the necessary operational expenses of the Service, including individual counseling sessions, group trainings for the development of technical and soft skills, and networking activities with the labour market. The ultimate goal is the professional empowerment of the beneficiaries and the acquisition of skills that will bring about long-term and substantial changes in their lives.
161 beneficiaries were supported by the trained employment counsellors of the Employment Counseling Service between July and December 2023.
Since its launch in 2017, the Service has supported 1,772 people, 590 of whom have been reintegrated into the workplace.
“Now I'll change my job position and aim for better. I said to myself, it’s now or never. But I was helped a lot. I say it and I get goosebumps. Both the soft skills and the computer classes we had helped me immensely. Everything! Did I know how to present myself or where to look for a job? I tell everyone to come to the ActionAid Community Center.”