The Restart TOI Project set out to empower lone parents, to help them overcome their personal barriers and structural disadvantages. Europe-wide research showed that Lone Parents face a complex combination of personal and structural barriers while seeking employment. Training pilots were held in Italy, Cyprus, Poland and Norway which proved to be very successful.
The Supermom Project offered vocational orientation in film skills for unemployed lone parents. Gingerbread NI piloted this German led project between October and December 2011. It offered experience in a range of areas such as drama and movement, photography, make-up artistry, costume and set design and scriptwriting. The Supermom trainees wrote, directed, filmed and produced an entirely original short film called “Ribbons”.
Gingerbread NI has been involved in the Women In project which promotes Teleworking as a tool for improving work-life balance and women’s participation in the labour market. It aims to show that Teleworking is a flexible workplace programme which has potential benefits to both women workers and companies at an institutional level.
The partners from the original Restart Project in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Cyprus, Italy, Poland and Norway, will continue to work together on a new project facilitated through a Grundtvig Learning Partnership. The new EVAT project will look at ways of adding value to training offered to adult learners from vulnerable or disadvantaged groups. The partnership will explore the accreditation of training courses within Europe, and share best practice and expertise.
