Filip Polhoš (62) worked as an auxiliary bricklayer for most of his life in different companies. But with age come health problems, mainly a sore back; finding a job becomes difficult. For the last seven years, he has been registered with short breaks with the Employment Office in Chrudim.

Here, Mr Polhoš learned about the charitable trust CEDR Pardubice, which implements a project called The Job Market Available for Everybody - To Success through Development. The project is financed from the Operational Programme Employment and helps people unemployed on a long-term basis and have a disability or are handicapped to return back to the job market through retraining.

“The project started in January when we admitted about ten persons interested in a course called Maintenance of Public Greenery. Mr Polhoš showed large motivation and the will to work from the beginning,” tells Markéta Sámková, the project manager. The participants in the project went through professional diagnostics and a motivation programme, first they discussed with professionals e.g. the bases of communication, rights and obligations of disabled persons in industrial relations or financial literacy. “The retraining course lasted almost one hundred hours and took place in one garden centre in Hradec Králové where they took care of roses, planted trees,” describes Mr Polhoš. He was a bit experienced in maintaining greenery because in the past he worked for the Municipal Office in Slatiňany.

The condition to successfully pass the retraining course, which was free for the participants, was not only a final exam but also at least 80% attendance. Mr Polhoš passed the exam with excellent results, and now he has a certificate which he can use in the future. In July, he and the others started looking after the famous racecourse in Pardubice - part-time 4-hour job from Monday to Friday in any weather but he receives a wage for the work he performs.

The project is designed so interested persons can obtain not only retraining but they could also try their newly acquired knowledge in practice. Due to the long-standing cooperation between CEDR and the management of the Pardubice racecourse, it was obvious that “training” took place on the grounds of the most famous Czech racecourse. "There is still a lot to be done here," Mr Polhoš looks around the large grounds. "We rake leaves, weed, in short - we do what is currently needed to be done," he adds.

“The training workplaces are designed for three months. Due to this the graduates will obtain the necessary practice and will be closer to a regular job position,” adds Markéta Sámková. “Because Mr Polhoš is good, we agreed that he will be working for CEDR in the next four months, so by the end of January 2018,” she adds. “I am thankful for work; work is ennobling and at the end of the day - what I would do at home,” closes the energetic man in his sixties with a smile.

The project also offers retraining for the positions of cleaning jobs for administration areas and sewing interior furnishing.