The EmployU project achieved to: • support marginalised youth by providing non-formal education through sport training & guidance, as a way of preventing social exclusion: 95 vulnerable young people were directly involved in local trainings in Bulgaria, Germany & Spain. • strengthen the key competences & basic skills of young people with fewer opportunities through sport methodology, improving their employability: 86% of the young learners involved in the EmployU activities reported better self-esteem, enhanced labour skills & competences. • empower & strengthen the role of youth workers, developing & sharing sport pedagogical methods, making them able to deal with inclusion and diversity: 18 youth workers were directly involved in international joint staff training. • build close cooperation between civil society, youth/sport organisations & local authorities, to ensure the active participation of all members of the learning community in supporting social & labour integration of marginalised young people: 110 stakeholders took part in youth forums as multiplier events & 9 cooperation agreements on the use of the EmployU training methodology were signed for further collaborations at local/regional level in the 3 partner countries.
The partners' research at application phase demonstrated that the Education Through Sport (ETS) as a non-formal educational approach, working with sport and physical activities, contributes to the personal development and sustainable social transformation. The EmployU project addressed the gap in the key competences of youth in any disadvantaged situation in Bulgaria, Germany and Spain, reflecting on the importance of the extra-curricular aspects of the ETS in view of the contemporary, multicultural European labour market. The local context of each partner region was considered at application phase in order to meet the local needs of the target groups, both youth workers and vulnerable youth. In this relation, the Bulgarian partner, which is used to work with ESL and NEETs complemented its activities with the educational aspect of the sport, targeting the development of key competences of the final beneficiaries. The German partner, working mainly with immigrants and ethnic minorities complemented its daily activities with the ETS approach. The Spanish partner, working with rural people and low-skilled applied new methodology of sport activities to develop the basic skills and key competences of disadvantaged youth in the region.