Credit: ASTI
ASTI, a non-profit organisation for migrant workers in Luxembourg, recently organised a Coach4Work career coaching project exchange day, aiming to inform and support people looking for work.
Thanks to financial support from the European Social Fund and Luxembourg’s Ministry of Labor, the Coach4Work project offers help and information from volunteer employment coaches.
The work of the volunteer coach consists of supporting the project participants individually and free of charge for a maximum of four to six months, providing insights from their personal experience and professional networks. The volunteer coach advises, answers questions concerning one’s professional career and promotes the skills of the person being coached, while providing them with the benefit of their practical experience and feedback. For the participant, it is a way to plan for their professional future, to “boost” their ambitions and their self-confidence and to expand their network, ASTI noted.
An exchange session between volunteer coaches and beneficiaries took place on Saturday 13 April 2024.
Speaking to Chronicle.lu, Stéphanie Moscato, Coach4work project manager, discussed the day in more detail, providing some insight into the project’s specific approach to career coaching.
Chronicle.lu: What are the main objectives of the exchange day between volunteer coaches and Coach4Work beneficiaries?
Stéphanie Moscato: The main objectives of the exchange day are to bring all participants (volunteer coaches & beneficiaries) of the Coach4Work project together, to discuss their specific coaching situations, obstacles and successes, to ask questions and share feedback, and to enforce their motivation by sharing success stories of people who have already found a job.
Chronicle.lu: How does the interaction between coaches and beneficiaries aim to support individuals in their job search within the Coach4Work project?
Stéphanie Moscato: The volunteer coaches accompany the beneficiaries of the project over a period of four-to-six months with individual, one-hour coaching sessions per week. The coaches help the beneficiaries understand and navigate the Luxembourgish job market and together they define the beneficiaries' professional project, write a CV and motivation letter, prepare for job interviews and more.
Chronicle.lu: How does ASTI provide additional support to individuals in their job search, and what distinguishes ASTI's approach from other available support services?
Stéphanie Moscato: The main support that ASTI offers to job seekers is provided through the Coach4Work project, which aims at providing information and individual, one-on-one coaching to job seekers who don't know the Luxembourgish market very well with the help of volunteer coaches. Furthermore, collaborations with companies enable participants to visit different organisations and to discover various industries and jobs. The current round of the project will end in June and it will restart in September 2024. Apart from that, ASTI offers services to help people improve their language skills, e.g. language practice with a volunteer or monthly language cafés, as well as a service for all immigration matters via the "Guichet info migrants".
According to ASTI, the meeting was characterised by constructive exchanges and mutual inspiration, aiming to strengthen the commitment and motivation of the participants to help them achieve their professional goals.
Currently, 30 volunteer employment coaches support 32 beneficiaries with no ties to the Luxembourg job market, in their job search. Over the past few weeks, beneficiaries and volunteer coaches have participated in training sessions aimed at deepening their knowledge of the Luxembourg job market. At the same time, they worked to develop a realistic career plan, prepare application materials, prepare for interviews, and more. A significant improvement in self-confidence and communication skills was already noted among beneficiaries, according to ASTI. In addition, several candidates have already been able to secure employment or training.
