Life after Mobility Projects

As stated at the Second Eastern Partnership Youth Forum in Riga, Latvia, in February 2015, experts in the field of youth mobility see and experience major problems regarding reintegration, empowering the young people and enhancing young people’s employability after the mobility programmes and non-formal learning experiences. There is a vast demand for tools and mechanisms to support, build upon and multiply the positive impact of young people’s non-formal learning mobility experience. At the same time, the recognition of non-formal learning experience by business companies, public authorities, agencies and companies on local, national and European level is yet another issue to be tackled and addressed. Therefore, we foresee a need of providing adequate support to youth workers involved in non-formal learning mobility programmes, in particular European Voluntary Service, to ease the transfer of young people’s mobility experience to their daily life making them more self-confident, competitive, employable and equipped with entrepreneurial skills. The activities of the TC will evolve round the following themes:  Strengthening preparation and follow-up support within youth mobility projects, through promoting the use of youth-friendly, understandable self-reflection tools (on-line, dynamic, with elements of gamification) and support mechanisms for assessment, recognition and validation of the acquired competences.  Supporting youth workers to better understand the situation on the job-market be able to assist their beneficiaries / participants of mobility programmes to before, during and after the mobility programmeto orientate themselves in translating their competences acquired during the mobility experience to the employers. Combining non-formal learning mobility programmes with hands-on experiences, focused on development of specific job-related skills.  Discussing possible mechanisms to enhance closer cooperation between public authorities, private companies, local, national and European agencies dealing with mobility of young people, to increase the awareness on the benefits of mobility programmes to employers and to the community at large, to further insure a better reintegration of young people in their communities.  Making coherent quality support systems for mobility programmes available for organizations and the young people in EaP and EU countries respectively, through constant training and information support to organizations, project managers, mentors, tutors and other stakeholders, directly dealing with young people.  Exchanging good practices through Study Visits to NGOs, local business companies, employments services, where young people who are former participants of mobility programmes are applying in daily work. Aim The TC is aimed at improving the quality of non-formal learning mobility programmes and strengthening their impact on young people’s employability through equipping youth leaders and mentors with tools and competences for designing efficient support systems to guide young throughout their mobility experience (preparation, implementation and follow-up). Objectives - Share and develop new creative tools for supporting and guiding young people before, during and after their mobility experience; - Examine the existing mechanisms for assessment, recognition and validation of the mobility experience and acquired competences on local and European levels; - Explore links between and the potential of non-formal learning mobility programmesand young people’s employment/employability; - Discuss within the participants’ group and with various local stakeholders the issues connected with the visibility of mobility programmes, cross-sectorial cooperation and the benefits of mobility programmes for the community at large; - Develop recommendation towards National and European level stakeholders for setting up a coherent support system for organizations, project managers, mentors and young people. - Share best practices and set up further cooperation projects in the field of non-formal learning mobility, institutional development, coaching and mentoring.