Recruiting Changemakers — The Fourth Stage Of Our New Open-Source Supported Employment Model
As the next step of our open-source Changemaker-Based Supported Employment Model, we introduce two of its key innovations — the Changemaker role and the Candidate-to-Vacancy / Vacancy-to-Candidate approach.
Together with Andreas Nyhlén, Supported Employment expert and CEO of Misa Kompetens, WiljaGruppen,, we continue refining how the model can connect candidates, employers, and social partners in a structured and scalable way.
Changemakers are at the heart of the model. They are local volunteer professionals who connect candidates, employers, and partner NGOs, helping all sides communicate, adapt, and achieve real employment results. By engaging trained volunteers with HR and communication expertise, we can launch and sustain Supported Employment projects efficiently — without proportionally increasing staff cost.
Depending on the context, we apply two approaches:
🔹 From vacancy to candidate (VtoC) — when an open vacancy already exists, and a changemaker helps to find and support the right candidate.
🔹 From candidate to vacancy (CtoV) — when the project starts from a motivated jobseeker, and a changemaker searches for an employer that would be ready to adapt or create a role for him.
Who are the changemakers?
The Type 1 changemaker (VtoC) supports candidates throughout their employment journey, helping them adapt to new workplaces and maintain sustainable job placements.
The Type 2 changemaker (CtoV) focuses on engaging employers, presenting candidates, and building inclusive partnerships.
All changemakers are expected to have a minimum of 1–3 years of experience in HR or related fields, strong communication and leadership skills, and motivation to work with people with special needs. Knowledge of the English language is desirable, as changemakers are planned to join a future international community.
“You can’t learn this job theoretically. A good job coach - changemaker - in this model needs to know how to engage with employers, speak their language and understand business values. In Misa Kompetens we look for professionals with real labor market experience — people who can connect social goals with employment results.” — Andreas Nyhlén, Supported Employment expert and CEO of Misa Kompetens, WiljaGruppen,
How recruitment works?
Recruitment happens in waves — short rounds of selection and onboarding — until the target number of active changemakers is reached. Each wave includes job postings, resume screening, interviews, and group introduction meetings.
An active changemaker is a changemaker who maintains at least one contact with an employer and one social service organization per week and makes at least one step of progress on the Changemaker Journey Map (CJM)*. Once this target is achieved, recruitment is paused, with additional candidates placed in a backup pool and interim results recorded for analysis.