Employability Tools Erasmus Project

Project Title

Employability Tools

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; Youth (Participation, Youth Work, Youth Policy)

Project Summary

Employability Tools is a project that addresses the need of strengthening local work carried out by stakeholders throughout Europe in developing and promoting employability of vulnerable groups, focusing on young people (often with fewer opportunities). This need, felt at a local level, is in line with the major European guidelines. Europe 2020 strategy aims for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, creating the conditions for youth to develop their skills, fulfil their potential, work, and actively participate in society. Successful labor market integration is a key aspect in unleashing young people’s potential and achieving EU2020 objectives, equally as in our direct local & regional needs and interests.
OBJECTIVES: (1) To create and develop 4 tools for employability: an App, an educational Board game, an interactive Planner and a Handbook for technical staff working with employability issues; (2) To contribute to the development of the quality of support systems for employability; (3) To increase youngsters disposition towards entrepreneurship, employability opportunities and recognition of personal and professional competences; (4) To foster the cooperation between different entities from different countries in different fields (NGOs, companies, public bodies); (5) To assist youngsters on their development of key competences towards employability using the tools developed, and with better qualified youth workers on that field.
PARTNERSHIP: This project brought together NGOs, public bodies and social responsibility companies, who had already cooperated and established a trustworthy relationship in the past. Partners came from Portugal, Belgium and Italy – DNA Cascais, Câmara Municipal de Cascais, Produções Fixe, Vzw Elegast Wijkwerking, Xena and Insight. The fact that Cascais was the European Youth Capital (EYC) in 2018, title awarded by the European Youth Forum, boosted the motivation to carry out this project and deliver results during the EYC year, thus enlarging the potential for visibility, dissemination and creating long term value.
ACTIVITIES: between September 2016 and August 2018, the following activities took place:
» General project management.
» Communication between partners.
» Quality checks and evaluation: control meetings, reports, evaluations.
» Financial control: expenses report, bank transfers, coordination control.
» 4 transnational meetings: Cascais (PT) in December 2016 – kick-off, get to know each other, setting the vision and procedures of the project, work on the outputs; Antwerp (BE) in June 2017 – testing the outputs, evaluating and planning ahead; Padova (IT) in December 2017 – development of the outputs, assess project results and plan adjustments; Cascais (PT) in June 2018 – launching event with Cascais EYC 2018, evaluation, planning dissemination and multiplying events.
» Development of the 4 intellectual outputs: concept development, technical development, first prototype / beta production, testing, feedback, improvement, producing final versions of the outputs.
» Project dissemination and visibility: creating image, promotional material, online promotion, contact with other stakeholders, press releases, events within Cascais EYC 2018, local presentations.
RESULTS AND IMPACT: This project generated 4 “EMPLAY” Tools, Open Educational Resources, which are useful tools for youth workers and employability workers, and are now already increasingly used by NGOs, local schools, social organisations and public organisations. For these, impacts are: increase in the knowledge about employability and entrepreneurship and strategies on how to develop young people’s competences; teamwork, self esteem, communication; a wider knowledge and visibility of E+ program; new views on the use of non formal education; positive attitude towards community building and networking. Young people (and also job seekers, people wishing to change career, etc.) are being targeted through these organisations, while others have been directly targeted by events or workshops developed by partners. Young people worldwide can also take advantage of using EMPLAY tools on their own, particularly due to the fact that some of the partners have extensive networks (e.g. Cité des Metiers or Organisation International de la Francophonie). Connecting this project with the implementation of Cascais EYC 2018 increased its impact at European level.
On a LONG TERM perspective, project results will contribute to a more sustainable, socially cohesive Europe, where young people can more successfully integrate in the labour market, fulfilling their potential. There was a clear expressed wish by Portugal’s Secretary of State for Employment to disseminate the tools to the wider employability structures, which can bring concrete unforeseen impact. At the moment, consortium received already a request for the production of 20 units of the boardgame Emplay, besides expressed wishes of other youth workers and institutions.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 109505 Eur

Project Coordinator

Agência DNA Cascais – Cascais Um Concelho Empreendedor & Country: PT

Project Partners

• Insight – education project design
• Produções Fixe Unipessoal Lda
• XENA CENTRO SCAMBI E DINAMICHE INTERCULTURALI
• Vzw Elegast Wijkwerking
• MUNICIPIO DE CASCAIS