The European Commission will present a Quality Jobs Roadmap by the end of 2025. In her State of the Union address, Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen announced that this will be followed by a Quality Jobs Act next year.
Our 2 part series will take you on virtual visits to social economy enterprises, cooperatives and civil society organisations to learn more about how they support quality jobs.
18 November 14h-16h00 CET (now closed)
Following our insightful first session, we invite you to join us for the second part on:
28 November 14h-15h30 CET
On 28 November, you will hear from:
UtilDeco will explain how they create sustainable employment opportunities for people with disabilities and vulnerable groups. They provide professional training, orientation, and qualification programs to enhance workers’ skills and long-term employability. This ensures inclusive and supportive workplaces, adapted to individual needs, with mentoring and continuous assistance. UtilDeco reinvests all profits into social programs that further strengthen integration and equal opportunities.
CECOP, European Confederation of Industrial and Service Cooperatives, will bring the perspective of the cooperative movement and how they support quality jobs. They will highlight how these enterprises contribute to fair, inclusive, and democratic working environments, and why this should be recognised at the EU level. In workers owned cooperatives, quality jobs are not a goal, they are the starting point. Worker-members are not just employees, they are co-owners. They collectively decide how work is organised, balancing economic sustainability with fair conditions and long-term job security. Cooperatives offer more than a job: they create spaces for democratic participation and co-ownership. From lifelong learning to inclusive governance, they invest in people, including those furthest from the labour market.
Smart cooperative is a cooperative of freelancers from across Belgium but rooted in the artistic sector of Brussels. Ever since its foundation in 1998, the goal has always been to secure the economic activity of the members by mitigating risks through the development of tools at service of all the members with collective means. Over 40.000 Belgian members are supported by a staff of more than 200 people and together they generate an annual turnover close to €200 million. The success of the Smart model is illustrated by its replicability, as similar initiatives have been established throughout Europe. The democratic governance model and the autonomous way in which members can organize their work are key elements that lead to decent working conditions and, ultimately, quality jobs.
On 18 November, you heard from:
OilRight, a WISE whose mission is to make eco-friendly products from used cooking oil, reducing pollution and providing meaningful, quality jobs to people who’ve too often been excluded from the labor market. Since 2020, OilRight has built a team of eight, half of whom are persons with disabilities (including psychosocial disabilities, autism, and visual impairment) and two of whom are Roma. The social enterprise demonstrates how adapting workplace systems, offering real contracts and wages, and fostering peer support transform lives and provide a first job experience, supporting people in finding jobs in the mainstream labour market (so far, 12 people with disabilities have worked at OilRight). Co-founder Roxana will present the organisational model of inclusion-by-design, and Ana, a colleague with a disability, will give a testimony of her first paid job after 43 years spent in segregated institutions and of finally being seen, respected, and included.
Ateliere Fără Frontiere (Workshops Without Borders) will discuss how they raise awareness of rights and responsibilities, support in accessing public services, and encourage to engage in community life. This includes one-to-on counselling for the 2 years insertion period and work within a team of people trained to be mentors , trainings on digital skills, financial education, media safety, and health. After a period of 12–24 months, beneficiaries are supported in finding stable employment outside Ateliere Fără Frontiere, with continued mentoring during the transition.
TGEU (Trans Europe and Central Asia) is a trans-led nonprofit for the rights and wellbeing of trans people in Europe and Central Asia. They will discuss the work they do to support the rights of trans people in the workplace. Many trans people experience discrimination in employment during and around transition processes, similar to cis women’s experiences of dismissal around pregnancy, for example. At the workplace, around one in three trans people experienced exclusion or harassment in the past year. Supporting workplace transition and addressing workplace discrimination on the basis of gender identity have to be considered in order for trans people to be able to thrive in employment. They will discuss policies that result in facilitated access to gender transition whilst at work which are all vital for trans people to be able to effectively remain in employment.
