Our project aimed to: 1. reduce or prevent young people with a refugee or migration background from dropping out of vocational training 2. to increase the motivation to complete or start vocational training and thus reduce unemployment 3. empowerment of this target group through knowledge enhancement of problem solving, stress and self-management 4. to train and increase knowledge of VET teachers regarding the use of digital tools in order to increase the attractiveness of teaching to become a "digital teacher" with a special focus on mobile devices 5. increase the usage of digital peer learning methods and digital cooperative learning strategies in VET 6. transfer existing project results from SIMPLE and SIMPLY INCLUDED into new (digital) formats in order to increase the digital participation of students 7. contribute to a more inclusive digital education to prevent social exclusion of young people with migrant or refugee background from VET and the labour market 8. reduce the inequalities particularly in accessing and completing VET that were reinforced by the corona pandemic
Our motivation behind this project was to address pressing needs identified among young people with refugee or migration backgrounds in vocational education and training (VET). The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing challenges that disrupt long-term integration prospects of this target group. The most important of these challenges/needs, as identified by the partners through their daily work with this community, are: 1) the target group did not have the opportunity to participate digitally in online lessons due to a lack of devices 2) the target group lost their training place due to company closures as a result of long lockdowns, especially in the catering sector, and were unable to find a replacement 3) the target group could not be reached by support offers 4) the number of young migrants/refugees in VET decreased and the percentage of unemployment among the target group increased in the post-corona era