E-factors: Empowering Education for European Employability

Main aim: Strengthening the role of youth work and Non Formal Education in employability. Specific objectives: To compare contexts of youth unemployment in Europe; To promote a reflection on the new role of youth workers and its dimensions; To improve the competence of using NFE to empower youngsters; To deepen the understanding of European youth work's political context/dimension; To promote an exchange of practices; To promote future co-operation. Youth unemployment is one of the most relevant challenges in contemporary Europe. The international financial crisis makes the challenge more visible and problematic, especially for younger generations: unemployment is a growing threat to youngsters all over Europe. Any current public agenda includes youth unemployment as one of the biggest current challenges and main political concern. European youth policy seems to lean towards employability demands. Youth workers are asked to tackle unemployment issues – despite not being counsellors nor officials working for State employment agencies. At the same time this same focus on employability deviates attentions from “traditional” fields of youth work, like self development, participantion and active citizenship. However, individual empowerment competences and methods provides youngsters with needed motivation, autonomy and responsibility to control their own life – including, but not restricted to “getting a job”). We want to explore answers to this question together: how can Non Formal Education (NFE) and youth workers actually contribute to the development of employability strategies? The training course is based on the principles of non-formal education and will favour a holistic and experiential approach based on participants’ needs, motivations and experiences. We will engage in an exchange of views, opinions and experiences on topics related to European youth work, education and employability. We will experience different methods and tools that support youth workers in communicating as well as guide and empower youngsters. We will look at recognition of Non Formal Learning and the Youthpass as a certification and a strategy. We will further consider learning to learn as an individual reflection process that supports personal competence development.