ART 2 WORK

WE ARE
« If you don't fit into a box, you have to make your own box. » (YASSIN – coach)

The labour market in Brussels and its surroundings is complex. ART2WORKis convinced that there is space for everyone in this market. That is why ART2WORK is looking for new opportunities to boost the youth of Brussels.

ART2WORK is a research and social innovation laboratory. We are experts in supporting young people in their personal development and in building a professional project. We train them to write their own story thanks to their imagination and their assets, to an open mind and positive attitudes, to the learning of new codes and a new self-confidence, to choices that become obvious.

ART2WORK works with young adults (18-30 years old) with a maximum of a secondary school certificate, with a low socio-economic profile, with limited professional experience, who have been going in circles for a long time and do not know which direction to take. We address all inhabitants of Brussels, but we pay special attention to those who live in the neighbourhoods around the canal and the Porte de Ninove.

WE WANT
« I want to become the best version of myself. » (ALINA – COACH2START participant)

ART2WORK is a firm believer in tailor-made courses, which take the uniqueness and strength of each person as a starting point, having an impact on the behaviour and personality of the participants. Each person is stimulated in his or her will to move forward, which is sometimes extinguished. We give confidence to build more self-confidence.

ART2WORK promotes imagination and asset building so that our participants can get to know themselves better and move forward with an open mind and positive energy. We prepare people to find and choose their own direction, to take the right path themselves. They are given a "boost" to take on exciting projects with courage and perseverance.

WE CAN
« They didn't know it was impossible, so they did it. » (MARK – famous author)

ART2WORK offers different routes. Partnership, "doing things together" is central. The journeys require a real commitment and are interactive, we work together and learn from each other, each from his or her responsibility. We also work in partnership with other organisations and companies. Only if we ourselves dare to look beyond the walls and if everyone takes responsibility can we bridge the gap. This is how we can make a real impact.

OUR FUTURE
« Opportunities in the job market are not easy to find for everyone ». (SIMON - manager Aviato)

ART2WORK has a certain place in the Brussels landscape. Our ambition is to continue to develop, not to become the biggest, but to become "better" every day.

THEIR FUTURE
« Nothing falls from the sky except snow, rain and shit . » (ILIAS – participant TECHNICS2START)

This is the focus of our concerns and our commitment: the future of these many young people. Some will find their way more easily and quickly than others. Our open door always offers those who fall a new chance to get up.

It is not easy to measure the social impact of our activities.

The results are usually not immediately visible. We put people on the road to make the right choices, to lead their own lives. Their participation in one of our journeys is often a key moment in their personal development. Most of them take significant steps forward through conscious and personal choices. They are stronger to face the challenges of this volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous society. They become more resilient and, little by little, they find their way and their place.


Our work focuses on achieving sustainable results, on getting people to become leaders in their own lives and take charge of their future. We believe that good personality development is essential and should be addressed as a priority before people start looking for a job. People begin to make conscious, personal choices about who they are and what they can and want. People will be stronger to meet the challenges of a complex society.

This can hardly be translated into figures or beautiful graphics. The reality does not allow it. It is impossible to monitor these results accurately over the long term. People move, change phones or simply don't want to answer anymore. At best, we manage to give indications through various forms of feedback gleaned from time to time.

We analyse our impact at 3 levels:

- Socio-economic integration : the extent to which our participants find work, enrol in training, start a traineeship, do voluntary work, etc.
- Personal development : the extent to which their personalities evolve to better find their place in today's and tomorrow's society, to be stronger in life and therefore more economically resilient.
- Development of human attitudes and skills : the extent to which people are positively changing their behaviour to be stronger in life and in the labour market.

Socio-economic integration

On average, ART2WORK supports 50 participants per year.
More than 80% of the participants complete their course.
Subsequently, 85% of them find a job, take up a training course leading to a qualification, create their own job, take up an internship, do voluntary work, etc. on the way to a future.

Personal development

We have defined a number of indicators to assess the personal development of each participant during and after participation in the COACH2START programme.
- In relation to yourself : self-knowledge, self-confidence, autonomy, flexibility, responsibility, time management, organisation.
- Compared to a group : integration, communication, socialisation, collective awareness.
- In relation to society : integration, network development, project development.

A method has been developed to measure this social impact. The results will allow us to check whether the young people we accompany are making progress in these (different) indicators. The method was implemented in mid-2018. The first results will be published in 2020.
However, thanks to our observations and various conversations, we can already state that significant and positive developments are being observed in most of the participants.

Development of human attitudes and skills

To get by in life and (professional) living, we all need to develop a number of attitudes and skills. You don't have to be the best or have them all at all times, but some are essential and worth paying attention to. It can help, throughout life.

We have developed an instrument to assess and accompany the evolution of the attitudes of TECHNICS2START participants. This instrument also supports the analysis of (the importance of) personal development.
We work daily with the participants on the following attitudes:
- initiative & decisions
- commitment & perseverance
- discipline & punctuality
- personal care
- flexibility
- creativity & innovation
- critical thinking & self awareness
- organisation & framework care
- sociability & leadership
- responsibility & integrity
- communication
- curiosity & optimism