YouthPioneer promotes collaboration with stakeholders to understand the aspirations of young NEETs, improve their soft and entrepreneurial skills and empower them to play a key role in the contemporary economy.
Context
In an environment where job roles evolve rapidly, skills are the crucial factor for ensuring competitiveness and innovation. However, not all young people have had the opportunity to access appropriate education or develop the necessary skills, and are often faced with limited opportunities.
For this reason, it is crucial to offer targeted support, particularly to young NEETs, helping them to overcome these difficulties and enhance their transversal and entrepreneurial skills. This is the only way to prepare them for quality professional careers and to become active and aware citizens.
Objectives
- Promoting collaboration between local authorities, businesses, and youth organisations to address the challenges and opportunities faced by young NEETs.
- Understanding the aspirations of young NEETs through networking events and individual meetings with professionals.
- Enhancing the soft and technical skills necessary for young NEETs to succeed in the job market through mentoring, project design, and WBL.
- Empowering youth NEET to play a key role by engaging them in designing solutions for companies and by raising their awareness.
Activities
- International training for project partners for sharing and upscaling successful initiatives on multi-stakeholder approaches, fostering entrepreneurship skills, training on project design
- Exploration of young NEETs aspirations through the organization of networking events with NEET, companies, youth organisations and non-profit organisations
- Exploration of young NEETs aspirations through one-on-one meetings with youth workers/mentors
- Organisation of roundtables bringing together local authorities, representatives from company/labour market actor, representatives from youth organisations, to engage in meaningful discussions, share insights, and collectively define solutions to enhance the upskilling of young NEETs
- Implementation of a 1-month YouthPioneer Training & Mentoring Programme to prepare young NEETs to provide transversal and professional skills essential for the labour market
- Implementation of 3-months Learning by Working and Designing – Work Based Learning Experiences to foster young NEETs entrepreneurial mindset and practical experience
- Organisation of entrepreneurial pitch workshops to train aspiring NEETs entrepreneurs with the necessary skills and confidence to communicate their innovative ideas persuasively
- Development of young NEETs individual career guidance after the WBL experience to enhance their career opportunities and personal development
- Implementation of a Project Idea Contest to let young NEETs present their project designed during the WBL experience and to encounter companies or associations that are willing to hire them
- Organisation and implementation of an online and offline awareness raising campaign
- Organisation of exchange session with policy-makers and capacity building sessions with stakeholders to transfer YouthPioneer strategy and methodologies
- Organisation of a Job and Innovation Forum with young NEETs and stakeholders
Resources
- YouthPioneer Learning Model.
- Project design training programme with a focus on entrepreneurship projects for NEETs.
- Handbook on entrepreneurial pitch.
- NEET skill assessment tool.
- YouthPioneer Awareness Raising Campaign.
Impact
- Identified resources and support mechanisms to upskill young NEETs
- Enhanced capacity among project partners to effectively engage and sustain relationships with diverse stakeholders
- Empowered partners with the knowledge and tools to develop entrepreneurial skills among NEET youth, promoting innovation and supporting the development of start-up initiatives
- Enhanced capacity of youth organisations to deploy a project design training programme to empower NEETs with the necessary skills for their adaptability and creativity in today’s rapidly changing labour market
- Developed a project platform with YouthPioneer results, enabling partner organisations and other stakeholders to replicate YouthPioneer processes
- Developed young NEETs skills on project design, problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, planification, and leadership
- Gained practical knowledge and techniques of young NEETs to communicate innovative ideas persuasively
- Identified areas of improvement and acknowledged progress made by NEETs during the training and WBL
- Identified employment or entrepreneurship opportunities for young NEETs
- Increased soft, entrepreneurial, and technical skills for successful integration into the labour market or entrepreneurship of at least 90 young NEETs
- Improved efficiency and relevance of skill development system, ensuring a more targeted and impactful approach at the EU level
- Elevated community cohesion and support through a public-private strategy
Partners
- CESIE ETS (Italy, coordinator)
- Easi – Asociatia European Association For Social Inovation (Romania)
- Grantxpert Consulting Limited (Cyprus)
- iED – Institouto Anaptixis Epicheirimatikotitas Astiki Etaireia (Greece)
- INCOMA – International Consulting And Mobility Agency Sociedad De Responsabilidad Limitada (Spain)
- Municipality Of Botevgrad (Bulgaria)
