Take Your Chance

Founded in 2007, the 'Take Your Chance' - project aims to provide inhabitants in the refugee centre of Delfzijl with the knowledge and skills needed to take their chance to secure an independent future for themselves and their families in the Netherlands. This takes place through a series of interactive workshops and a newly launched coaching program.

Target group

The project team targets those refugees in Delfzijl that either already have a residence permit or will be getting it in the near future. This group of refugees contains a large variety of participants; it is not uncommon to have an Iraqi professor and an illiterate Somali fisherman in the same workshop.

Workshop

The workshop modules are based on three pillars: education, the job market, and social security. The first pillar explains the Dutch educational system, its costs, and the possibilities of funding for higher education. The second pillar gives tips for an effective job search, including useful tips on how to behave during a job interview, an example of a decent CV and how to check the validity of diplomas received in the past. The third pillar covers a wide variety of information on the Dutch social security system, ranging from money they are entitled to, to issues such as child support, and authorities they will be in contact with, such as UWV.

Future plans

The ambitions of the Take Your Chance team are high: not only are we looking for ways to improve the quality of the workshops in Delfzijl, we are also planning to contact more refugee centers in the northern provinces of the Netherlands in order to reach more refugees.

Sponsors

The TYC project team would like to thank the people and businesses that have chosen to kindly support our project:

• Via Romanica Horecagroep
• Talent and Career Center Groningen