BEST Institute for vocational training and personal training GmbH

Youth2Work

A tailored support programme to enable NEETs to gain valuable soft skills and competencies to aid job-seeking employability

Background

Youth unemployment is a serious concern across Europe, which could result into having a “lost generation”. Partner countries in Youth2Work (Y2W) include some of the highest youth unemployment rates in Europe (Greece, Portugal, Italy). The worsening of the current economic crisis and funding cuts for programmes helping young unemployed people into work, means that there is even less support available at this crucial time.

Research shows that certain social, economic and personal factors increase the effects of “Not being in Employment, Education or Training (NEET)”. These include having a disability, gender, coming from an immigrant or migrant background or living in remote areas. There is little targeted support for these subgroups, which require much more specific support to help with their individual needs to access the labour market. Y2W provides a tailored support programme to enable NEETs to gain valuable soft skills and competencies to aid job-seeking employability.

Aims and target group

Y2W aims to transfer and adapt an innovative support methodology developed in the UK, the Career Circles (CC) to meet the needs of the target group of disadvantaged young NEETs. Pilot circles will be run in partner countries to test the methodology, including Career Kits.

Y2W has two main target groups: young disadvantaged NEETs and VET trainers supporting them. Y2W will have significant impact on both groups: short term (in terms of immediate beneficiaries) and long term (through the empowerment of learners, project dissemination and networks created). The training needs of young disadvantaged NEETs will be disseminated to other stakeholders, such a policy makers and youth workers, to further improve the provision of EU support for this group.

Outcomes

  • Training needs analysis
  • Transfer of the Career Circles to Austria, Italy, Portugal and Greece
  • Online community: Net:Work
  • Career Kits
  • Final Conference
EU-Program: Leonardo da Vinci-Transfer of Innovation
Coordination: ECAP Foundation (CHE)
Contact: Helmut Kronika
Duration: October 2012 - November 2014
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.