Bridging the Unemployment Gap: A Tale of Two Advisors in Tunisia and the United Kingdom

With major fluctuations in global macroeconomic trends in the past 5 years, global unemployment rates have been following a similar path and are only projected to stabilise below pre-2019 levels this year. Moreover, while high unemployment rates remain a shared issue globally, employment deficits remain very unequal across countries and societal groups, and their solution requires more complex and context-specific approaches.

That is why, when it comes to addressing unemployment, Palladium: Make It Possible , through its cross-cutting projects, has been localising its efforts and increasing its attention towards measures and programs that contribute to sustainable and inclusive job creation. ? ? Two examples of such projects are the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment and the UK Restart Scheme.

The first project is financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands - Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken and managed by Palladium: Make It Possible , VSO and 任仕达 NL in a consortium. Its aim is to create, match and improve more than 230.000 jobs for young women and men across 11 countries in Africa and the Middle East. The second is the UK DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) Restart programme, delivered by Palladium as a subcontractor to Fedcap in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Its objective? To provide employability support and interventions for jobseekers. Despite their distinct geographic and demographic scopes, both programs have adopted localised and context-specific approaches to successfully tackle unemployment and skills mismatch. And these strategies soon showed a common denominator, which became the key to navigating complex job markets: employment advisors.?

Serving as intermediaries between job seekers, organisations, and hiring businesses, employment advisors play a pivotal role in guiding unemployed people towards suitable job opportunities. At the same time, their knowledge of their own market ensures that their approach and solutions are tailored to the region they work in, as well as to the people and businesses they assist. Not only do they provide invaluable counsel to vulnerable individuals, equipping them with the skills to stand out in the job market, but they also keep an eye on labour market and hiring trends in their specific context.?

By hearing the testimonies of Mohamed HAMDANI from GOMYCODE in Tunisia and Isaac Herman from Restart in the UK, we spot some similarities in how they approach their role and tasks in two different socioeconomic, demographic, and labour landscapes.?

Mohamed and Isaac: Career Advisors in Different Contexts?

Mohamed Hamdani has been with GOMYCODE , a CFYE Implementing Partner and tech-training provider based in Tunis, for nearly two years. Mohamed started his career as the first employment advisor of the company and, two years later, he serves as the Career Department Manager, as the business expanded across the Africa and the Middle East. Being the only career advisor in GoMyCode, Mohamed has been instrumental in connecting young Tunisian trainees to jobs in the digital and tech space, while facing the challenging task of building the career service department from the ground up. He began by conducting surveys and calls to action to understand his trainees’ needs, and then looked to match the candidates’ skills to the demand side of Tunisia’s labour market. ?

In the UK, Isaac Herman played an instrumental role in addressing unemployment in and around Hampshire, by working as an employment advisor for Palladium on the Restart programme. Like Mohamed, Isaac’s support to job seekers and its ability to build strong connections with hiring companies around the county was key to bridge the gap between them and employers. These candidates often had long periods of unemployment, big gaps in their CVs, came from disadvantages backgrounds, and/or lacked important skills to navigate the UK’s labour market. Isaac’s role was to make sense of these situations, help candidates understand their circumstances, and assist them in aligning their CVs to relevant job opportunities, using a mix of experience in the field, creativity and active listening. This often involved having conversations to identify transferable skills and job preferences, with extra attention to addressing potential issues such as caring for family, justifying career breaks, or identifying upskilling needs. ?

Similarly, Mohamed and his team assist young people in identifying and developing both their hard and soft skills, making sure that every candidate’s experience is personalised and tailored to their job preferences and life goals. In their interviews, both Isaac and Mohamed showed a firm belief in the power of humanity and soft skills.

“While hard skills are easier to acquire through study and practice, soft skills require continuous training and real-world experience” mentioned Mohamed.

Indeed, soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving are what truly set candidates apart in the job market, and both Mohamed and Isaac’s objective is to support youth and more vulnerable job seekers in understanding their value and be able to showcase it effectively.?

Restart also partners with organisations that offer opportunities for upskilling, providing a full cycle of support to match job offers from employers with the right candidates. A team of 20+ advisors work tirelessly to tailor vacancies, connect employers with their pool of candidates, and build strong relationships based on transparency and trust. At the same time, in Tunisia, Mohamed is doing the same - establishing contact and partnerships with local and regional companies and start-ups to find potential opportunities for GOMYCODE's young graduates and trainees. Through job fairs and continuous networking, he managed to create a bridge between job seekers and potential employers, and to get GOMYCODE and its trainees known across and beyond the continent.?

What was their concrete impact? ?

Isaac and Mohamed’s dedication and proactive approach have led to numerous success stories. Mohamed recalls one particularly touching moment when a student, who initially struggled with self-confidence, approached him for advice on improving his communication skills. By sharing with them his own experience of overcoming shyness by practicing public speaking and engaging in self-reflection, together they worked through various exercises, and the student gradually gained the confidence needed to explore difficult job markets with a positive and proactive mindset.??

One of Isaac’s most memorable successes involved two sisters from Ukraine, both qualified in dentistry but seeking part-time work. The Restart Team liaised with a dentist who had a full-time dental nurse role open, resulting in a “job share” between the two sisters. This creative solution not only met the sisters’ needs but also benefited the employer.?

Isaac’s work at Restart exemplifies Restart's commitment to helping long-term unemployed people back to work, crafting resumes, preparing for interviews, and building confidence after extended periods without a job.

In a different context, but with similar results, Mohamed is shaping partnerships between education and the private sector, building ties within the Tunisian job market that would have not otherwise been created.?

Their proactive and human-centered approach not only guides young or more vulnerable people in prioritising the skills that are in demand and matching them with relevant and sustainable job opportunities, but also creates unique connections that benefit both job seekers and businesses.

Their experiences serve as a testament that securing employment is not only about having the right know-how or abilities; it is about acknowledging our unique attributes and understanding that our “human” skills are our best-selling point. And if this seems too much to navigate, any training or employability scheme will have people like Mohamed and Isaac to support! ?

?