Project report
Origin of the project
This year, Youth Progress implemented Erasmus+ mobility project called Generation Next: Empower Your Career Success!. As the project is now coming to its end, hereby we would like to present its conclusions.
According to the latest data from Eurostat, the unemployment rate in the EU is currently around 6% (the same applies to youth unemployment ratio), which is on the verge of a healthy unemployment rate.
However, in the nearest future it is expected that the European society will face new challenges in the labour market, such as labour shortages and skill gaps for both high skills and low skills occupations (due to challenging working conditions and difficulties in some professions, lack of high skills, green transition, digital transition, the lower labour market participation of some parts of the population (women, migrants, youth etc.).
Now what can be done to get ready for the upcoming challenges in the European labour market?
First of all, workers need to become more flexible and adaptable to evolving skill needs (green skills, digital skills, social skills and more) and this may require their participation in adult learning opportunities, trainings and further qualifications to keep up with the current labour demand. The project Generation Next was created with the prerequisite that young people in Europe need to become aware about the upcoming dynamic shifts in the labour market and ready in order to succeed and close the gaps.
The project Generation Next: Empower Your Career Success! therefore tackled the issue of youth unemployment in Europe and defined several crucial steps that can help young people improve their position in the labour market → the project aimed to help the young people define their potential role in the current labour market, identify their own goals and what they need to achieve them, become aware of their own values and develop a skillset that is crucial to pursue their individual goals.
Some of the crucial skills to succeed were identified (based on research) as:
- the ability to create valuable social connections
- confidence and a sense of self-worth in order to take risks
- ability to develop initiative, take control and act as leaders.
The main objective of the project was to help young people improve their position in the labour market and this was accomplished through specific objectives:
- to discuss causes of youth unemployment and the needs of local markets and seek individual solutions for employment;
- define individual roles and goals of the young people in the current labour market situation;
- obtain and develop crucial skills to succeed in the labour market;
- improve the young people’s ability to take leadership and initiative as well as their entrepreneurial attitude;
- raise awareness about personal development and career opportunities for young people in Europe
- strengthen networks and relationships of youth across Europe.
The youth exchange
The project Generation Next: Empower your career success! was implemented through a youth exchange that took place in the Czech Republic from July 1 to July 8.
The participants of the project were 35 young people from France, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania, Spain, Czech Republic and Turkey.
The structure and methodology of the activities was developed on several levels – one fully focused on their understanding of the labour market situation and problematics of unemployment, its roots and causes, when the participants engaged in research, discussions and teamwork to bring their own observations, conclusions and to suggest solutions to the challenges. Sessions consisted of polls, discussions and presentations. To wrap up the topic, we ran a session dedicated to sharing information and experience of some of the participants with European opportunities that are helping (not only) the youth to accomplish their professional goals.
Another level of activities focused on identifying individual needs, strengths and weaknessess and potential role in the laboour market, exercising entrepreneurial attitudes and discovering different methods to explore their potential, develop creative ideas and carry out their own initiatives. The participants took part in Dream job brainstorming, created their own mind maps for furture professional aspiration and used Walt Disney Creative Strategy to develop their own creative ideas. In the end, they learnt to outline their own team business plans and delivered perfect elevator pitch to attract potential investors in a fun creative Shark Tank. Last but not least, the participants had the opportunity to carry out their own workshops and activities to step out of their comfort zone, exercise their leadership skills and share their unique skills and know-how with others. Within the session, the participants organized a workshop on conducting CV and motivation letters when applying for a job opportunity, a workshop on creative writing, a language hub to explore the languages of other participants and more..
The last type of activities was fully focused on improving creative skills, boosting confidence and social connections among the participants, exploring and exercising their unique strengths, talents and skills and sharing them with others, learning to step out of their comfort zone, become more flexible, stress resilient and risk averse and able to work in a team, while creating valuable cross-border cooperation with their international peers. These activities included many creative and artistic sessions that brought some very nice outcomes worth sharing – throughout the exchange, the participants exercised their confidence, creativity and improvisation skills in theatrical improvisation games that were concluded in a final theater show performed by all participants. Not only that, the young people also participated in a poetry workshop in collaboration with Brno Arts Collective, where they used their creativity to compose poems in 7 different languages. These poems were later also used in music improvisation sessions, where together they created new melodies, using their own lyrics. The participants also engaged in a rhythmics workshop and dance & movement workshop, where at the end they created a dance video to the song they chose together (‘Another One Bites The Dust’ by Queen), all under the lead of a professional dancer. Another creative activity was movie creating and editing workshop, where the participants received tips and instructions on how to make a nice and catchy video and they worked in teams to create short movies on a given topic and genre (for example ‘How to become a leader?’ in a style of a comic book etc..) At the end of this report you can see some of the results. All results from the project can be found on Erasmus+ project results platform.
*We declare that this text only reflects views of the authors, and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use of the information contained therein.
Learning assessment
During the project, we let the participants evaluate the quality of their experience and asked them to self-assess what they learnt in the project months after the youth exchange. Here are some results:
- 65% of participants claim that the project helped them become more aware of their individual professional roles and goals;
- 74% improved their communication skills both in native language and in English;
- 78% improved their creativity;
- 68% are better at teamwork;
- 65% boosted their confidence and sense of self-worth;
- 71% are more able to develop valuable social connections;
- 65% improved their ability to take leadership and develop initiative.
Moreover, some participants also mention that the project helped them refine their CV’s and find courage to apply for a job they really wanted, consider new positions and options they wouldn’t have before and even launch their own little projects.
Words of the participants
“I really enjoyed the project because it enabled me to develop my listening skills, build relationships and learn to work as part of a team. There’s also the work on self-confidence and taking responsibility. The subject of the project was interesting for young people.”
– Glanida (France)
“The project helped me to feel more comfortable and confident, in public, but also personal relationships. We learned about youth employment in Europe, youth mobility and projects. The atmosphere with the group was amazing. We created incredible memories and I will always be grateful for this.”
– Claudia (Italy)
“From the first day I encountered and got into the project and met these amazing people, I knew that these 8 days were going to be a remarkable experience. With the program and activities this project offered us, we learned through practice,a practice which was not just professional but fun and included people from all around Europe where each have different mindsets but same positivity.
In the end, all of this would not be possible without the amazing and professional coordinators which brought us this knowledge and helped us in every moment.
The project was an amazing experience where I made so many great friends which I hope I will reunite with again. <3”
– Haris (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
“During these 9 days, I’ve learnt so much about my future. I’ve discovered how to change my focus so that my chances of finding a job improve drastically. Through workshops and learning sessions I have not only explored the labor market in other countries, but I’ve created business models, advertisements and even had job interviews. All of these experiences will be priceless to me as I join the workforce and face its challenges. I now feel more than prepared.”
– Lidia (Spain)
“Participating in this project has been an unforgettable experience that combined creativity, teamwork, and personal development into an exceptional learning opportunity. This is undoubtedly one of the best projects I have ever been a part of.
The project taught me many valuable lessons, most importantly the establishment of lifelong friendships and opportunities for future collaboration. The blend of research, interactive workshops, and discussions not only helped me identify the causes of youth unemployment but also equipped me with crucial skills and competencies to thrive in the labor market.
The sessions on EU study, work, and business opportunities were enlightening, and the activities designed to foster intercultural understanding and European values were truly enriching. I am immensely grateful for this incredible experience that has significantly contributed to my personal and professional growth.”
– Kenan (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Project outcomes
Among the most significant project outcomes, we should mention the theatre show made by the participants, their poems, dance video involving the whole group and short movies they made themselves. Most of the outcomes can be found in the project card in Erasmus+ project results platform.
Would you also like to take part in international European activity for young people? Follow us on social media to find out more about what we do, or contact us through e-mail info@youthprogress.eu and find out what you can do to become part of our international family!🙂
* Hereby we declare that this article expresses only the opinion of its authors and the European Commission is not responsible for the use of the information it contains.
