CONTEXT According to OECD data, between 20 and 50 % of the students do not complete tertiary education, while many are at risk of dropout or even become active in unsustainable jobs. Moreover, the EU transitions towards a more digital and greener economy require young people entering the labor market, to have at least digital, entrepreneurship and career management skills. Career management skills (CMS) equip individuals with key competencies to better manage and develop their potential in education, work and life. But, the COVID-19 pandemic has seriously affected education and training activities across Europe in many ways, while also proved an important testing ground for online training and career guidance, as in-person services were not available. Not only this, but the crisis has also affected the employability of young people, as over one in six young people has stopped working since the beginning of the crisis. The project aims to address these issues by introducing personal branding as an innovative method in career management activities taking place through distance learning. OBJECTIVES -Improve young individuals’ career management skills so as to acquire a strong advantage in the labor market -Enable career management educators to use innovative pedagogies and methods for career management and skills training -Reinforce the cooperation between higher education institutions and career guidance services -Promote the Personal Branding model as a tool for developing career management skills PARTICIPANTS The partnership comprises two companies active in ICT-enabled E&T and knowledge dissemination, four Higher Education Institutions, and one NGO providing career guidance services. ACTIVITIES -Definition of most important personal branding skills, though the interaction with a significant number of recruiters HR departments, job agencies, and recruiters. -Definition of the most important actions for developing the personal brand through the identification of relevant courses in partners' countries. -Key traits definition through interaction with young individuals. -Development of guidelines aiming to assist career counselors/coaches, develop effective personal branding courses, directed to each individual's needs. -Development of a CV generator that will assist young individuals in creating a CV that will present their most strong skills. -Development of a Guide, aiming to empower career counselors/coaches developing activities in the field of personal branding, by using innovative digital technologies. -Organization of pilot activities in the form of hands-on exercises. - Set up the BRAND4CAREERS Community virtual space to support the project's adopters and practitioners. - Promotion of the Community and the project's outcomes through dedicated multiplier events. -Promotion of the project's activities in the envisaged target group through dedicated dissemination activities. -Implementation of exploitation activities aiming to reach interested parties after the completion of the project. METHODOLOGY An iterative methodology: three versions of the CV Generator will be produced, one in each iteration. After each iteration, the results are tested/validated and based on the conclusions the next iteration is planned. The iterative methodology applied is also facilitating the sustainability of the outputs through the incorporation of sustainability requirements at the design phase of the project outputs. RESULTS -Personal Branding Skills and Actions Identification -CV Generator -Guide on Personal Branding training IMPACT Tertiary education students will: - Identify their main skills and characteristics, which is important not only in their career path but also in their personal development -Improve their soft skills - Develop a successful personal brand that will follow them through their career -Define the job market relevant to their skills and knowledge -Be confident when applying for a job Career guidance counselors/coaches will: -Acquire new methodologies for assisting young people to foster their employability -Adopt digital technologies in their training -Acquire new skills and competences LONG TERM BENEFITS -Tertiary education students have a strong advantage when entering the job market -Tertiary education students have equal access to online training -Career guidance counselors/coaches gain new digital tools and learning methodologies for integrating into their own practices
The project has a dual purpose: firstly, to support career counselors in implementing "blended guidance" within online career management training, addressing the obstacles brought about by COVID-19. Secondly, to incorporate personal branding as an innovative approach in career management training, empowering job seekers to navigate their desired job market. Through the use of the CV Generator (https://brand4careers-cvgenerator.eu/pre-assessment), the project assists young individuals in creating a CV that will present their strongest skills. The Guide on personal Branding empowers career counselors to develop activities in the field of personal branding. It is a comprehensive guide and includes information from what personal branding is to how to use the CV Generator, digital tools and platforms.
The COVID-19 pandemic had seriously affected education and career management training across Europe. On one hand, the pandemic set the ground for online training and on the other hand, companies shifted to digital transformation. Even during the pandemic, young people had to be prepared to join the labor market and career management skills equip individuals with transversal competencies. BRAND4CAREERS is an innovative project to foster career management skills, to enable career counselors to use innovative and digital tools for career management and to promote the personal branding as a key tool for career management. Therefore, during the project we have produced the following results: - Identification of key traits: We identified the key traits of learners, and we connected them with actions and strategies. - CV Generator: It is an innovative online tool which “profiles” learners by identifying their personality elements and guides them to create their CV. - Guide on personal branding: A detailed guide which aims to help career counselors develop activities relevant to career management training. - Brand4Careers Community: a virtual space which supports synchronous and asynchronous communication