Promote your Employability Erasmus Project

Project Title

Promote your Employability

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 Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; Overcoming skills mismatches (basic/transversal)

Project Summary

The project “Promote Your Employability” was based on existing partnerships of the cities/regions Halle Westf./Gütersloh and Valmiera and aimed at reducing skills mismatches in apprenticeships and on the job market in Valmiera and Halle Westf. Reducing the existing skills mismatches was an essential task as the knowledge and abilities of students and the requirements of companies did not correspond, or match respectively. Hence, many students could not be trained although many jobs were unoccupied. Increasing the students’ employability enabled them to better integrate into the local job market. This was true for our project group as our participants were selected by companies. At the end of the project many pupils have already received an approval from an employer. A smooth transition from school to the world of work could thus be guaranteed; skills mismatches in Halle Westf. and Valmiera were reduced.

In doing so, the project took into account the strategy “Europe 2020” as well as the European Qualification Frame ET2020.The imbalance which should be reduced resulted from an underdeveloped employability of many students in Germany and Latvia, among other aspects. Promoting the students’ employability directly adjusted the needs of students and companies. Students of commercial classes were involved to promote and improve their own employability as well as the employability of other students. Furthermore, the existing uncertainty regarding the application process and the uncertainty refering to companies’ expectations were minimised.

This project intended a development promoting the students’ employability. Firstly, various characteristics of employability were identified using the students’ as well as companies’ perspective. Not only companies determined the important characteristics but also students explicitly took an employer’s perspective on the issue of “good” qualities of employees. Secondly, students analysed the differences between their and companies’ expectations. Involving different companies and experts (see 2.2) gave us the opportunity of a more realistic, authentic working atmosphere. Both, Latvian and German partners, stimulated the processes, which is why precise comparisons of the two involved countries were made possible.

Thirdly, the results of the preceding analyses provided the basis for developing and implementing various tools promoting the students’ employability in Halle Westf. and Valmiera. “Our international application process” was very effective and succesful in terms of students’ motivation and commitment; especially the simulation of job interviews in English as well as the analyses of these interviews were beneficial. The participants took several perspectives, such as the applicant, the HR manager or a neutral observer. In doing so participants were more likely to realise their own strengths and weaknesses and compared them with their career aspiration. The importance of non-professional skills and compentences in job interviews was emphasised.

During the project the participants collected and created information, such as guidelines, interviews, hints, good and bad examples of applications etc. on our project blog. Our blog provides information on how to find a job and how to prepare well for a job application process taking into account a students’ perspective. Moreover, the project progress was published on the schools’ hompages and local newspapers. By developing these tools students trained basal competences, such as the digitial or (foreign) language skills. In addition, social competences were trained; e.g. a seminar on business etiquette took place since they are very important when it comes to a job interview.

At the end of the project the results were evaluated by using surveys answering the following quesions: Do students experience a higher employability (self-efficacy)? Is there a higher number of contracts in terms of apprenticeships? Furthermore, it was especially interesting to identify whether more students prefer to serve an apprenticeship or a placement abroad. All three questions were affirmed.

Besides, the project blog implements our common dissemination strategy to enable as many students as possible, or young people and further stakeholders respectively, to benefit from this project. In the long run, all participants and stakeholders, particularly our young participants, realised the importance of a “high” employability. Participants understood that they cannot only influence their employability but are also obliged to take full responsibility for it. Hence, the European idea of lifelong learning was actively. supported. Moreover, this European project experience was a very positive one and supported a positive image of Europe and the European Union.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 51365 Eur

Project Coordinator

Berufskolleg Halle (Westf.) & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Valmieras tehnikums