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First-Ever Conference of Jewish Latin American Employment Professionals Meets with Results
The first-ever Employment and Entrepreneurship Conference of the Jewish communities of Latin America was held in Santiago, Chile on November 29th and 30th, 2005. Organized by the Ariel Job Center of Chile and JDC, and sponsored by the Jewish Community of Chile, the meeting gathered more than 45 representatives, volunteer and professional leaders, and donors from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela.
The conference created a framework for exchange and debate on one of the central themes of social work in Latin America: the creation of jobs. The intention was to generate a global response to unemployment and underemployment (poor quality of jobs) — arguably among the most serious problems affecting this region — while also addressing the unique needs of each of the local communities. Historically, JDC has provided technical assistance to the Jewish communities of Latin America. But when Argentina’s economic crisis of December 2001 plunged more than half of the formerly upper-middle class Jewish population below the poverty line, JDC took on a new role. To address ensuing employment challenges, JDC in partnership with local organizations and the local community created the Ariel Job Center in Buenos Aires. The Center’s objective is to retrain individuals in new vocations, help with resume and interview preparation, assist with job placement, offer micro-enterprise loans which were then unavailable through the national banks, and fill other employment-related voids left by the collapse. JDC has since utilized the know-how from the Ariel project to provide technical assistance in establishing or re-engineering other Job Centers throughout Latin America. The November event marked the first regional gathering of the key players in these Job Centers, including those in Argentina, Chile and Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela and Uruguay. Mr. Shasho, Executive Director of Fundacion Activa in Mexico who attended the two-day conference, reflected on the importance of such exchanges for each respective community’s growth. "These gatherings are a way to get to know, up close, those who are working at other centers of employment and micro-enterprise, thereby exposing us to projects that are being successfully initiated in other parts of Latin America so that we may implement them in our own country and gain from their experience," he said. "As a result of the recent conference, I am considering adopting here in Mexico Chile’s Mentoring program and Argentina’s Outsourcing program." A representative of the Employment Bureau of Uruguay, also in attendance at the meeting, proudly shares that they are meeting much success in helping their caseload reenter the job market, thanks to the Tzedaka Foundation of Uruguay with support from JDC. "We are developing the personal potential of the targeted population, giving them training, coaching in the process of becoming self-sufficient, and at the same time helping them to develop a culture of working," said Ms. Stolowicz. The program in Uruguay is currently working with 160 Jewish participants to help them improve their employment prospects and quality of life. "One of the fundamental strategic points of discussion at the conference was the search for tools to channel social work from aid to advancement so that the acute gap between rich and poor in the countries of Latin America can be mitigated," explains Dr. Schulman, Associate Director of JDC Latin America. During the two-day conference, participants had the opportunity to discuss employment policies carried out by each of the communities. "Our aim is twofold: to help social beneficiaries find a job and stop being welfare clients supported by the Jewish communities; and to improve the employability of hundreds of members of the Jewish community who, even though they have a job, are not adequately compensated. Improving their employment possibilities will allow them to live with dignity," said Mr. Ergas, President of the Ariel Job Center of Chile. In the area of entrepreneurship, several management models were analyzed. Participants addressed the need to encourage the creation of innovative projects that can then be presented to potential investors or partners. "This would achieve both the objectives of allowing the development of entrepreneurs and of creating employment opportunities for the Jewish population," explained Dr. Schulman. Participants also discussed the advantages and disadvantages of creating Job Centers and/or specific programs that are limited to the Jewish community versus being open to the general public. "One of the most important outcomes is that we all agreed that there is a need to establish a network of these Job Centers so that we can be resources for one another," said Mr. Shasho, who cites JDC’s initiative as vital to the success of the group. "Knowing that we can count on such professional people, who are always inclined to collaborate and help us, reassures us that we are not alone in this challenging task of helping our people leave the welfare caseload and find dignified employment." February 2006 |
