Approche: how to counter exclusion
La Varenne Saint Hilaire (94)
In 1992 Anne-Christine Bandin and Marielle Baudet, two volunteers, who had for several years been helping families in extreme poverty, received a phone call from another friend working at a Job Centre as an advisor to people on the minimum income (a post later abolished). Pierre Mathe wanted to help someone in a desperate situation but didn't know what to do. Anne-Christine and Marielle didn't waste any time in finding an answer: within a month they had set up an association and employed him to help them. That was the beginning of the adventure and of the association "Approche".
The association is now officially recognised as a job creation company and employs 15 people, as well as 4 managerial staff. The concept is a simple one: the company collects all kinds of everyday items that people no longer want, reprocesses and finally sells them and, at the same time, employs people in extreme poverty on special job creation contracts. There is nothing exceptional about this. What makes the difference is the Approche team's determination to provide a high-quality service both for the market and for its employees.
A strict but friendly working atmosphere
The working day at Approche is a mixture of active job-seeking and the work itself, and starts at 8.30 a.m. on the dot. Mr. Bandin, the director, doesn't allow anyone to be late! In any case the employees always arrive early. The team drink their morning coffee together before settling down, at 8.45, to the first task of the morning: learning job-seeking techniques. The employees gather in the computing room where there are 6 computers, one of which has an overhead projector allowing one person to seek job vacancies for colleagues who don't have access to a computer. Those who find interesting vacancies follow them up while the others get down to the day's work.
The women's team does the work usually done by shop assistants: receiving, sorting and storing goods, putting them on the shelves and working at the till. The men are responsible for the furniture department and for delivering furniture or collecting it from donors. The employees are subject to strict supervision: the head of the workshop and the technical manager supervise their work on a daily basis and provide training; the work integration manager helps each of the employees draw up a career plan and, because she has received training as a psychologist, can conduct tests to assess the person's potential and adapt his or her career plan accordingly.
Approche opens its doors to the public at 2.30 p.m, so the afternoon is spent receiving customers and selling goods. The customers, who are impatient for the shop to open (a small crowd has usually gathered in front of the door a quarter of an hour before opening time!), are from a very wide range of social backgrounds. There is an obvious reason for this: the sales prices naturally attract poor families, as they can find what they need without spending more than they can afford (baby clothes for 0.50 €, books for between 0.50 € and 1.50 € and so on), but as the shop is in a wealthy district (la Varenne St Hilaire 94), it also attracts local people from all walks of life. The atmosphere is not just friendly ? people are genuinely interested in supporting those in need. Some people, who would not otherwise have even had a conversation, help one another. Many of the conversations take place by the bookshelves as culture often encourages people to talk and open up to others.
Mr. Bandin believes that "integration is a skill you have to learn, not something you can improvise". He considers it important to run Approche like a traditional business enterprise, so he expects exemplary behaviour from his employees and makes sure that their working conditions are of a high standard: "dignity is the main prerequisite for integration", he says.
An association run as a business enterprise
When they arrive at Approche, employees are given the opportunity to work in all the different sections. They are then assessed so that their weaknesses can be remedied and their strong points emphasised; they finally specialise in their preferred field, according to their skills and the needs of the association.
"In our company people can settle down to a job but they must be prepared to move on" says Mr. Bandin. Employees receive the support they need from the rest of the team to help them find their bearings again: they are given the necessary skills and enough self-confidence to secure a steady job and find their way back into the community. The different workshops serve exactly that purpose: discovering the Internet, learning to express oneself, rehearsing for job interviews, learning about different types of clothing (and the major brands), and learning how to reintegrate the world of work through games.
The association now has 300 members and 1800 supporters, who all receive the quarterly newsletter. Other activities - flea markets, rallies and similar events - are run by and for volunteers at weekends.
Approche also has partnerships with local and national networks of associations, and provides advice and support to new job creation companies in setting up their activities. Although it receives funding from various public organisations, it earns 30% of its substantial budget (570 000 € in 2006) through its own work.
Some 75% of the employees find a steady job when they leave Approche and the company would now like to expand its activities. Besides helping Idris Bennani, a data-processing technician, to devise a programme for monitoring the employees' integration (NORIA), Approche currently benefits from a DLA (a local business creation support scheme for associations) to help it assess its organisation and activities with a view to consolidation and further development.
