TheYOUTHShare’s project aim is to reduce youth unemployment through training, internships and job matching. The general idea is that by enhancing ones skills he/she will get more prepared and successful in job seeking.
But who knew that one of the biggest success stories of the project would come from within! Ms Claudia Caggiano, the current Key Account Manager of the Italian branch of the Transnational Employment Centre, started off as a beneficiary. And then… she ended up supporting other NEETs from the same project. In her own words:
“In late 2020 and early 2021 I was a NEET who found herself in Potenza (Basilicata) in the midst of a pandemic. I wanted to work, and this period of emptiness had gotten me disappointed; until the day I received an email from ARLAB inviting me to take part in a training course as part of a transnational project. This intrigued me, although I am not in favour of these, often time-wasting, activities. It may have been the pandemic, but at that point I decided to participate, so I took the course online. It was a period of pleasant distant learning, although it was not the same as being able to see each other. Meanwhile, the Key Account Manager at the time (Dr. Nicoletta Avigliano) kept an eye on me. When COVID-19 came down hard on my family, I had to distance myself from the courses for a while; but some of the trainers and the KAM herself kept contacting me to find out how I was doing.
After some time, things improved, and summer came. I wanted to go through the internship experience that the KAM had told me about at all costs; I was desperate for an opportunity. The internship came, which was a great experience -but unfortunately did not turn into something more.
At the end of the summer, the KAM contacted me again (with whom a relationship close to friendship had emerged). Following the invitation, I participated in aνevent with other beneficiaries and businesses. On that occasion I was able to meet people, but at the end of the event, before closing, I had bitterly confirmed that I would soon be leaving the city, or perhaps even Italy. You see, this condition of inactivity and uselessness was leading me to a form of depression. At that moment, however, some of the stakeholders asked me to think it over and took the opportunity to ask me to forward my CV to them. With low expectations, I sent it to the KAM asking them to consider it and pass it around. After a few weeks, the KAM herself called me back telling me that we should meet urgently to talk. She had received another important and long-awaited job opportunity and would have to leave her then current job. However, she had seen something in me and thought I would be a worthy replacement; so, she asked me to talk to some project managers to see if this role would be a good fit for me. With a lot of fear but also a lot of excitement, I accepted the challenge – and then in September 2021 I became the KAM of the ΥOUTHShare project!”.
The role of the Key Account Manager is crucial for the YOUTHShare project. Being the effective link between research and social intervention, is a person that needs to mediate the between academics, managers, and beneficiaries. In that respect, the most crucial characteristic of the KAM is empathy combined with knowledge. Therefore, what is the best fit for such a position from a young person that knows on the one hand all the frustration and disappointment of joblessness, and on the other the need to distance and see the large image of the researchers and managers.
Welcome on board Claudia!
