Plan, Prepare, Do It!

With the financial crisis plaguing a great amount of countries within EU, the unemployment rates are continuously being increased especially among young people. Unemployment has been on a rise since 2008, when the economic crisis caused bankruptcy and financial trouble for many employers, and led to a considerable job loss, decrease of job offerings, and consequently, to an unforeseen rise of the unemployment rate. It seems that there are also a lot of other reasons behind the problem: lack of soft skills, mismatches between education and needs in the job market, lack of youths self confidence and self esteem.

The need for actively discussing the reality of youth unemployment in EU, the factors leading to its increase and of course the ways in which young people can counteract this situation, is urgent. The development of the creativity, soft skills, communication and collaboration capabilities, along with the stimulation of an entrepreneurship spirit among young people is essential, as it can lead to the creation of more SMEs and therefore more job opportunities. In addition the importance of guide and help youths with the correct preparation of their CV and motivation letter is essential, as its actually their first chance they get in order to stand out to their potential employer.

“Plan, Prepare, Do it!” is a ten days YE (including travel days), that will take place between 6th to 15th of May 2019 in Larissa, Greece, by iParticipate NGO. It targets 30 youths, aged between 18-24, (except for team leaders with no age limit) of five EU countries with a high unemployment rate among young people: Greece, Spain, Italy, Romania and Bulgaria (5 participants and 1 team leader from each involved country). The YE main objective is to help youths identify the most appropriate key competences needed to get a job and encourage them, to develop in common new theoretical and practical models and techniques in preparing their resume/job application and sustaining a job interview. It also aims to empower youths to discover their full potential in terms of entrepreneurship while taking advantage of their skills, knowledge and unique characteristics.