Through the deployment of our proposal, our primary objective was to support disadvantaged groups, particularly NEETs, migrants, and immigrants, in becoming active community members and participants in the labour market. We aimed to achieve this by enhancing their networking and soft skills, crucial for building social capital and improving employability. Specific goals included developing an accessible networking self-assessment tool, designing tailored learning paths, and creating a training guide for practitioners. These resources help participants assess and strengthen their networking skills, empowering them with the confidence and abilities needed to navigate social and professional environments. By piloting these tools across partner countries, we aimed to foster inclusive practices, document successful case studies, and establish a replicable model to support long-term social inclusion and employability across Europe.
The decision to apply the project SHAREN(E)ET was based on a perception that there exists a transnational need to tackle the critical issue of "skills mismatch" affecting disadvantaged groups across Europe, especially NEETs, migrants, and immigrants. Currently, Europe has at least 80 million workers that are either overqualified or under-qualified for their roles. As so, and considering data from OECD, this is a particularly pronounced challenge across Europe. This mismatch limits economic growth and poses significant barriers to social inclusion, impacting disadvantaged groups’ ability to integrate and thrive. Our proposal was aimed to respond to these needs by focusing on developing essential networking and soft skills for NEETs and migrants, empowering them to build social capital and better access opportunities. Through these skills, we believe that they will be more equipped to integrate into their communities, improve their employability, and enhance their overall quality of life. Additionally, the cooperation deployed through the project seeks to share best practices and innovative training methods throughout partner countries to strengthen these competencies and improve inclusion on a European level.