Connecting Changemakers To Candidates - Stage 6 Of Our New Open-Source Supported Employment Model
As part of our open-source Changemaker-Based Supported Employment Model, we’re moving to Stage 6, which explains how changemakers begin working directly with candidates — both when a vacancy already exists (VtoC)* and when a vacancy needs to be found (CtoV)*.
*For a detailed explanation of the “From vacancy to candidate”(VtoC) and “From candidate to vacancy” (CtoV) approach read our previous article.
This stage transforms candidate engagement into a structured, scalable process, ensuring that no motivated jobseeker is excluded — one of the core principles that guided the design of the model and all our pilots.
🔹 How changemakers connect with candidates?
Based on our pilots, we structured two clear pathways for establishing first contact while keeping the zero-exclusion principle at the center of the process.
1️⃣ VtoC: From vacancy to candidate - when there is already an open vacancy and a changemaker needs to engage suitable candidates.
A database of sources of candidates is created (NGOs, community centers, rehabilitation services, etc.).
Changemakers contact these organisations and share information about the available vacancies.
Source of candidates inform all candidates — without filtering or assessing employability potential.
Candidates contact the changemaker directly when they get interested.
If multiple candidates apply, all enter the process; when there are more candidates than capacity, a transparent queue mechanism is used. Candidates who are not selected for a specific vacancy continue in the CtoV process, ensuring no one drops out.
2️⃣ CtoV: From candidate to vacancy - when a vacancy needs to be found for a candidate. We use this approach only when we have a partner NGO.
There are several methods to establish first contact:
Group meetings: a changemaker meets 8–10 motivated candidates together with an NGO specialist. This is an informal conversation-based introduction, not a selection step.
And | or sharing profiles/resumes: candidates send CVs to changemakers; all motivated candidates remain in the process.
And | or Individual face to face meetings: changemakers can meet potential candidates and assess their motivation and self-management skills.
Upon finding a potential vacancy, the changemaker immediately takes the candidate into individual support and informs other changemakers and the coordinator to avoid duplication.
“It’s very important that the model emphasises the zero exclusion principle. When more candidates want to join the process than the team can support at once, the model must clearly describe how the queue is managed — otherwise there is a high risk of cherry-picking.” — Andreas Nyhlén, Supported Employment expert and CEO of Misa Kompetens, WiljaGruppen.
Next, we’ll move to Stage 7, where we explain how changemakers begin working with employers and anchor employers — and how these collaborations help reduce the cost of a project.