EMPLOYABILITY AND RECOVERY IN EUROPE

We are proud to announce we have finished our EAER Guide: EMPLOYABILITY AND  RECOVERY IN EUROPE – Examples of Good Practice. In retrospective, regarding our EAER COVID update (please click here) of a couple of months ago, we can state we are back on track!

Examples of Good Practice

The guide was designed to be of interest and practical use to those designing, developing and managing employability activity with people with a substance use problem or at risk of developing a substance programme.

It describes some of the issues people face in entering and maintaining a place within the labour market and the supports and resources which can help them achieve this.

Substance use, even problem substance use, does not present a unique barrier to employment.  Employability work with people who have a substance problem or   at high risk of developing a substance problem does not requires some specific specialist knowledge or skill. All the employability activity done with this group of people could be done with members of other groups – people who were long term unemployed, people with mental health problems, people being liberated from prison.

However, as this guide illustrates employability issues can cluster around people with a substance problem. Some of these issues arise and have their roots in issues that pre-date developing a substance problem and some of them are caused by substance use – others arise for people who are in recovery.

This guide separates each of these issues, explains their impact in their employability and prompts thinking on practical means of how these barriers may be overcome and the support that may be useful to people with a substance problem.

It is hoped that this approach does not obscure the fact that people with a substance problem have much to commend them within the labour market and be a huge asset to an employer. The guide points out examples of this perspective and how people with a substance problem may build from this perspective.

Please note that the term ‘people with a substance problem’ is used here to cover all people whose use of substances impacts on their ability to maximise employment opportunities. It does not reflect their current use of substances if, indeed, they use substances at all.

#SocialMe

Next to the Employability and Recovery Guide, the aim of the EAER project is to raise awareness of appropriate social media use and it’s value in developing a digital professional social identity and branding one’s self (#SocialMe ), particularly regarding job searching among people in recovery and their professionals / trainers, because Sometimes we are a little bit lost…