New start Leksand and Soroti- fighting unemployment

Year: 2016
Time period: 3

Soroti Municipality and Leksands kommun has identified two common challenges:

  • There are groups in the community that are more burdened with long term unemployment than other groups.
  • There are material resources being thrown away as waste instead of being recycled and used.

To become employed when having been outside the work market for a long time can be difficult. The municipal service given to long term unemployed today in Leksand and Soroti do not offer support to empower participants to chose self employment as an option for earning an income. Existing business advice and financing possibilities often seems out of reach.

The main project objective is that participants in municipal projects for long term unemployed are perceiving that they can get the municipal support they need to be able to start and run their own company/ cooperative.

This will be achieved through a development of the municipal support to long term unemployed in each municipality so it includes a tailored basic entrepreneurial education with focus on sustainable entrepreneurship. The education is developed through cooperation with municipal civil servants and representatives of the target group. As a complement to the education there will be a common network established to make it easier for participants to connect and find partners, financing, marketing, mentorship, skills training, exchange of knowledge and inspiration.

The development objectives are to increase equity and inclusion and citizen participation and to contribute to the development of a sustainable society.