Volunteering for founders in the SINGA program
Zürich
Tutto l'anno
Imprenditorialità
SINGA is dedicated to providing people with refugee and migrant backgrounds with access to knowledge and entrepreneurial opportunities. We guide people every step of the way on the path to independence with programs tailored to each phase of building a business – from coming up with ideas to starting and growing a business.
Most participants in our programs are highly qualified holders of F, S and B permits. About 60% are women and 80% are parents who face major barriers to finding work in the Swiss labor market. Many have already spent years looking for the right job without success, or they’re stuck in roles that don’t match their skills – even though they were experienced professionals or business owners back home.
As a volunteer at SINGA, you’ll have the opportunity to assist these dedicated individuals on their journey – by mentoring them, connecting them with professionals or offering practical help with daily life. You’ll be helping talented individuals unlock their skills and open up new opportunities for them.
Duration:
- Experts: You’ll run a workshop once a year, depending on your schedule, interests and the program topic.
- Mentors: From April to June and from September to November, you’ll spend about an hour each week mentoring someone – around 10 hours in total. This is in addition to about 3–4 hours for introductions, training and other preparations.
Location:
SINGA Switzerland, Neue Hard 14, 8005 Zurich
How it will work:
- You first get in touch with us by email or through our contact form. After you've expressed your interest, we’ll arrange a meeting to get to know each other. You’ll then receive training related to the people we work with. If you wish, you can join us for a trial day, after which you can choose the type of volunteering that suits you best and start your first assignment.
- The program manager will check in with you along the way to see if you need support.
- At the end of the assignment, we’ll meet one last time to share feedback. If you’d like to keep volunteering, you’re welcome to sign up for the next round of the program.
Introduction:
At the start, all volunteers are given a one-hour interview and one-hour introduction, so they have all the key information and feel ready for the assignment.
Support:
Throughout your assignment, we’ll assist you with regular check-ins and a one-hour debrief at the end. You’ll also have plenty of opportunities to connect and network with other volunteers and program participants.
Tasks:
- Experts: Preparing and conducting a workshop.
- Mentors: Weekly one-hour commitment with one participant.
What you'll need:
- We welcome anyone who wants to get involved. We’re especially glad to have volunteers with business experience or an interest in entrepreneurship. If you know about design thinking, lean startup methods, or how to run workshops, that’s a plus – but not required. Coaching experience helps, but it’s not essential.
- We’re also keen to hear from experts in finance, law, accounting, sales, PR or marketing.
Image copyright Geoff Pegler
Lingua (del progetto)
Tedesco, Inglese
La missione di SINGA è fornire accesso all'imprenditorialità a persone che hanno affrontato percorsi di asilo o migrazione, attraverso una serie di programmi che coprono ogni fase della creazione d'impresa (ideazione, incubazione, accelerazione), per offrire una visione a 360° dell'imprenditorialità. A partecipare al programma sono principalmente titolari di permessi F, S e B altamente qualificati: il 60% è costituito da donne e l’80% da genitori che devono affrontare notevoli ostacoli nell'accesso al mercato del lavoro svizzero. Le persone che partecipano a SINGA hanno generalmente cercato lavoro senza successo per diversi anni o hanno ricoperto una posizione non corrispondente alle proprie qualifiche. La maggior parte di loro aveva un lavoro altamente qualificato o esperienza imprenditoriale nei propri paesi d'origine.