The creation of the single European market is creating a single labour market and ensuring greater opportunities for the majority of European citizens. However some sections of the population, because of special problems, are presently excluded from accessing these opportunities and find themselves on the periphery. The Periphera project addresses the training and employment needs of the cultural periphery, the geographical periphery, the social periphery, and the economic periphery. The aim of Periphera is to help find solutions for the long term unemployed, cultural minorities, migrant groups, disabled people and people whose personal or geographical circumstances exclude them from participation in the full benefits of European society. Their employment needs will be answered through new ways of working to reduce marginalisation.
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Periphera brought together experts and providers from Member States, plus potential end users of Telematics and Teleworking services, to address the general issues of integration of peripheral groups. The Periphera project, through the development and implementation of telecentres, provided training in marketable skills and teleworking skills, plus access to new technologies for exploitation of 'new opportunities for working' through 'new ways of working' and self-help. |
In each of seven distinct sites a telematics application centre was built which addressed the needs of a specific peripheral group and provided training in Telematics usage, and training in Telematics skills and principles. These centres then provided access to Telematics for Teleworking and support for employment through self help initiatives. The project partners, through European collaboration, address the broader issues of integration of all peripheral groups and shared experience and results concerning the specific peripheral groups addressed. They are thereby equipped to address the whole range of peripheral issues in focus within the project.