On Friday, the Regional Secretariat for Employment and Social Solidarity announced that it is now possible to apply for the Adult Occupation Programme (PROSA). This programme seeks to provide the unemployed and those with employment difficulties with occupational activities.
With this initiative the Azorean Government intends to foment work habits and promote, amongst the unemployed, better knowledge about the labour market.
The programme is open to the public and private non-lucrative institutions, such as private social welfare institutions (IPSS), religious institutions, state-owned central and regional health-care institutions. The participation of state health-care institutions, both regional and central, must be authorised by a joint legal dispatch of the pertinent regional secretary and the local municipalities.
The institutions that organise occupational programmes are responsible for determining their duration. Such programmes cannot exceed twelve months but may be prolonged for six months if such extension is dully justified.
Resolution Nº 23/2009 of the Council of Government, adopted on the 2nd February, expanded the ambit of PROSA beneficiaries when it considered unemployed women older than 40 years and unemployed man older than 45 years as eligible to the programme.
Applications to the programme must be presented at the Agencies for Employment Qualification in Ponta Delgada, Angra do Heroísmo and Horta. Alternatively, applications can be sent in a registered letter with reception notification to the Regional Directorate for Employment, Vocational Training and Consumer Rights.