Across the EU, we recognise that the health, sustainability and competitive edge of our economies depends on our young people entering and retaining meaningful employment and the appropriate skills to adapt to the new demands of the labour market. This understanding is highlighted in the EU economic strategy “Europe 2020” and embedded within the detail of its various flagship Initiatives such as: “Smart Growth: Innovation Union”, “Youth on the Move”, which among other things seeks to better equip our young people to achieve successful employment in adulthood and the “New Skills for New Jobs” agenda. This 30 month project seeks to address the new challenges in the labour market by exploring all the factors above & developing practical, user friendly and transferable solutions by nurturing & capitalising on the good work already happening in the partner countries and across Europe. By the same token, local economies also require specialist research to ensure the labour market is adequately served. As stated by The UK Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities makes clear in the English Apprenticeship 2020 vision, "Nobody understands the skills employers need better than the employers themselves. That is why we are placing them in the driving seat. They are designing apprenticeships so that they focus on exactly the skills, knowledge and behaviours that are required of the workforce of the future".The target group in this project are organisations and employers that work directly with young people who are facing significant challenges securing meaningful careers, as well as the young people themselves who often need extra guidance when making the transition from education to the world of work. The preparation and guidance for transition from education to employment readiness is a key focus of this project. To support this notion and develop new approaches to handling this transition process are the main objectives of the training elements in this project and also why we are also seeking employer, SME and other professional voices. Cedefop Director James Calleja said: ‘SMEs, who are drivers of economic growth and job creation, are natural partners with vocational education and training (VET) which provides the skills they need."By gaining a unique level of access to young people who in the process of transition from education to work, we can get invaluable feedback about the State of the Art pertaining to Career Guidance whilst working together to develop new approaches matching the ever changing nature of the job market to the vocational skills of those entering work.We will create a suite of modular resources, testing tools, a training framework and CPD training packages and pilot test them in real training situations with career guides and trainers, and upwards of 200 young people. Materials can be adapted by partners to fit different sectors and educational levels. We hope to run several events to maximise the interest in the final tools and share them with local, regional and international actors. Socio-economic challenges in all of the partner countries mean that new ways to guide and steer young people into a stable working life, to avoid transient career choices, spiralling debt and reliance on state support; towards a better standard of living, can in someway contribute to a more harmonious society. The unique experience of the partners and their level of access to different target groups; youth, higher education, trainees, apprentices, volunteers, school leavers, unemployed and those pursuing a vocational education or re-entry to the labour market, will ensure not only a truly transnational project and outputs, but also ones that are adaptable to different socio-economic and educational groups.The migration of labour and the free movement of people within the EU should make the project's inter cultural findings and activities more pertinent in all of the partner countries. This experience and the import / export of new approaches dealing with a rapidly changing labour market with new skills demands, can help organisations and communities meet the need to prepare 'Generation Y' with the new skills and approaches for work readiness. Before the project started, partners conducted research to establish a need for the project in each country and to lay the foundations for future activities. The findings of these eight reports highlights the need more a consistent, yet adaptable approach to guide people at a vital stage in their lives.Every year we hear in the media about different approaches to education internationally with much political posturing, however by simply taking the best approaches from the partner countries in a pilot such as this, we can directly benefit the Career Guidance and Vocational preparation on a local, regional and international level whilst bringing together a diverse range of partner organisations with a range of experiences.
Across the EU, we recognised that the health, sustainability and competitive edge of our economies depends on our young people entering and retaining meaningful employment and the appropriate skills to adapt to the new demands of the labour market. This understanding is highlighted in the EU economic strategy “Europe 2020” and embedded within the detail of its various flagship Initiatives such as: “Smart Growth: Innovation Union”, “Youth on the Move”, which among other things seeks to better equip our young people to achieve successful employment in adulthood and the “New Skills for New Jobs” agenda. However, the EU’s performance in successfully fostering the entrepreneurial spirit and supporting those entering the labour market often lags behind other systems and endangers us in comparison to some of our global competitors. It is also the case that comparative performance of member states & their regions in this regard is variable across Europe, suggesting significant scope for learning from each other and for spreading best practice across the EU. The APT project sought to address the new challenges in the labour market by exploring all the factors above & developing practical, user friendly and transferable solutions by nurturing & capitalising on the good work already happening in the partner countries and across Europe especially in apprenticeships. We recognised that local economies also require specialist research to ensure the labour market is adequately served. The target group in this project were organisations that work with primarily young people facing challenges securing meaningful careers, as well as the young people themselves, who often need extra guidance when making the transition from education to work such as apprentices. The terms Generation Y, Millennials, and NEETs are often used to describe a generation who face growing challenges in society, life and work. The transition from education (in its various forms) to employment and work readiness were the key focuses of this project. To support this notion and develop new approaches to handling this transition process were the main objectives of the training element in this project. By gaining a unique level of access to young people who in the process of transition from education to work, we gathered invaluable feedback about the State of the Art pertaining to Career Guidance whilst working together to develop new approaches matching the ever changing nature of the job market to the vocational skills of those entering work. Socio-economic challenges in all of the partner countries meant that new ways to guide and steer young people into a stable working life, to avoid transient career choices, spiralling debt and reliance on state support; towards a better standard of living, can in someway contribute to a more harmonious society. The unique experience of the partners and their level of access to different target groups; youth, higher education, trainees, apprentices, volunteers, school leavers, unemployed and those pursuing a vocational education or re-entry to the labour market, ensured not only a truly transnational project and outputs, but also adaptable outputs to different socioeconomic and educational groups. The migration of labour and the free movement of people within the EU ensured that the project's findings and activities were more pertinent in all of the partner countries. This experience and the import / export of new approaches dealing with a rapidly changing labour market with new skills demands, stands to serve organisations and communities meet the need to prepare emerging workers with new skills to achieve work readiness. Partner conducted secondary research to update of the State of the Art in each country to lay the foundations for the future project activities. The findings of the reports highlighted the need for a more consistent, yet adaptable approach to guide young people. Simply taking the best approaches from the partner countries in a pilot such as this, directly benefited Career Guidance and work preparation on the local, regional and international levels, whilst bringing together a diverse range of partner organisations. The impact of the materials has the potential to be significant, with the materials freely available to a range of stakeholders. We have estimated that over 300 young people have accessed the resources, whilst the events attracted great interest from parents and careers guidance professionals. The input and video testimonies demonstrate the need for more/better career guidance in the partner countries and that bring employers into the debate is of a significant benefit.