North Macedonia’s, Italy’s, and Romania’s labor markets are characterized by poor economic activity and high unemployment rates, especially among youth. The current COVID-19 pandemic only serves to accentuate this trend. Young people, in particular, were and will be denied in the labor market. In the overcrowded labor market, economic integration through supported employment services and training is the only viable option for young people.
The YEI team recognized this and teamed up to make this project happen. But who is the team? It is three organizations from three different countries with vast experience in projects who decided to work on this problem. InCo – Molfetta from Italy, Asociatia Tineri pentru Comunitate Bistrita from Romania and LAG Agro Lider from N. Macedonia.
The Youth Employment Initiative project was designed with the goal of sharing knowledge and experience through youth integration into society and the labor market, with a focus on producing new tools that can be utilized by young people and their educators made in a way to assist them in daily life and work.
The YEI initiative aimed to reduce the number of young people who are not engaged in education, employment, or training by providing supported employment services delivered by youth coaches. In order to do this, the team made a precise plan in several meetings, came up with ideas, and found experts in the field of Youth Employment.
After more than a year of working on this project, the YEI team held a training course for youth coaches where we delivered workshops as well as provided materials that youth coaches are able to use after the project ends and can be easily accessible distributed. All of the plans were carefully made and adapted for the beneficiaries. We made sure the youth coaches worked together and in-person with them in order to provide the best results! Considering this project took place during pandemics, additional training was done through Zoom.
Besides all of the materials, we also wrote and published a detailed guidebook along with an elaborate explanation of the idea, the organization, and the project flow, we also included recommendations, considering there is still much more to be done regarding this topic. You can find the guidebook on our page (https://project-yei.eu/__trashed/ ).
Today, the YEI team is proud to say that we managed to provide a fresh approach to young people and their coaches, which they can use and benefit from for the rest of their lives.
The abilities of young people to obtain and keep a job were developed in order to be able to better integrate themselves into society and the labor market. This is extremely important along with acquiring the proper skills.
Beneficiaries of this project are the young people and vulnerable youth as well as the youth coaches, but also, even seemingly small, there is a contribution to a better socio-economic, inclusive, and sustainable society.
It is important to note that this project would have not come to light if there wasn’t been support from the National Agency for European Educational Programmes and Mobility.
We would also like to thank everyone involved in this project, starting from the engaged organizations, the youth coaches, and the youth themselves, for making it happen. Special appreciation goes to Wien Work, for their guidance and advice throughout the project.
We hope that by providing innovative ways and approaches and by making materials accessible, more organizations will follow up, contribute and jump on board to help lower the unemployment rates among youth, vulnerable youth as well youth with disadvantages.