Professional Orientation: Art4Start

Project partners realized that an important problem of youth, including those with fewer opportunities, is lack of competences to be competitive in the European labour market. Inadequate professional orientation programmes, work with youth in terms of planning their further education and profession, and active participation are fields recognized to be worked on, through development of innovative and creative approach in professional orientation programmes for stimulating youth to choose their further education and profession.Project dates: 01/01/2017 to 30/11/2017. It consists of Kick off meeting (Germany), Training of Youth Workers (Serbia), Practical work in local communities (testing InOrientation technique), Youth Exchange (in Serbia), Local initiatives, and Evaluation meeting (Albania). Project partners are from 6 European countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Germany, Italy and Serbia. Total number of participants is 80.Project aims to increase the capacity of youth workers to support the professional orientation of young people, including those with fewer opportunities, through non-formal education programmes on local and European level.Objectives:- To build links among partners in order to foster exchange of skills and knowledge, expertise and good practice and networking;- To familiarize youth workers how to provide services of professional orientation in terms of helping young people to plan and choose their future profession to be competitive in the world of work;- To review and address essential knowledge, skills and competences for youth workers working with youth with fewer opportunities to offer them practical InOrientation technique how to perform self-assessment, plan of education and development of soft skills;- To promote InOrientation technique and non-formal education among youth workers and youth leaders who are working in the field of employability education for young people;- To use multimedia and theatre tools to support professional orientation of young people, including those with fewer opportunities;- To develop future partnerships among youth workers/group leaders in order to develop cooperation among experienced youth workers working in professional orientation and carrier guidance programmes;- To raise awareness of young people, including those with fewer opportunities, about EU community and to broaden sense of social value, overcome prejudice against others in different European context and breake stereotypes; and- To promote Erasmus+ Youth programme as a tool for supporting employability of youth, including those with fewer opportunities, at European level.Project fits into the European youth policy that is presented in The EU Strategy for Youth. It is also in relation with Europe 2020 strategy calls for the development of knowledge, skills and competences for achieving economic growth and employment and initiatives ‘Youth on the Move’ and ‘Agenda for new skills and jobs’.