Employability and Entrepreneurship for Refugee and Disadvantaged Youth

Aims of the tool

The tool aims to strengthen the employability and entrepreneurial skills of refugee, migrant and disadvantaged young people by helping them recognise their strengths, build confidence and take practical steps towards employment, further learning or self-employment. It also equips youth workers and mentors with adaptable activities to support inclusive learning and individual development.

Description of the tool

This practical guide supports refugee, migrant and disadvantaged young people in developing employability and entrepreneurship skills. It also provides youth workers, trainers and mentors with activities and guidance for supporting young people’s transition towards employment, further learning or self-employment.

Developed within the Erasmus+ project “Inclusion of Resilient Minds: Skills for Refugees and Marginalized Youth,” the guide connects professional development with self-awareness, confidence, resilience and social inclusion. It recognises skills gained through everyday life, caring responsibilities, volunteering and informal learning, alongside formal education and work experience.

The guide covers:
• Identifying personal strengths, interests and motivations.
• Understanding the labour market and workplace expectations.
• Professional communication, digital identity and online job searching.
• Preparing CVs and applications, practising interviews and building professional networks.
• Teamwork, time management, problem-solving and awareness of workplace rights.
• Exploring entrepreneurship, identifying customer needs and developing a simple business model.
• Understanding basic costs, income, funding options and administrative questions.
• Setting achievable goals, planning actions and reflecting on progress.

The learning approach combines short explanations with practical exercises, reflection questions, illustrative examples, role-play and planning tools. Activities can be selected for individual mentoring or group workshops, or followed through the suggested ten-session facilitation model. Facilitators can adapt the materials to participants’ language levels, experience and support needs.

Learning outcomes

By working through the relevant activities, participants will be able to:
• Identify their strengths and transferable skills and describe them using concrete examples.
• Recognise suitable employment, training and work-experience pathways.
• Prepare a CV and application message tailored to an opportunity.
• Present their experience in an interview and ask questions about a role and its conditions.
• Use professional communication and basic digital job-search practices while protecting personal information.
• Apply teamwork, time-management and problem-solving strategies to workplace scenarios.
• Identify employment conditions that need clarification and appropriate sources of advice.
• Explain a business idea in terms of its customers, the need it addresses and the value it offers.
• Outline a simple business model, identify resources and estimate basic costs and potential income.
• Create a realistic personal action plan and review progress towards their goals.

Youth workers and mentors will be able to select and adapt exercises, facilitate inclusive learning sessions and support participants in connecting their existing abilities with practical next steps.