The Reborn project
What did you want to achieve?
Reborn was the first step to achieve the goal of involving the Zeitreel brands (MO, Zippy/Losan & Salsa Jeans) and Zeitreel teams in sharing their know-how and expertise in a way that made a difference in other people’s lives. With 80% of the leadership in the company being female, it made sense to create and invest in a project that empowers women in the job market. So Reborn was developed to give valuable skills, advices and orientation to women at risk of social exclusion, to help return to the job market and improve their lives, personally and professionally.
What did you do?
The Reborn project started with a partnership with Program Incorpora that shared 11 profiles of women at risk of social exclusion who could benefit from a program like this. The program consists of 8 weekly group workshops and 2 individual coaching sessions, all given by Zeitreel employees, who are experts in the following themes:
- Personal styling: adapting clothing looks to each woman’s style and body
- Job Searching: provide advises on how to find a job, supporting in creating a CV and preparation for an interview practice
- Financial Literacy: money saving advice and day to day money management
- Make-up: suggestions on skincare and best make-up styles for each woman
- Nutrition: teaching how to eat healthy with a low budget
- Coaching: one-to-one sessions on how to approach the job market and searching new job opportunities
The Salsa Jeans and MO brands also, donated 3 outfits for the interviews, and we contacted Wells – a Sonae Group brand – which donated a make-up kit to each woman who participated.
The self-learning platform GoodHabitz – one of our learning partners – also gave each woman access to all their behavioural and soft skills courses.
What are the results so far?
Reborn is still ongoing until July 2023, but we can already assess some results. From the beginning of the project until now, they are completely new women, who feel more confident and empowered. Some are already employed, and one who was studying has already an internship. For our volunteers, their horizons have broadened by facing new realities. They feel like their professional skills contribute to changing someone’s life in a meaningful way. Our goal is that every woman will have a job by the end of the first edition of Reborn, and we are already more than halfway there.
What have you learned?
Reborn was designed as a sharing and learning project. Our people are sharing their knowledge on themes that they are part of their professional life, and sharing it in a way that captivates and follows themes that interest these women. In return, they also learn from the participants and their personal experiences, which make them leave their safe zone.
It’s a two-way enrichment process that will stay with the participants for a lifetime. We also learnt that helping women at risk of social exclusion should be a societal imperative and it will definitely be something that we will continue to work on.
