Michael Scheuchenegger

Current occupation

social worker, Trainer, Coordinator, Outdoor Trainer

Work experience

Michael Scheuchenegger, BA
Socialworker and trainer of experiential education

When acting as a trainer I am usually good at...

...working with different target groups. In my past experience and jobs I was able to communicate, work and teach very different groups of people. Starting from politicians and leaders of companies with high influence in society, through colleges in all jobs I did (plumber, construction worker, security, youth leader, youth centre manager, social worker, trainer, facilitator, ...), to young people and adults with mental handicaps and social disorders.

...keeping the motivation of a group on a productive high level. In this case I acting as a role model to show how a positive and funny attitude can help you to walk through the hardest working process!

...networking. Because having a good activated network is one of the most important parts of working successfully at the international level. Therefore it is important to stay in touch and develop topics which keep you in touch for the working period.

... coaching and mentoring. For this I got a lot of positive feedback from people I supported in the last year. Participants in trainings/youth exchanges, Volunteers, EVS volunteers, colleagues, friends,

... working in a dynamic situation. I am able to react within structure and responsibility in unexpected situations. So I can name myself with a big resilience to stress in projects and trainings.

… organizing, facilitating I was the leader of a youth centre in a little city in upper-Austria (4 Years+ 13 years as a volunteer). Being a trainer, facilitator and organising events was part of my daily work in the youth centre. I did a lot of projects fitted with diversity, participation, multinational, alternative and creative self-organisation of the kids. I got a lot of helpful and positive feedback and I liked this work.

In general I enjoy supporting individuals and groups in building up their competences in a guided process. These competences can be practical skills, theoretical knowledge but also attitudes and feelings.

I am fascinated in creating an environment for groups and individuals in which they are able and empowered to learn by themself. For me a training offers a certain space and time of setting up a learning process under a specific topic or focus which is based on expectations and needs of the participants and on experiential learning. For me it's a way of thinking different to the formal education system which is not fitting to everybody and not supporting creativity and self-organised and self-directed learning of individuals and groups.
Non-formal learning for me is a planned process, often designed by a team of trainers, which still gives a lot of freedom and flexibility for individuals and groups to set up learning goals and find out ways of learning. My own experience in non-formal learning is very important for my life right now. This way of educating helped me to deal with the challenges of the school system I was definitely not fitting in. I broke up high school with 19 after fighting 5 years with the way of education and also with myself in this system. Training and Seminars of the young trade union and different other youth organisations showed me instead that there is a way of learning I am able to follow. The non-formal and the in-formal way. Furthermore I found out that I am very good in facilitating non-formal learning using various non-formal methods.

Now, in my main job I am working with young people, who are not involved in the formal educational system. They are not integrated in the first or the second labour market, either.

For around three years I found another passion in teaching in the way of outdoor and experiential learning. In my daily working routine I prefer to work outside with my clients. The changing of the setting to outdoors is the first and really effective step in building a trustful and relaxed atmosphere for professional interventions within the clients and groups.