The “employment company” (EBE) Hauts Val & Co., is off to a flying start, materializing the partnership initiative Zero Long-Term Unemployed Territory (Territoire Zéro Chômeur de Longue Durée, TZCLD), launched by the cities of Montpellier and Grabels for the adjacent districts of Hauts de Massane in Montpellier and La Valsière in Grabels. The company was officially launched on November 4, with the signing of the first 20 employees on permanent contracts.
“Our approach for achieving zero unemployment is not just economic, it’s also human. We believe that people have a right to work, and that solidarity is a source of strength,” said Bérénice Mey, President of EBE, at the event.
“Faced with the forces of disillusionment, the EBE team rolled up their sleeves to take action against exclusion,” said Michaël Delafosse, Mayor of Montpellier and President of Montpellier Métropole.“This project reflects our shared determination to combat long-term unemployment and give every citizen back his or her place in society,” added René Revol, mayor of Grabels.
Hauts Val & Co has set itself the goal of creating 200 new jobs over the next five years and supporting a further 200 in the two districts, by developing new activities that meet the unmet needs of local residents and businesses, without competing with existing ones. The issue of inclusion is an integral part of the association’s operations and objectives.
Organized around four clusters – Food, Services for residents and businesses, Reuse, and Nature – Hauts Val & Co plans to create a grocery store and community café, a bicycle recycling center, while also organizing events around the lake Lac des Garrigues and providing a concierge service for residents and businesses in the Euromédecine Biopôle science park.
In addition, two olive groves will be restored and returned to production, and other new activities will follow. In addition, the new jobs are to be filled exclusively by people eligible for jobs created under the zero unemployment program, all of whom are volunteers.
“I decided to get involved because I’ve had a lot of difficulty finding a job due to my hearing loss and my age. I am therefore delighted to be part of the process,” says Sylvie Besnard, one of the new recruits at Hauts Val & Co. She concludes: “EBE director Victor Delescluse has even started learning sign language, which just goes to show how caring the whole process is.”
