On the project meeting in Skopje (Apri 12th, 2018), participants from Bob, VCI and Krik organized a workshop to define the term “autonomous employment”.
They previewed autonomous employment as something that needs to be self-sustainable and where workers have the awareness of constant learning and personal growth. “Passion should be involved as well although it should not be the focal point”. They claimed that autonomous employment consists of innovation and readiness to take risks. The main distinction of autonomous employment from other employments has been seen in independency from the labour market. Besides legal, logistical and organisational predispositions that organisations should provide for autonomous employment, more effort should be put on “good mentors” – (necessary to provide good mentor support; main goal is that persons should have space for permanent personal and professional growth) and the continuous and systematic informing of the institutions about autonomous employment (educational institutions, employment agencies, etc.). Compering to other employments, autonomous employment also involves values and principles of work usually not present in other forms of employment. It doesn’t correspond with classical business and management paradigm and is not necessary self-employment but rather interaction and co-working with horizontal and solidarity relations (sharing work and profits: democratic discussions and decisions about the work, salaries, etc.).
The excerpt from Pedagogical Outlines for Emancipated Learning, the Intellectual Output of PYLE strategic partnership, that will be published by the end of the Year 2018.
Written by: Marta Gregorčič