Lizette Hilaire only managed to be free for one day

Like so many others in the restaurant industry, Lizette Hilaire lost her job during the corona crisis. But she quickly got help from Min A-kasse.

As an employee in the restaurant industry, it was almost a foregone conclusion that Lizette Hilaire would be one of the many who became unemployed during the height of the corona crisis.

But the prospect of being out of work did not faze the energetic and determined Lizette.
"I'm a firebrand when it comes to my profession. I don't thrive without a job, I want to do something, develop and make a difference in the labor market. So something had to happen. Even though I knew it was uphill because of Corona," says Lizette. 

Lizette saw opportunities in a job with wage subsidies and contacted her unemployment fund. As part of an experiment with more responsibility for unemployment funds, Min A-kasse is focusing on getting unemployed members into jobs already during the member's notice period. So job and career advisor Gitte Hedegaard was ready to help.

"Gitte contacted the job center. I had feared that the paperwork and contract were something that could drag on for a long time and that I would miss my chance. But I only managed to be unemployed for one day thanks to the great commitment of the unemployment fund," says Lizette.

Ongoing sparring with the unemployment fund

The basic idea of the unemployment fund experiment is that the unemployment fund holds the interviews that the job center would otherwise have to hold with the unemployed. This way, unemployed members do not have to spend time attending both the job center and the unemployment fund. This allows the job search itself to be more in focus.

Although Lizette had now secured a wage subsidy job through the unemployment fund, the goal was still to land a permanent position. Lizette and Gitte kept in frequent contact so they could keep a pulse on her situation. Was she doing well in the salary subsidy job? How could she use her personal and professional skills to move forward? Was she ready to take the plunge into a completely different industry if the opportunity arose?

"Sparring with Gitte has been invaluable. I'm thrilled with Min A-kasse's very personal approach to their members and their eagerness to get members into jobs. I've become even more aware of what my strengths are and where I can make a difference professionally. And throughout the entire process with Min A-kasse, I felt 100% confident that the right job was waiting just around the corner," says Lizette. 

And it did. In June 2021, Lizette went directly from the wage subsidy job to a new and this time permanent position - as Key Account Manager at Renz, a company in the metropolitan area that develops, produces and markets mailbox systems and parcel post systems.

Extra focus on the personal relationship

At Min A-kasse, job and career advisor Gitte Hedegaard is also very positive about the unemployment fund trial. 

"We always strive to establish a personal relationship with our unemployed members. With the contact process in the unemployment fund trial, it will be even easier to get close to the members and bring our guidance skills into play in a way that creates value for the individual."

"It makes me so happy every time we can support our members in landing a job. And not just any job, but a job that the member is passionate about and that makes sense in terms of their future career," says Gitte Hedegaard.