Programme: Easmus+ Learning Mobility of Individuals

Period: 01.08.2014-01.08.2015

Partners: ‘Youth for Exchange and Understanding International’, ‘SCI International’, ‘Out of the box’ – Belgium; ‘Krog’ – Slovenia; ‘TOG’ – Turkey; ‘USB’ – Greece; ‘Youth for Exchange Umbrella’ – Portugal.

Aim: The project focuses on increasing employability by supporting the project beneficiaries to acquire practical experience and learn how to apply skills that have been previously acquired in education schemes. The project brings together the diverse institutions and organizations providing learning opportunities (within formal and non-formal education curricula), active in the European field and on local level. The mobility work can motivate towards innovative solutions in the field of recognition of competencies but also will improve the quality of human resources.

Objectives:

  • To offer a practical connection between different institutions and organizations that are involved in one or another way in provision of educational and practical work experiences for people on the labor market
  • To promote the motion of practical work experiences and the learning that can be received within them as an idea which can increase not only mobility but also the lifelong learning of VET learners in the labor market. In this sense the whole project will not only be a mobility of several people but will also set a trend in how to support people in the labor market in Macedonia in general.
  • To increase employability of a VET learners who are job-seekers for within the first year. The practical outcome of the project would be to offer a better change for the beneficiaries to find a job after the project ends. Therefore a specific accent will be put on the follow-up stage of the project to put this experience in a real benefit, especially through acknowledgment of the learning outcomes.
  • To facilitate transfer and recognition of learning outcomes achieved abroad to achieve a qualification.
  • To promote the ECVET and to put a big accent on validation of the learning outcomes of the project participants/beneficiaries.

The work experiences on the other hand need to be transversely recognized and to improve the competitiveness of young people on the labor market. Macedonia has a very high percentage of unemployed youth among the total unemployment and several researches show that this is due to the lack of practical work experiences and attitudes to initiate one’s own employment. The mobility work can motivate towards innovative solutions in the field of recognition of competencies but also will improve the quality of human resources. Through this mobility the 2 key issues that are obstructing employment will be directly addressed:

  • The lack of practical experiences to gain qualification and increase ones employability on the labor market towards others.
  • The lack of entrepreneurial attitudes which often limits the people to use existing opportunities for self-employment.

The learners will be placed in the following organizations for the practical work experience:

  •  Zavod Krog, placed in Koper, Slovenia, is a non-governmental non-profit organisation that was founded in 2008 and operates in the field of humanitarian work, development cooperation, intercultural dialogue, human rights, social work, volunteering, education and culture. The organisation KROG is mainly working on the field of humanitarian aid and development, and has relevant experience in hosting and sending individual and group learning mobility projects.
  • Youth for Exchange and Understanding (YEU), placed in Brussels, Belgium, was founded in Strasbourg in 1986 by a group of 120 young people from 11 different countries. In 1989 the organization was recognized as a member association of the European Coordination Bureau (E.C.B.). Today the organization is a member of the European Youth Forum which is the independent platform for INGYOs and NYCs in Europe. The YEU has over 20 years of experience in organizing learning mobilities for young people from all over Europe and implementing several lifelong learning projects, especially dealing with policy change in the field of transfer of knowledge and networking with an organisations and institutions with different expertise. As part of the LLP programme, YEU has hosted and send over 15 interns and supported their learning and development.
  • Out of the Box International, placed in Brussels, Belgium, is a network which brings together different actors working on social innovation and advocating for a more creative Europe with a main mission to provide fresh ideas and solutions acting as a catalyst for positive changes across Europe and worldwide. Their main goal is to design innovative social projects to respond to the persistent social and economic challenges in order to empower people’s potential and facilitate their active engagement in society.
  • The Association of Service Civil International (SCI), placed in Antwerp, Belgium, is a volunteer organisation dedicated to promoting a culture of peace by organizing international voluntary projects for people of all ages and backgrounds. The SCI has over 90 years of experience in developing individual mobilities as a learning service. Within these years the organisations has supported thousands and thousands of learners to develop qualifications through practical work experiences. The organization has intense experience in implementing projects under EU community grant programmes and has relevant expertise in the field.
  • United Societies of Balkans (USB), placed in Thessaloniki, Greece, is a Non Governmental Organization, founded in 2008 by a team of active young people, socially sensitized, and with rich experience around voluntary programs. Main vision is promotion of youth mobility, youth involvement in volunteering and their further sensitizing around social issues. Focusing on youth, “U.S.B.” have so far organized training courses, youth exchanges and youth initiatives, at local, European and international level, bringing more than 300 young people, from all over the Europe, in Thessaloniki and Northern Greece.
  • Toplum Gönüllüleri Vakfı (TOG – Community Volunteers Foundation), placed in Istanbul, Turkey, was founded in December 2002. The Foundation contributes to the personal development of young people by encouraging them to participate in social responsibility projects as volunteers. In doing so, it increases young people’s community involvement on a voluntary basis. Every year the Foundation supports the realization of over 800 projects and activities implemented by about 30,000 young people in over 100 university clubs.
  • Youth Exchange Umbrella Ass. Juvenil (Youth for Exchange and Understanding), place in Faro, Portugal, uses non-formal education methods to increase tolerance and awareness between young people from different countries, cultures and traditions. The youth for exchange umbrella has expertise in lifelong learning project, piloting certification of youth workers as project related to the professionalization and recognition of youth work. Apart from this the organization has experience in organizing learning services for group and individuals in all over Europe.

The project will offer a balance of beneficiaries aiming to send recent VET graduates within the first year actively seeking for work and people who have followed a vocational education and training and are facing the same issue of unemployment. The project will aim to involve as many as possible youth with specific needs and circumstances. Apart of directly working with the Employment agency in Kumanovo, Skopje, Bitola and Tetovo the coordinating organization will insist on involving minority groups as beneficiaries as well.