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Valuing Voluntary Experiences (AVE) in ARIA

ARIA is an association gathering wives and husbands of military staff . It was created in 1992 with a special focus on the employment of wives and husbands of military staff. As a pilot project, ARIA has decided to make a study on the ways and means to promote AVE among its volunteers. This project is supported by the Social Action for the Army (Ministry for Defense) and the European Social Fund (ESF). The results of the project, a portfolio for people faced to mobility, are available among ARIA : www.aria-paris

Presentation

ARIA has been studying for the ten past years on the difficulties wives and husbands of military staff have to cope with on the labour market. The AVE may be a way to support professional integration by valuing an involvement in association. Training has been a constant purpose for the managers of ARIA since its creation in 1992. AVE may be a way to make the link between a voluntary work and a paid work.

Context

This pilot study is meant to identify, value and assess knowledge and know-how acquired through a voluntary experience, in the field of an association, ARIA , dedicated to the families of military staff'. It will identify both general and technical skills . The results could be transfered to other associations, whoever the voluntters and whatever their public or domains of activity . This project is meant to answer the needs for recognition and valorisation of their skills expressed by volunteers. For the associations, it should be a way to value the training programmes offered to volunteers as they could use them in a professional perspective. The study also answers the demands expressed by the institutional partners of the associations : public authorities (central administration or local autjorities) eager to recognize volunteering as a form of informal apprenticeship ; professionals working in human ressources (employment agencies in particular) willing to integrate all the dimensions of a candidate's life in his/her curriculum (formal, informal, non formal).

Objectives

Main steps:

identifying skills acquired or developed through an associative involvement ;
asking its network of volunteers why they volunteer, which skills they have acquired or developed and thise who would be willing to involve in the AVE process.
testing a tool and method among a team of volunteers of ARIA willing to renew with the labour market ;
testing the impact of this method and team on the labour market ;
proposing a label for this tool and method experimented.

A working group is constituted by :

ARIA : presidents 2003-2006 and members of the board
ANPE (National Agency for Employment)
ACEIP : association for prefets and sous-prefets' wives
CNAM (National Conservatory for Arts and Trade)
Ministry for Defense (Bureau suporting soldiers' wives and husbands for finding a job)
House for the Economic Development and Employment

Planning

4 steps :

step 1 : January 2003-December 2003 : consultation among ARIA's volunteers ;
step 2 : March 2004-December 2004 : conception and experimentation of a tool and method among ARIA's volunteers ;
step 3 : January 2005-December 2005 : accompanying the volunteers on the labour market and feed back on the tool and method ;
step 4 : January 2006- December 2006 : proposing a label for the method and tool to be used whoever the volunteer, and whatever the domain of activity.

Partners

Study realised for ARIA with the financial support of the Ministry for Defense and the European Social Fund.

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