Every child has talent. This is also true of the approximately 600,000 Dutch children who grow up with few role models in an environment where unemployment is rife. Which is why JINC strives to create a society where your background does not determine your future. A Netherlands in which every child is offered opportunities.
JINC collaborates with schools and businesses to create fair opportunities for these young people. Relined Fiber Network is one of those partners. Relined gives employees time off for voluntary work for JINC and organises ‘taster’ training courses to give these young people a ‘peek behind the scenes’.
JINC’s employees, more than 100 in total, offer support to young people aged between 8 and 16, who live in socio-economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods and grow up with few role models in an environment where unemployment is high. The aid offered to these children takes the form of a good start on the labour market.
JINC’s programme gives them the opportunity of trying their hand at all kinds of professions, discovering what type of work matches their talents and learning how to apply for jobs. These self-development opportunities are offered to more than 56,000 primary and secondary school pupils every year. However, JINC’s ambition extends even further because there are still many more children who lack the skills and have no access to the role models required to develop their talents.
In order to reach all these young people, JINC organises its programme activities in collaboration with the education sector and over 370 partners in the business community. Relined Fiber Network has contributed to JINC’s projects since 2019, and gives employees time off for voluntary roles as a trainer or coach. Experience teaches us that people always put their best foot forward for strangers and that the expertise of professionals inspires young people. In addition to coaching children and providing job application training, Relined organises ‘taster’ courses to give the children a ‘peek behind the scenes’ and let them work on practical assignments. These one-day courses include a tour of Relined’s departments and the children are given the opportunity of asking all of the company’s employees about their work.
Relined wants to make a valuable contribution to society. We already achieve this by optimising the use of existing network capacity and preventing unnecessary work to construct new fibre-optic networks. However, we also wanted to engage in other activities in the context of corporate social responsibility. We eventually chose JINC because this initiative appeals to us immensely. We are delighted to support the foundation in achieving its mission, give these young people a fair chance of finding interesting employment and prepare them for the labour market. Because everybody is entitled to these opportunities.
More information about JINC is available on their website.