Complementarities between urban and rural areas in promoting ...

COMPLEMENTARITIES BETWEEN URBAN AND RURAL AREAS IN PROMOTING EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL INCLUSION— 12 —FIRST PILLAR: EMPLOYABILITYIn the area of local employment policy inGermany, this pillar is the best developed of thefour and has the greatest importance in quantitativeterms The starting point for many localauthorities is to tackle long-term unemploymentand dependency on social welfare. As aconsequence, there have been a number ofemployment schemes created such as: youthinsertion schemes and job creation programmesfor the long-term unemployed. These providethe unemployed with the skills to return to thelabour market and firms in the local communityor region go on to recruit the beneficiaries ofthis training. Cologne, in particular, is wellknown for its good practice in this area. This cityalso serves as a model for the current discussionof the social system in Germany. Other examplesinclude Bielefeld, Bremen, Offenbach and GiessenCounty. Inclusion policies are also important inthis context. In Offenbach, for example, 30% ofthe population are immigrants and considerableeffort is made to bring them into the labour market.Measures include inter-cultural job coachingand specific job creation.SECOND PILLAR: ENTREPRENEURSHIPA recent development is the training and coachingof new and potential entrepreneursamong the former unemployed. In Germany therehas been surprising success through the buildingof business incubators. Recent innovationsin the field of local employment policy by microloanschemes are still at an early stage due torestrictive national law. Nevertheless, local strategiesare available to facilitate the building ofmicro-schemes that can be used by new businesses.University spin-offs are also becomingvery important. Local authorities in Offenbachwork closely with a local college to try to supportstudents while they receive training inentrepreneurship. Neighbourhood renewal initiativesare being implemented in most Germancities and it is becoming increasingly importantto incorporate an economic element to theserenewal strategies. One feature of this economicdimension is to support business initiatives andnew local businesses.THIRD PILLAR: ADAPTABILITYAdaptability can be supported on the local levelthrough the provision of local counselling servicesfor those in employment. Information isprovided on successful adaptation to changingrequirements within the workplace. The idea ofopen learning centres has been adapted from theUK and the USA, creating learning facilities indowntown areas in inner cities where people canhave free access to e-learning and self-learningmaterial and counselling services. In a number ofcities, tailor-made training measures have beendesigned especially for small and medium-sizedenterprises and local authorities. Good practiceexamples for this can be found in Graz, Offenbachand Stuttgart.FOURTH PILLAR: EQUAL OPPORTUNITIESThe final pillar of the guidelines prioritises equalopportunities, with the twin social and economicobjective of modernising societies so thatwomen and men can work on equal terms withequal responsibilities, to develop the full growthcapacities of European economies. It recognisesboth the social need to counter discriminationand inequalities between women and men, andthe economic loss resulting from not making fulland effective use of the productive capacities ofall sections of the population.In addition to this focus on closing the gendergap in Europe’s economic and social life, thispillar emphasises the integration of people withdisabilities into working life. This is an importantfirst step towards recognition that the full integrationof disabled people is a fundamental issueof equal opportunities. This, in turn, is also amove towards a wider implementation in theemployment field of the important new antidiscriminationclause of the Amsterdam Treaty.