Every year since 2004 the ÏDKIDS community has worked with the Squad Emploi programme to help young people define and clarify their career path with a focus on networking.
Squad Emploi is run by Réseau Alliance, the leading regional business network specializing in CSR. Every year the programme helps around 180 young graduates and postgraduates who are looking for work. They are divided into groups of seven within the same company and supported by coaches.
The ÏDKIDS community has further strengthened its commitment to CSR by renewing its involvement in the programme, which it also co-founded. The initiative is backed by AJIR, a group of five charities (including Réseau Alliance) working to promote training opportunities, workplace integration and professional success for young people from the Nord and Pas-de-Calais départements.
Seven of our employees each help a young person to summarize their personal experience as a student and in the workplace and then fine-tune a presentation to make it clearer, more accurate and more effective. The support they receive includes mock job interviews and coaching sessions during which the young people work on how they present themselves and their ideas. “Who am I? What can I do? What have I done? What would I like to do?” and other such questions help them gain confidence in themselves and their career plan.
You don’t need to be a recruitment expert for this role, but you do need good listening skills and an empathetic approach. Yet another opportunity for our employees to achieve professional and personal fulfilment in a role that is not directly linked to their job. Giving and receiving are both ways to win!
The programme started at the beginning of April with a briefing about Squad Emploi and an initial meeting with the young people involved.
Let’s hear what our staff taking part in the programme had to say!
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Justine
“I’ve been training project manager at ÏDKIDS since January 2017. More specifically, I’m responsible for running training courses for our Okaïdi, Oxybul and ÏDKIDS store network in France and overseas.
This is the first year I’ve been involved in the Squad Emploi programme, although I was a coach-mentor at a similar charity. That’s when I discovered how incredibly rewarding it is to help a young student or graduate find their direction or take their first steps towards employment.
The Squad Emploi programme is a great opportunity for sharing in line with our HESSERBraC CSR charter which is an integral part of our work. It’s also an opportunity for the young people to liberate their energy and talent so they can find a job through the network.
I’m lucky enough to have been supporting Justine (my namesake!) for a week now. She’s a recent graduate, originally from Latvia, and is looking for a marketing or international communications role in the Hauts-de-France region. We have three months to meet up and talk as often as she wants so she can fine-tune her career plan. We’ve so much to learn from each other in terms of our respective experiences, hopes and dreams. It promises to be an exciting adventure!”
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Ludovic
“I joined the ÏDKIDS community in 2015 and for more than two years now I’ve been developing the market for ‘second life products’ through ÏDTROC, a free second-hand clothing service in ÏDKIDS community brand stores.
This is the second year I’ve been involved in the Squad Emploi programme. I wanted to take part as I think it’s important to help young people define their career path, to make their job search quicker and easier. This requires a relationship of trust. We need to get to know each other so I can help them understand their strengths, qualities and ambitions by acting as a mirror, which I really enjoy!
On a personal level, my two eldest children are 21 and 19 and will be looking for jobs themselves in a few years. So the project is even more relevant to me! Our first meeting was great. The person I’m mentoring already has an excellent track record and is very enthusiastic, so I’m enjoying the coaching experience and feeling very confident about the future!”
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Anne Sophie
“I joined the ÏDKIDS community nearly 10 years ago as a supply manager with Okaïdi, and I’ve been operations management controller since the end of 2016. I found out about the initiative this year and I immediately wanted to take part as support and communication have always been my management drivers. With no management responsibilities in my current position, I wanted to find another way to get involved. I read an article about Squad Emploi in one of our internal bulletins which ended with ‘Why not you?’ and I said to myself ‘Why not indeed!’ When I first met the young people I was impressed by the diversity and quality of their profiles. I can’t wait to get started on my protégé’s career plan!”
- More information on Squad Emploi
- More about Réseau Alliances
Réseau Alliances is the leading regional business network specializing in CSR. With more than 250 members and partners throughout the Hauts-de-France region, it promotes common responsible purchasing practices, corporate diversity, a functional and cooperative economy, sustainable mobility and social business.
