This project aims to promote the development of interventions fostering the employability of individuals with fragile literacy. Specifically, it proposes accurate investigations and training aimed at strengthening the profile and employment prospects of two populations on the Italian territory for which access to reading and writing is problematic: adults suffering from Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) and individuals who, due to their migration background, have learned Italian as a second language. Linguistic competence, literacy, and textual understanding are weaknesses of these populations and may hinder access to the labor market. These difficulties can lead to self-perceptions of reduced employability and thus negatively affect employability levels assessed from the outside.
Thanks to the synergy between linguists from the Department of Cultures and Civilizations and work psychologists from the Department of Human Sciences (University of Verona), and the collaboration with local partners active in the field of training and job placement, the project aims to encourage job opportunities, favoring the adaptation of the skills of workers and unemployed individuals to revive their competitiveness, as well as promoting an active inclusion, based on the development of services and models of social innovation.
To this aim, the project is developed on three steps aimed at designing, implementing, and evaluating an intervention model for improving the employability levels of people with fragile literacy skills. The effectiveness of the model will be monitored longitudinally and at different levels of analysis, both from scientific and social points of view, thanks to the analysis of objective indicators related to the quality of the participants’ employment conditions. Based on the results, it will be possible to develop innovative employment integration policies that consider and can manage the relationship between literacy and employability in today’s socio-economic context.
