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European Year of Skills
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Joint effort by business and government to establish a mentoring programme for job seekers over 50 in Switzerland

Thanks to the “Canton Bern mentoring programme”, individuals who are very well established in business or public administration can act as mentors supporting well qualified regional job centre (RAV) customers aged over 50 to return to the labour market. The RAV’s statistics show that people over 50 remain jobless significantly longer than younger job seekers – and this applies also to highly skilled individuals. 

More than 70 established mentors helped their mentees secure new positions 

During the pilot phase (a four-month period), over 70 established mentors supported their mentees free of charge, covering topics such as optimising application strategies, analysing presentation skills, or exploring their own potential and job prospects. Of the 35 mentoring arrangements launched so far, ten have already seen a successful outcome, with mentors able to help their mentees secure new positions. Mentees are usually over 50, have tertiary training, and come from different professional backgrounds. By bringing these individuals together with mentors from the business community, their network was activated, and the mentees were able to gain easier access to interesting positions which are also often assigned “through unofficial channels”. 

Successful outcomes of the project  

The SECO-backed project, which includes the “Canton Bern mentoring programme”, helped the mentees to conduct pragmatic application processes and interviews, build references and a good network of contacts. Moreover, they managed to have a faster reintegration into the labour market and with better remuneration.  

 

Project locations
Switzerland