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We reconstruct youth employment
We reconstruct youth employment
Start date: Dec 31, 2015,
End date: Jun 29, 2016
PROJECT
FINISHED
Over 5 million youth were unemployed in the EU-28 area in the 2nd quarter of 2014.This represents an unemployment rate of 21.7% while adult unemployment rate is 9% http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1036
EU is working to reduce youth unemployment and increase the youth employment rate in line with the wider EU 2020 targets of achieving a 75% employment rate for the working-age population. http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/europe-2020-in-a-nutshell/targets/index_en.htm
As youth workers, our mission is to eavesdrop on the needs of the young people and strive to address them through our activities. But what are the real needs of the young people when it comes to employment? What are their visions and aspirations? Which support measurements will have an impact on their employability and what topics should we address when implementing activities for them? In order to give answer to these questions, we joined forces with our partners and conducted a pan-European research with an aim to identify the real needs of young people when it comes to employment. The research involved an online questionnaire, with 2 different target groups: young people and youth workers. The partners disseminated the questionnaire among their network and eventually the questionnaire was answered by over 200 young people and over 200 youth workers from all EU member states and beyond.
Based on the results of the research, the majority of the answers between the youth workers and the young people overlap. This overlapping makes the results of the research stronger and calls out for a more concrete work in these fields. Young people and youth workers agree that
• Learning how to translate their experiences into competences
• Finding the right job for them, despite their studies
• Feeling empowered and confident about finding a job
are crucial elements for the employment of young people. By working on them, “We reconstruct employment”!
The vision of the project is a society where young people enjoy their rights related to employability and are active citizens. In order to achieve this vision, we endorse an evidence-based and bottom-up approach and suggest the project “We reconstruct youth employment”. Its aim is to train the youth workers to support the employability of young people. The objectives of the project are:
• To explore tools that translate young people’s experiences into competences
• To equip the youth workers with instruments that help young people to find the right job for them, despite their studies
• To work with the topic of self-empowerment and confidence when finding a job
The project is consisted of only one activity: a training course for youth workers from Programme countries. The training course will take place in Limassol, Cyprus between 21-27 of October 2015. It will gather 28 youth workers from Cyprus, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia and Czech Republic.
The training course will be based on the elements of experiential learning, self-directed learning and non-formal education (NFE). NFE endorses a participative and learner-centred approach, it is carried out by learners on a voluntary basis and therefore it is closely linked to participants’ needs, aspirations and interests. NFE is also based on the Kolb’s cycle of experiential learning in which participants’ experience is facilitated by the trainers in order to lead to learning. The trainers’ team is consisted of proficient users of non-formal education. The trainers will provide to the participants a broad arsenal of non-formal education tools such as role-plays, brainstorming, group work, simulations, theoretical inputs, discussion methods, outdoor education, theatrical games etc. All these non-formal education methods will be used in order to ensure the active participation of the youth workers involved. The use of NFE will help participants to get the chance to know each other, work together and share information. The working methods will stimulate participants’ personal, socio-educational and professional development.
The project will have a variety of tangible and intangible results. Intangible results refer to the knowledge and experience gained by the youth workers involved, their developed skills and their enhanced professionalism. The tangible results, refer to a video produced about the project and its final report which will be compiled into an online publication. The final report of the project which will include the results of the research as well as the way we will address them through the training course. Other tangible results can be articles and newsletters about the project and its outcomes. We believe that these results of the project will have a positive impact on the participating organizations, on the young people and on other youth organizations which will receive the report as well as youth work on European level. On a long run the project will help the young unemployed people to enter labour market