Youth unemployment is one of the most important problems that have been facing European countries in recent years. While the general unemployment rate is 13,6% in Spain, 3,3% in Malta, 9,7% in Italy and 5,8% in Cyprus, youth unemployment rate is 30,9%, 10%, 29,6% and 15,2, respectively. At the European level, general unemployment in EU27 is 6,5%, while youth unemployment rises until 15%. (Data: February 2020, Eurostat). The situation is especially hard for young Migrants, Newcomers, Asylum seekers and Refugees. According to Eurostat, the youth unemployment rate for people that were born outside the European Union is always higher than people born in the EU. In 2018, the EU-28 youth unemployment rate for the native-born population was 14.6%, while the rates for foreign-born persons were higher: 23.5 % for those born outside the EU). In this context, UpGrad_Me 2.0 project pursues the following general objective: improve the employability of migrant youth, newcomers, asylum seekers and refugees at the European Union, through the promotion of labour orientation and career counselling, by using Video Games and gamification methodologies. To achieve this objective, the project will work with the following target groups: 1. Young Migrants, Newcomers, Asylum seekers and Refugees from 16 to 30 years old (young MNAR) 2. Professionals dealing with young Migrants, Newcomers, Asylum seekers in the career guidance and labour orientation field (career counsellors, educational advisors, youth workers, job counsellors and other related staff). The consortium of the UpGrad_Me 2.0 project is formed by four partner organizations from Malta (AMAM), Spain (SSF), Italy (Arciragazzi) and Cyprus (CARDET). These organizations work daily with young MNAR in different projects, providing labour orientation and career counselling as well as promoting their empowerment and supporting and upskilling them with different programs, some of them related with digital technologies. Partner organizations will actively involve their staff professionals and beneficiary target groups in the project. It is planned that the project will involve a total of 200 young MNAR and over 128 professionals in total, in its different activities. Also, we aim to reach at least 400 stakeholders and 18 associated partners among them. The estimated number of people reached through the multiplier events is 170 and through the various dissemination activities implemented is 1.000. To achieve its objectives, the partnership will develop the following intellectual outputs: IO1: UpGrad_Me 2.0 Research. Research will take place in order to discover the different skills and competencies associated with professional families, based on the European NACE system. The final aim is to elaborate a unified classification of professional families and the skills and competencies associated with them, to have a simplified structure that can improve career and job counselling by professionals and be easily understood by young MNAR. IO2: UpGrad_Me 2.0 Gamification Experience. The UpGrad_Me 2.0 Gamification Experience will be an online “Escape Room”. The contents will be created with the results of the Research (IO1). This Output will allow young MNAR to deeper know their different skills and competences, identifying possible vocations and professionals fields of interest. It will be directly accessed on smart-phones and other mobile devices, significantly increasing the chances of making a lasting impact on the target group and fostering self-awareness of own skills, competences and job preferences, and autonomy. IO3: UpGrad_Me 2.0 Career Guidance Handbook. Partners will develop a compilation of good practices and innovative methodologies about employability using gamification techniques. It will enable a holistic and transversal intervention of professionals with young MNAR improving their employability. The methodology addresses the needs of participants and introduces an innovative approach, the promotion of labour orientation and career counselling by using Video Games and gamification methodologies, that can be useful to avoid lack of motivation and encourage autonomy in the active search of employment in the labour market. The project expected to achieve different results: - Provide an unite analysis of the different professional families and the associated competences and skills. - Improve career and labour guidance by professionals dealing with young MNAR - Increase of self-knowledge and self-awareness of the own skills and competencies of young MNAR - Promote empowerment, participation and exchange of experiences of young MNAR and professionals. The dissemination and exploitation activities and multiplier events will ensure that the project is promoted and socialize with relevant stakeholders and professionals, in order to point out the importance of keeping working to promote social inclusion of young MNAR and promoting quality and innovation of youth work
UpGrad_Me2.0 aimed to improve the employability of migrant youth, newcomers, asylum seekers, and refugees (young MNAR) in the European Union by promoting career counselling and labour orientation through the use of video games and gamification techniques. We achieved: 1.A comprehensive study of the various professional families, along with the associated and relevant competencies and skills; 2.The creation of a career and employment guidance book for youth workers dealing with young MNAR 3.The Increase of youth self-awareness of their own abilities and competences, and encourage professionals working with them. 4.The Promotion of youth empowerment, participation and exchange of experiences of young MNAR and professionals. In order to promote social inclusion of young MNAR and promote quality and innovation of youth work, the project has socialised with relevant stakeholders and professionals at local/national level through dissemination and exploitation activities, multiplier events, and other communication means.
The UpGrad_Me 2.0 project arose as a result of the findings of the UpGrad_Me project (ID:2018-2-MT01-KA205-038523), which focused on fostering the personal brand of young migrants through the use of new information and communication technologies. UpGrad_Me 2.0 wanted to go further by converting the results of this project into tools that will allow for the labour orientation in an autonomous way through gamification. Employment rates of migrant youth are generally low, more so during recession, so applying for UpGrad_ME 2.0 was a priority, migrant youth could learn while playing a game. With CARDET joining the consortium, the idea of creating Escape Rooms came out easily to introduce the Information and Communication Technologies and Gamification methodologies. It was also important to make use of a tool already available at EU level, the NACE system, the categorization of the professional skills, that is a good identification of what a person can market to access employment. In a nutshell, the needs addressed were reduction of unemployment, easy career guidance, Learning through game, Diffusion of the NACE system of Categorisation of available professions, Labour orientation, Access to e-learning platforms by MNARs.