Project Starting Date: 9 February 2015
Project End Date: 8 August 2017
Project Budget: € 1.192.638,00
Contractor: WYG International Ltd in consortium with ESEP Limited (UK) and WYG Consulting Ltd (HR)
Final Beneficiary:
- Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (Child Protection Department, Labour Department and Social Policy, Social Protection Department)
- Public Employment Services
- Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia
- Organisation of Employers of Macedonia
- Agency for Support of Entrepreneurship
- Chamber of Crafts of Macedonia
- Food and Veterinary Agency
Overall objective:
To improve the access to employment for all. It aims to increase participation and progress of women in employment by improving the national working environment.
Purpose:
To improve the employability of parents (men and women) with children by promoting, developing and offering alternative childcare services.
Expected Results:
Result 1: Conducted analysis of the demand for childcare services and their accessibility.
Result 2: Improved existing and designed, tested and introduced new flexible, affordable and quality childcare services thus creating conditions for career development of parents with children.
Result 3: Potential careers empowered by providing guidance, counselling, training, qualification, coaching and business creation paths.
Result 4: Raised awareness for reconciliation policies and encouraged employers’ involvement in supporting employees to combine work and family life.
Target groups:
- Direct beneficiaries: Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Child Protection Department, potential child minders, in particular unemployed people and employers with minimum 50 employees (companies and organisations)
- Indirect beneficiaries: families with children below 6 years of age, employers (in general) and local governments
Key project activities:
Component 1: Conducting an analysis of the demand for childcare services
- Gathering information and data necessary to develop the research methodology
- Preparing methodology and presenting it to the stakeholders
- Carrying out the field research work on a representative sample for a total coverage of the country, including both urban and rural areas
- Producing a report with the research findings from the conducted analysis and recommendations or tailor-made solutions (even amendments of existing legislation, if needed)
Component 2: Developing and introducing a more flexible, affordable and quality childcare for reconciliation of work and caring of children
- Developing a proposal of flexible childcare services in close cooperation with relevant stakeholders
- Elaborating measures to influence the demand (usage) of alternative childcare
- Elaborating specific childcare support measures to encourage establishment of alternative childcare services and to attract potential carers to opt and qualify for this activity
- Testing the proposed alternative childcare services and sharing and discussing the results from the piloting among Ministry and stakeholders
- Support to Ministry of Labour and Social Policy in revising the legal framework of the improved/new flexible forms of childcare on the basis of the results of the testing
- Implementing information and publicity activities to promote the business/career opportunities in the child protection sector and to raise awareness among parents on the registered alternative childcare services
- Developing paper with recommendations for further promotion of alternative childcare.
Component 3: Encouraging employers to help their employees to combine work and family life
- Assessing employers’ attitudes and capacities to support actively their employees to combine work and family responsibilities
- Implementing awareness raising activities targeted at managers, supervisors and human resources professionals in companies in private and public sector to help their employees to combine work and family life
- Assisting at least 5 volunteering companies/institutions (with at least 50 employees) or group of companies/institutions to develop and implement childcare centre/solution for reconciliation of work and family responsibilities
- Preparing (though competitive negotiated procedures) a supply contract for baby and child equipment/nursery equipment for the assisted volunteering companies/institutions or group of companies/institutions
Relevant links:
Webpage: http://www.pacs-mk.eu/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Promoting-Alternative-Childcare-Services-676987299116798/
