Through this project, we aimed to empower 20 youth workers and youth leaders to become qualified social coaches capable of supporting young people, particularly those with fewer opportunities, in developing mental wellbeing and 21st century competences. We designed a progressive, hybrid and long-term training pathway including three international training courses, supervision structures, and 1.5 years of monitored local coaching practice. Our objective was not only to train individuals, but to embed coaching into daily youth work practice across partner countries. Participants were expected to implement local coaching processes with young people, supported by supervision, peer learning and continuous monitoring. In parallel, we aimed to document the entire process through publications, a competence framework, webinars and an animated documentary, ensuring accessibility, translation and digital dissemination. The goal was to create replicable tools and evidence-based resources that can strengthen youth work quality at European level and sustainably enhance young people’s resilience, adaptability and personal development.
We applied for this project in response to the growing mental health challenges faced by young people across Europe,especially in the context of post-pandemic recovery,social fragmentation,displacement,and increasing uncertainty.Youth workers often lack structured tools and professional competences to effectively support young people in developing resilience,self-awareness,and 21st century skills such as critical thinking,adaptability,and collaboration.Our needs analysis across partner countries identified a clear gap:while coaching is widely used in corporate and executive contexts, it is rarely integrated into daily youth work practice in a structured and accessible way.There was also a lack of a shared European competence framework for youth coaching and limited supervision structures ensuring quality implementation.The project addresses these needs by introducing social coaching into youth work practice,training youth workers as coaches,supervisors and trainers,and developing practical tools,publications and evidence-based resources to support long-term systemic impact in the youth sector.