Working with three associations (Massajobs, Wake up Café and Appel d’Aire) and two others that will be joining the project at a later date, the IECD’s aims are threefold: to provide better, more extensive and broader support to individuals far removed from employment, by strengthening socio-professional integration structures and their teams.
The IECD has been fostering human, social and economic development in developing countries since it was founded in Strasbourg in 1988, and broadened its scope to include France in 2021. Its activities focus on three main areas: training and professional integration of young people and adults, supporting local entrepreneurship, and improving access to quality education. In most of the countries in which it operates, the charity works with local structures, strengthening and supporting them over the long term to ensure a lasting impact for the beneficiaries.
In April 2023, a report published as part of a prefiguration mission for France Travail (formerly Pôle Emploi) highlighted that many of the 5.1 million people looking for work in France are not registered with the institution. This is notably the case for 60% of those who receive the Revenu de Solidarité Active (RSA) welfare benefit and for many young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) and are therefore not monitored by the public employment service.
In Marseille, specifically its northern districts and in Belle de Mai (the poorest district in France), the proportion of people facing significant barriers to employment is particularly high. With this in mind, the Audemars Piguet Foundation for Common Good is supporting the IECD in the creation and organisational development of a collective of French stakeholders committed to fostering socio-professional integration. Working with three associations (Massajobs, Wake up Café and Appel d’Aire) and two others that will be joining the project at a later date, the IECD’s aims are threefold: to provide better, more extensive and broader support to individuals far removed from employment, by strengthening socio-professional integration structures and their teams. In particular, the project plans to train and improve the skills of over 100 support workers, benefiting more than 2,000 disadvantaged young people.
