Within youth work characterising youth transnational initiatives carried out within EU Youth Strategy by means of non-formal and informal learning processes delivered in different forms and settings at local, regional, national, and European level, it takes on great importance the issue of the “coach”, i.e. the resource persons supporting young people for carrying out youth initiatives, to accompany groups of young people, facilitate learning process and support their participation. Although fundamental resource person for supporting -remaining outside the youth initiative- the group of young people in preparation, implementation and evaluation of their project, sustaining quality of learning process and providing an on-going partnership designed to help the group in producing fulfilling project results, and despite many education and training providers offer learning opportunities in this youth work field, the competences characterising the supporting activities and tasks provided by the “coach” are not yet defined within EU countries and, across Europe, learning systems for youth work professions show a wide range of profiles and figures, qualifications and diplomas, often not clearly defined in terms of learning outcomes but frequently regulated, in terms of access to education and training opportunities, in ways limiting mobility beyond systems “borders” (confines of national and regional learning systems; barriers within different economic and professional fields; obstacles concerning recognition of learning outcomes, particularly those coming from informal and non-formal learning). The lack of a competence standard for coaches supporting youth initiatives, defined applying EU principles and tools for transparency and recognition of learning outcomes and qualifications, has both a direct impact on youth work labour market, limiting learning and work opportunities for the coaches, and their mobility across EU youth work contexts and learning systems, and a relevant indirect impact on quality of learning process experienced by the young people engaged in youth initiatives and on the production of fulfilling results in these projects. Considering this situation and addressing these needs, education, training and youth organisations, in collaboration with public sector bodies, community and civil society organisations, in different EU countries, sustain together an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership aimed to enhance the professional development of coaches supporting youth initiatives, by means of the development and testing of a new European competence standard established by MoU ECVET, and a transnational common curriculum applied through joint training events and mobility. The objectives pursued by the project are to: - analyse youth work professional field across involved countries, studies on competences needed for coaching in youth initiatives, and good practices already implemented to develop them, as well as to design common competence standards utilising EQF approach, and to ensure transparency and recognition of learning outcomes applying ECVET process; - capitalising and implementing these results, and applying the EQF Knowledge-Skills-Competences scheme, define the design of a common European competence standard for coaches in youth initiatives; - formalise, by means of a Memorandum of Understanding ECVET (MoU ECVET “Coach in Youth Initiatives”), the designed common competence standard, for establishing the correspondence for assessment, transfer, and accumulation of learning outcomes achieved within the project and, for the same competences, in other formal, informal and non-formal contexts too; - endorse the MoU within concerned NQFs; - design a common European curriculum (training standard) corresponding to the competence standard established by MoU; - design, organise and realise a coherent transnational joint learning programme (particularly through joint training events and mobility), to be tested within the project for allowing to at least 10 persons (4 Italian, 3 French and 3 Hungarian people experienced in coaching activities within youth initiatives, professionals in youth work field, people on youth work job market or training/studying for youth work), the recognition across involved countries of learning outcomes accordingly to competence standard established by MoU. It's expected that activities will enhance mobility and employability in youth work sector, contributing to the emergence of generally accepted competence and training standards, fostering the implementation of competences of people coaching youth initiatives (and, indirectly, the quality of learning processes experienced by young people engaged in youth initiatives, and the production of fulfilling results of those), as well as widening the involved public and private sectoral decision-makers and end-users, during and after the project, also through specific dissemination and exploitation activities, at European level too.
In the field of youth work, the role of the Coach, a figure that stimulates and follows the work and the goals of young people step by step, has long been of great importance. It is a highly qualified consultant, specialized in "existential training" and can provide tools and methodologies to focus on and implement projects of any kind, from personal development to sports, to working life. The Coach is also and above all a trainer and facilitator able to stimulate, in their interlocutors, all the motivations for achieving the goals; To identify the best solutions in the shortest time; To identify the talents and needs of the other. Various educational, training and youth organizations, in collaboration with public sector bodies, civil society organizations and civil society organizations in different EU countries, have supported an Erasmus + strategic partnership aimed at strengthening the professional development of Coaches, Through the development and experimentation of a new European competence standard established by the ECEV MoE and a common transnational curriculum implemented through joint training events and mobility. The project aimed at: - Analyze the professional field of young people in the participating countries, the results of the skills studies required for coaching in youth initiatives, as well as the experiences and good practices already implemented for their development, as well as the design of common standards of competence using 'EQF approach to ensure transparency and recognition of learning outcomes by applying the ECVET process; - Capitalize and implement these results and apply the EQF system to define the design of a common European standard of competence; - To formulate, through a Memorandum of Understanding ECVET (MoU ECVET "Coach in Youth Initiatives"), the common European standard for the creation of correspondence for the evaluation and transfer of the learning outcomes achieved in the project; - Design a common European curriculum (training standard) corresponding to the competence standard established by Mo ECVET; - Designing, organizing and implementing a coherent joint transnational learning program (in particular through joint training and mobility events) tested in the project to enable Coaches of Youth Initiatives and other interested people in the participating countries to recognize the results of ' Learning based on the standard skills set up by the MoU ECVET. The aim is that these activities promote mobility and the ability to become professional in the field of youth work, contributing to the emergence of a generally accepted standard of skills and training standards and promoting the implementation of the skills of people involved in the work 'Coaching activities of youth initiatives (and indirectly improving the quality of learning processes experienced by young people engaged in youth initiatives). In addition, the aim sought is to expand the number of public and private administrators and users Finalists involved during and after the project, through specific dissemination and enhancement actions, including at European level.