In Győr-Moson-Sopron County, thirteen participants have gained a new vocational qualification after successfully completing an 80-hour training course for food retail assistants. The course was made possible through the Youth Guarantee Plus programme and the Pillar project called “Expanding and Developing the Labour Supply”.
The Pillar projects of the Economic Development and Innovation Operational Programme Plus, EDIOP Plus, aim to help more people find jobs, gain work experience and acquire skills that are in demand on the labour market.
Youth Guarantee Plus provides personalised support to young people aged 15 to 29 who are not in education or employment. The programme helps them improve their chances on the labour market, find stable employment as soon as possible, and spend less time unemployed or inactive.
The “Expanding and Developing the Labour Supply” project supports people aged 30 to 64 who are currently not working and have registered, or asked to be registered, as jobseekers or service users at the employment department of the relevant district office.
The importance of these programmes is also shown by the level of funding available. Significant support is provided both nationally and at county level. The Youth Guarantee Plus programme has a national budget of HUF 208 billion, of which more than HUF 2.8 billion has been allocated to Győr-Moson-Sopron County. The national budget of the “Expanding and Developing the Labour Supply” project is more than HUF 175 billion, with over HUF 3 billion available in the county.
The 80-hour food retail assistant training course opens up new opportunities for participants. Whether they are career starters, parents of young children, people over 50, people with lower levels of education, or those who have been looking for work for more than six months, the training gives them practical new knowledge to help them enter the labour market.
One of the most successful participants, Gyula Erdélyi, is grateful to the case officer at the government office who told him about the Youth Guarantee Plus programme and informed him that a shop assistant training course was about to start.
He also thanked all the teachers and instructors, saying they explained everything patiently, clearly and in a practical way. According to Gyula, by attending the classes regularly and reading up on a few topics, he was able to learn everything he needed.
After completing the course, he found a job almost immediately. Although an unexpected accident has now forced him to take some time to recover, the programme gave him a great deal of motivation, energy and a positive outlook, which are helping him through this difficult period.
Gyula has already decided that once he can return to work, he will continue his studies. His goal is to obtain his secondary school leaving certificate and fulfil his long-standing dream of becoming a store manager.
He has already taken the first step. After finishing the programme, he enrolled in a one-year shop assistant vocational training course at the Pálffy Miklós School of Commerce and Logistics of the Győr Vocational Training Centre — the same institution where he completed the original course.
As he said: “I also owe this school opportunity to the EDIOP programme, because if I had not applied for Youth Guarantee Plus, I would never have found this path. Now it is up to me to make my dream come true, and I will do everything I can to achieve it.”
Gyula’s story shows that further learning is possible at any stage. With their newly obtained certificate, motivated participants can continue their studies, for example by completing store manager training, which can open the door to even more opportunities in the future.
