Article from the staff of Cité des métiers Porto (Keep in pact partner) about another initiative in lifelong career guidance.

Cooperation requires trust, multitasking and the ability to use and potentiate different competences to serve a shared purpose.

Here, at CdM Porto, it is usual to assume different projects in a co-shared mentoring.

One of which is D for Efficiency. The idea first came to life when we were defied by APPACDM, an organization that works with people with disabilities. The goal was to create a project that aimed to help professionals with some kind of disability. In fact, we were also thinking of designing a project that centered its attention over the employability of people with disabilities. From the first meeting, and with this shared and noble purpose aligned, it was easy to “call to action” some partners of our network. The first edition was held in 2019 and following its success, we are now in the 3rd edition and projecting a 4th one. In fact, in April 2022, RTP – the Portuguese public television network – just invited a project task force to explain the project in detail (see picture below).

It is not always easy to ensure cooperation and common alignment while implementing a project that hasn’t a formalised governing structure, but we found that we have gained in other levels such has agility to solve upcoming issues, as well as multiply resources to keep the project running, or even the informal sharing of different points of view and “hands-on” approach.

We certainly became richer by participating (and contributing) in joint projects such as D for Efficiency, and, best of all… we know the impact that this kind of initiatives have in the people involved.