This is a great first for workers at Esat Robida, in Mayenne. On Thursday, November 21, these people with psychological and mental disabilities will leave their workstation in a protected environment to discover a job in an ordinary environment during DuoDay.
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It's a day she looks forward to. This Thursday, November 21, Héloïse will not occupy her workstation, at the sheltered carpentry workshop of Esat in Port-Brillet, in Mayenne. She will be immersed in a discount store in Laval, alongside a saleswoman.
Dimitri will be behind the stove with the head chef of a city center restaurant, for this 7th edition of DuoDay. A system which offers the opportunity to create, as its name suggests, duos between professionals and people with disabilities, for a day.
I asked them what professions they would like to discover and together we canvassed the companies
Larissa MoreauEsat Robida
A first for these trainees, who will discover a job in an ordinary environment, but also for Esat Robida, who had never before participated in DuoDay. It must be said that prejudices about mental disability die hard. And for workers in protected environments, launching into the unknown is never a foregone conclusion.
And yet, there will be a dozen of them to embark on the adventure, and as many companies to welcome them. “I didn't expect there to be so many candidatesrejoices Larissa Moreau, coordinator at Esat. I asked them what jobs they would like to discover and rather than choosing from the offers on offer, we canvassed the companies together.
Restaurant, supermarket, ready-to-wear store, equestrian center… everyone has found something to suit them.
Once the duo is formed and the agreement signed, the work does not stop there. We still need to do the scouting. An equally essential step. “We have, for example, people who have carts and who don't know where to park that day, or where they will go for lunch, explains the Esat coordinator. It’s important to reassure them on these issues which can be a source of stress for them.”
This day in an ordinary environment, which is part of the European Week for the Employment of People with Disabilities (from November 18 to 24), is in any case far from ordinary for these workers in a sheltered environment. “For some, it will be an opportunity to discover places they don’t know and which intrigue themexplains Larissa Moreau. For the most independent, who have their own accommodation and means of transport, it can be a lever to obtain internships and prepare for a professional future in an ordinary environment.
It can be a lever to land internships and prepare for a professional future in an ordinary environment.
Larissa MoreauCoordinator at Esat Robida
If DuoDay represents an opportunity to experience the world of work in the best conditions, it is also an opportunity to face your fears to improve everyday life.
“I remember a resident who always had her hair done at home because she didn't dare go through the door of a hair salon and thanks to DuoDay at a hairdresser, she started frequenting the salon” .
For employers participating in the operation, it is also an opportunity to discover the skills and potential of disabled workers, while breaking down prejudices.
A first meeting at the end of which the companies will be invited, in turn, to pass through the doors of Esat to transform the test. A reverse DuoDay.
“I have prepared a questionnaire to be completed as a duo between the advisors and their interns and we will then invite companies to come and visit our work assistance establishment”. And to prepare the next duos for the 2025 edition…
Created in Ireland in 2008, taken over in Belgium in 2010, then throughout Europe in the following years, DuoDay is now a day identified by all stakeholders to recruit new talents.
Last year, more than 27,000 duos were formed compared to 20,000 the previous year, an increase of 33%.
In 2022, one in four candidates was offered a job or internship opportunity, following DuoDay.
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