Positive career guidance for low skilled adults Erasmus Project

Project Title

Positive career guidance for low skilled adults

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 adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

Although Europe has been recovering from the high unemployment of the recent years, the general lockdown, and consequences of the COVID-19, will have a significant impact on local and global economies. The International Labor Organization estimates that more than 25 million jobs will be lost in the coming months, as a result of the outbreak. Current data show that by the end of 2019 the unemployed individuals in EU-28 were 15,475 million, from which the majority (12,251 million) belonged to the euro area (EA-19). From all the EU member states Greece demonstrates the highest unemployment rate (16.6% in October 2019), followed by Spain (13.7%). In the UK whilst the unemployment rate for 2019 is estimated as low as 4% (Eurostat,2020), however there is a significant lack of support to Low Skilled Adults. At the same time, in Cyprus and Greece the percentage of adults participating in education and training programs in 2018 was around 6.7 and 4.5% respectively (Eurostat,2020), with the EU2020 benchmark at 15%.

Low-skilled adults have limited labor market prospects compared to other individuals with more qualifications (OECD, 2019). In Greece, low-qualified adults are more likely to work in low-paying sectors, earning lower than average wages, compared to high-skilled workers (Christopoulou & Monastiriotis, 2019). Unemployment has many psychological downsides, like feelings of low self-efficacy and self-esteem, increased anxiety, stress, and depression (Paul & Moser, 2009; Wanberg, 2012). Studies in European low-qualified adults indicate a need to develop strong feelings of self-efficacy (Barnes & Brown, 2016), psychological resilience (Tomassini, 2016), and professional support for their career development (Bimrose & Brown, 2014).

Career Guidance and Counseling, traditionally focuses on helping individuals implement their self-concepts in work roles, whereas Positive Psychology the scientific study of well-being explores factors which promote thriving and flourishing at the individual, community and societal level such as hope, optimism, self-efficacy, and resilience, all of whom have been linked with positive professional outcomes: well-being, job satisfaction, job performance, positive interactions and improved communication (Avey et al., 2010; Avey et al., 2011). There is also evidence that professional satisfaction has wider health benefits.

Study findings show that positive psychology interventions have numerous benefits for workers and unemployed individuals, while they also reduce stress and empower the unemployed to engage in continuous job search actions, identify and use their character strengths and ultimately achieve higher employment rates (Littman-Ovadia et al., 2014).

OVERCOME aims to enhance Low-Skilled Adults competencies and support their inclusion in the labor market and society. To achieve this, the project will aim on reinforcing to Low Skill Adults the main capacities below:
1. Employability Skills (creativity, critical thinking, goal setting, problem-solving, self-motivation, communication, teamwork)
2. Psychological Capacities by using the core principles of the Positive Psychology approach (optimism, hope, resilience, strengths, self-efficacy, calling and meaning).

OBJECTIVES:
– Build the skills of career counselors and adult educators to better support low-skilled adults
– Build the psychological capital of Low Skill Adults
– Develop resources with quality material, curricula, toolkits, and OERs to build the competencies of Low Skilled Adults and their educators/counselors.

To achieve these goals objectives, the OVERCOME project will develop a multifaceted toolkit and training courses that will address several psychological characteristics that revolve around the 4 core pillars of Positive Psychology. In addition, the toolkit will include a section on employability and upskilling pathways.

OUTPUTS:
To address the above objectives, the consortium will develop the following outputs:
– IO1: A toolkit for low-skilled adults to develop their psychological capital
– IO2: Training course for coaches/adult educators/career counselors
– IO3: Training course for low-skilled adults on employability and psychological capital
– IO4: An online learning space with resources

Two low skilled adult groups have been identified to better match the aims of the project: a) low-skilled unemployed adults, who will be supported in their job search
b) low-skilled workers, who will be empowered in terms of job retention.

OVERCOME help low-qualified job seekers acquire skills and qualifications, and thus enhance their personal development and increase intrinsic motivation and employability prospects, but also increase the sense of control and build resources that will improve performance and help low-skilled workers retain their job. The package can also be used by coaches and trainers who wish to empower and support low-skilled adults.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 251138 Eur

Project Coordinator

CANARY WHARF CONSULTING LIMITED & Country: UK

Project Partners

• The Rural Hub CLG
• ELLINIKI ETAIREIA THETIKIS PSICHOLOGIAS
• NEOPHYTOS CH CHARALAMBOUS (INSTITUTE OF DEVELOPMENT LTD)
• CENTRE FOR ADVANCEMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY LTD-CARDET
• Mindshift Talent Advisory lda