The youth exchange “Skills 4 Employability” was implemented in Bansko, Bulgaria from 12th till 20th of June 2022 and involved overall 45 young people. The project aimed to introduce participants and local youth with certain social problems but also propose alternatives to solve, and it mostly by volunteering as a method of acquiring skills and additional qualifications to enhance the competitiveness of the youth in labor market. The project introduced the reality of many young people in Europe regarding youth unemployment and introduced the participants with new possibility to acquire skills which can them in their way to find employment opportunities. We aimed to introduce volunteering-how and what skills are acquired, how are validated at national and EU level, how to become volunteers on different levels in relation also to employability skills, the meaning of soft skills and how important they are for finding a job nowadays. All these we believe will help them to improve their competence in the future and be able to find work more easily. The overall aim was to present volunteering as a tool for developing useful knowledge, skills and competences to help youth combat unemployment.
Objectives:
-present country realities and trends related to youth unemployment in Europe
-to provide youth with understanding and knowledge of the modern employability skills and the importance of soft skills
-to raise awareness on the value and benefits of volunteering in terms of acquiring skills, knowledge and competences that can be suitable for the labor market
-to raise awareness on different opportunities and programs for volunteering on national and European levels.
The youth got acquainted with the situation in different countries, the methods of the European institutions to tackle youth unemployment, strategies and Erasmus+ and more about the ESC as an opportunity to gain experience and acquire competences. This exchange inspired youth and give them confidence that they can deal with the problem, it will open up new horizons will trigger interest in mobility and volunteering on local and international level and thus increase their further development.
During the project participants acquired many new skills, knowledge, competences. They have also created some digital products to share their experience and motivate other young people to take part in Erasmus plus projects.
Online magazine:
Podcast:
Personal testemonials of the participants:
The project was financed by Erasmus+ program, trough Bulgarian National Agency/HRDC/ and implemented and coordinated by Alternativi International.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
