The I-Career project aimed to transfer, adapt, and implement an integrated training program (materials and methodologies) to develop the soft skills of vocational students while reducing the gap between the skills required in the labor market and those offered by VET education. The objective was to address the mismatch between marketable skills and those provided by VET. The i-Career results were developed to achieve this goal by providing training materials to VET students, their teachers and job counselors, as well as job seekers. We focused on critical challenges such as a lack of awareness of labor market requirements, inadequate qualifications, low self-esteem, and a deficiency in soft skills, including problem-solving and decision-making. The project was designed to enhance the employability of vocational school students and equip counselors to help them compete effectively in Europe and beyond. Through cooperation within a diverse consortium (VET schools, local authorities, private companies), we wanted to increase the educational institutions’ abilities to collaborate with the business sector.
Many VET graduates, especially from rural areas and poor families, struggled to continue their education and sought employment. They faced obstacles such as overly specific qualifications that didn’t match labor market demands, lack of awareness about opportunities, low self-esteem, emotional challenges, and limited soft skills like communication and decision-making. As a result, many became hard to employ, often missing out on active labor market programs. Without proper support, they risked long-term unemployment and deepening social exclusion. The project addressed these challenges by offering a more holistic, individualized, and flexible approach to the complex problems of unemployment among VET school graduates in the modern, dynamic labor market to improve employability. It focused on creating synergies between education and business sectors, developing tools to identify skill gaps, and equipping teachers with knowledge and resources to better prepare students for the labor market. The project aimed to improve employment prospects for low-educated, inexperienced youth from rural and disadvantaged backgrounds by enhancing VET graduates' soft skills and adapting education to fast-changing work environments.