Context Youth experiencing social exclusion do not have training and resources tailored specifically to their needs. Despite this, in our experience many would consider setting up an enterprise but lack the self-confidence and know-how to go about it. Youth workers and others working in the field may refer to business advisers but usually these are not equipped to provide the special support and nurturing that socially excluded youth need. So most give up on this dream early on as they feel overwhelmed. The Take the Leap Project aims to fill this gap by developing, piloting and introducing a two-level workshop-based training program, and an innovative online Training Package geared sensitively to the specific needs of a young person facing social exclusion. Objectives • Workshops and one-to-one mentoring at (a) Level 1 - to address the barriers socially excluded youth face e.g. by boosting motivation, self‐confidence, entrepreneurial/creative thinking, personal skills recognition, communication skills, developing enterprise ideas, and (b) Level 2 – firming up these ideas, needs analysis, identifying key skills needed for success, unpaid work placements, and visits to successful start-ups • Sharing knowledge, skills, good practice and experience between NGOs in the training, coaching and mentoring of socially excluded youth in entry to entrepreneurship • The development of an open digital youth work entrepreneurship Training Package supporting socially excluded young people Participants (a) 300 youth facing social exclusion including such factors as poor mental health, long term unemployment (NEET), learning disabilities, social isolation, income deprivation, being ex-offenders and (b) At least 400 youth workers and youth trainers and others who provide support services to the above group Main Activities Creation of common brand for the project; further research into best practice; setting up and piloting of workshops; transnational meetings to manage the project and share experience, including an end- of-project conference; development of online training package; delivering a further 3 training workshops; testing, evaluating and final production of online Training Package; presentation via multiplier events in each country; planning dissemination; writing final evaluation Methodology Partner will lead on named areas, work via a Project Management Board through ongoing communication via email, Google Drive, Skype and face to face transnational meetings. Reference groups (including youth participating in the workshops) will trial the workshop training and the online Training Package providing feedback. Training will incorporate processes such as peer mentoring, 1:1 support, small group work, other student-centred approaches using team work, experiential problem-solving learning, building on existing knowledge. For all our events we will using social media/digital presentation technology (e.g. Mentimeter.com) to track progress and maximise involvement in project decision making. Regular monitoring will take place with evaluations of events supporting the mid-term and final evaluation/report. We will use the last few months of the project to disseminate more widely. A project finale conference will form part of the final transnational meeting and multiplier events will showcase the completed online Training Package in all partner countries. Results Results include (a) sharing, development and dissemination of best practice/new innovative tools in youth training tailored to socially excluded young people; (b) enhancing youth trainer's professional development, by using digital methodologies; (c) enhancing of transnational cooperation (d) direct training and support of socially excluded youth learners who have hitherto faced barriers to entering entrepreneurship (e) new digital resources in the form of our online Training Package geared to the specific needs of socially excluded youth Impact For the young people: personal development: improved skills, knowledge and awareness to start up as entrepreneurs. For the youth trainers and others who work provide services to young people: awareness of methods of training and supporting socially excluded youth to enter entrepreneurship; new/improved understanding of how youth are supported to enter entrepreneurship in other countries; improved practices in supporting and motivating socially excluded young people. For all: knowledge of the availability of other support provision and resources for youth regarding entrepreneurship - offered within their own country, within the EU and in Europe as a whole; knowledge of how to access this provision and these resources. The enhanced training and resources will benefit socially excluded youth across Europe as described above. We expect to have a stronger group of stakeholder organisations working together with policy makers in national governments in this field at a local, national and European level.
•To improve young people’s skills, experience and knowledge in relation to entrepreneurship •To support opportunities for young people in acquiring and developing key competences, including basic skills in order to foster employability, socio-educational and personal development, as well as participation in civic and social life. •To support groups underrepresented among entrepreneurs. •To increase youth workers and organisations capacity, competencies and professionalism by designing new methods and tools that will contribute to increasing professionalism, capacity and cooperation of youth organisations to provide effective support and training to young. •To further professionalisation and competences development of youth workers and organisations. •To improve youth organisations’ ability to facilitate entrepreneurship training, providing socially excluded young people with bridges to self-employment and enterprise. •To create more and equal opportunities for all young people in education and the labour market and business start-up. •To offer disadvantaged young people with fewer opportunities the support they need to build successful careers as entrepreneurs.
The project was initiated and is coordinated by Diversity Living Services (DLS). DLS is UK registered Company and charity that was set up to promote diversity and inclusion. Among their objectives is to create opportunities for young people who might otherwise feel excluded from the world of business. This underpins everything we have been trying to with this project. The world of business is an extremely unequal playing field. If you come from the wrong background you’ll find a number of barriers standing in your way. By offering training and support we aim to level things up. The rationale to initiate this project was that entrepreneurship offers a way to develop a sustainable economy, promote growth and reduce unemployment. However, many people feel excluded. Take the Leap Project aims to offer disadvantaged young people with fewer opportunities the support they need to build successful careers as entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship offers a solution which can create jobs, improve inclusion, social mobility and enhance the prospects of the next generation. In a world which is becoming more connected and reliant on digital, there is a host of opportunities for enterprising start ups. Europe’s future may depend on the extent to which it allows the next generation to embrace those opportunities. The Take the Leap Project aims to fill this gap by developing, piloting and introducing online and face-to-face workshop-based training programme, and an innovative online Training Package geared sensitively to the specific needs of a young person facing social exclusion. Entrepreneurship training plays a crucial role in providing aspiring business owners with the key ingredients they need to be successful at the first time of asking. By so doing, we can level the playing field and give young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, some of the support their wealthier counterparts take for granted. If we are successful in this, everyone benefits. Young people will have a route out of poverty. In doing so they will drive growth and employment opportunities for the wider economy. Most of all, we’ll be unlocking the hidden potential within many people which all too often goes to waste. The projet was initiated to meet the following outcomes: •Trained young people with fewer opportunities have increased knowledge and skills to start up their own business through the self-enrollment to the training course. •Young people have increased confidence of starting a business as the result of improved knowledge of the challenges and how to overcome them. •Young people have improved motivation, practical knowledge and skills for entrepreneurship or start-up among young people with fewer opportunities •A new digital resources creating in the form of our online Training Package geared to the specific needs of socially excluded youth. •The training course will contribute to personal development for effective and successful start-up of a business. •Young people have acquired skills and knowledge about entrepreneurship and are able to start successful business •Young people will learning new skills and build confidence to start their own businesses, identify and use the opportunities available. •The training course provide best practices and skills in delivering entrepreneurship that can be used by youth workers and youth organisations •Youth workers and youth organizations have the training course as a tool to deliver training to young people with fewer opportunities •They have a new tool including methodologies for delivering entrepreneurship training for young people.