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Employment and Social Entrepreneurship Launchpads, Spain

YOUTH

UNEMPLOYED

Skills
Kas

The Employment and Social Entrepreneurship Launchpads (Lanzaderas de Empleo y Emprendimiento Solidario) is an integrated support programme by the Santa María la Real Foundation (a private non-profit foundation) that has been in operation since 2013. The programme is financially supported by public and private partners. The programme aims to support unemployed youth (18-35 years old) in gaining the skills and knowledge needed for the labour market as well as help them to start a business or find employment. 

Kāpēc

The scheme was launched to support the unemployed in returning to work and to combat the social stigma of being unemployed, notably by helping the long-term unemployed remain active. It was modelled after an approach used during the mid-to-late 1980s to help youth enter the labour market. 

This scheme strives to counter the stigma of unemployment and frame it as an opportunity to strengthen one’s skills and develop an entrepreneurial mindset. It adopts a collaborative, supportive model that focuses on personal development and teamwork. Following the belief that isolation has harmful consequences for people and undermines drive and creativity, the scheme also aims to free the unemployed from isolation, loneliness, discouragement and invisibility and to facilitate a position of visibility and proactiveness, notably through job-seeking activities, entrepreneurial workshops and networking. 

Galvenās aktivitātes

Each launchpad functions as a semi-autonomous entity and each is responsible for managing its own projects, maintenance, participant selection and appointment of functional committees. Launchpads provide peer-led training to groups of about 20 unemployed youth as well as personalised coaching and networking opportunities for a period of 5-9 months depending on the size of the team as well as the individual requirements of the funding entities. Support is provided over four primary phases:

  • Diagnosis phase is where participants identify and express their emotions linked to unemployment, understand changes in the labour market, and get to know each other in order to build the foundations of a team. 
  • Action phase includes the design of action plans, both at the personal and team level. Participants start working on key competencies needed to start a business or find employment, and start analysing the environment and generating business ideas while participating in training sessions. 
  • Networking phase aims to support interaction with the external environment. Participants participate in networking events and visit firms and entrepreneurs to test and develop the ideas that were developed in the second phase. Participants also work on their business plan in this phase. 
  • Implementation phase supports individuals and groups in implementing their business plans. Participants also have opportunities to network following the completion of the programme. 
Ietekme

In 2023, the programme supported 20 000 participants through more than 800 launchpads operating in more than 300 cities in Spain. The programme has steadily been increasing its reach since its creation in 2013. In the period 2016-19, there were 11 350 participants in 454 launchpads up from 1 100 participants in 55 launchpads in 32 cities in the period 2014-15. The programme has also successfully been transferred to other countries, including Belgium, Italy and Portugal.

Additionally, the programme was evaluated in 2015 using the difference in differences (DiD) method, which compares information on expected impact variables of participants to a comparison group before and after programme participation. The authors used matching techniques to avoid selection bias and ensure the comparison group was similar to the treatment group in terms of socio-demographic and structural variables. 

The evaluation utilised online surveys, interviews and focus group data with a sample size of 212 people, including 135 in the intervention group (55% women) and 77 in the control group. Overall, the programme had positive impacts on skills, attitudes and employability. Programme participants had higher employment rates relative to non-participants (60% vs. 39%). They also had on average higher quality job placements ─ contract duration was 22 percentage points (p.p.) higher for participants than non-participants, more working hours for participants (25 p.p. more than non-participants) and better social security coverage (26 p.p. higher for participants than non-participants). Moreover, participants tended to have job placements that were aligned with preferences compared to non-participants. They also had improved quality of life, attitudes, and aptitudes. However, the effect on entrepreneurship was found to be limited ─ only 3% of participants started a business and the intention to start a business decreased after the programme. 

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