Review

About The Project

The main aim of the project is to prepare young people from socially disadvantaged communities, from Austria and Hungary adequately for the job market of the future, putting a particular focus on the development of digital literacy and competences. Digital readiness and awareness of requirements will play a key role for young people in the future job market. On the other hand, several social skills such as communication skills, teamwork, commitment and motivation, stress resistance and resilience, etc. are becoming more important on the workplace as well. These two idea threads build the foundation of FUTURE SKILLS, a cross-border pilot project.

Project partners: Austria (Coordinator) and Hungary

Project duration: March 2022 – March 2023

First Training Course of BRIDGE Project

Building Bridges between Junior & Senior Workers and Identifying Potentials & Tools

The first Training Course of our BRIDGE project was held at the beginning of November 2021 in Bologna, Italy. To ensure balanced participation, nine tandems of Junior and Senior youth workers from partner organizations took part in this workshop composed of plenary sessions and group work. Participants spent almost three days together brainstorming, discussing and exchanging ideas on the strengths of Junior and Senior workers and how they can learn from each other. A particular focus was to identify key soft skills and discuss whether they are more common among Junior or Senior workers or both. This discussion led to the creation of knowledge maps by small groups around specific competence/skills to visualize the process of transferring them from Senior workers to Junior workers and vice versa.

This workshop witnessed fruitful suggestions for creating a common data-gathering tool to raise awareness on intergenerational dialogue. Through this tool, each partner organization will collect additional information to get a broader European perspective on the topic and reach more Junior and Senior workers.

Last but not least, participants had a great time getting to know “the learned, the fat and the red” city, Bologna. We thank GioNet for organizing and leading this workshop!

second Training course in Örebro, Sweden

In April 2022, the second training course within the project BRIDGE took place. Senior and junior youth workers from six partner organisations in Austria, Germany, Italy, France, and Sweden gathered in Örebro, Sweden, to exchange and discuss various methods of knowledge transfer and management necessary for a smooth integration into a new workplace.

Thanks to the carefully planned activities of the training, the participants had the opportunity to analyse provided methods and identify the most efficient ones based on their own experiences, while taking into account the specific needs of both groups involved.

The constructive recommendations on how and when to use certain methods, and also on how to improve them, lay a very solid ground for drafting a handbook of methods which will be available for a broader community after the project has been finalised.

Besides the formal contents of the training course, team-building activities took place. Thanks to ACTIVA, the partner organisation from Sweden, and their great organisation of the training, the participants got to know the city of Örebro more profoundly, while giving them an insight into the local community’s social work.

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Methodology

The VOICE project focuses on using the innovative and creative approach of Photovoice to empower youth workers, future youth workers and young people around Europe. It built on our successful implemented project YourEP and its follow up Europe3E, which we wanted to adapt to the international youth work context. Photovoice (and abbreviation of “Photos Voicing Our Individual and Collective Experience”) is an innovative creativity-boosting method used to share personal stories supported by photos. It aimed to enable people to record and reflect their community's strengths and concerns, promote critical dialogue and knowledge about important issues through large and small group discussion of photographs, and to reach policy makers.

Results

VOICE had a positive and long-lasting impact, by equipping social and youth work students, as well as youth workers with new creative methods to work with young people. The expected direct impacts of the Intellectual Outputs described above were an increase of the quality of youth work using innovative and creative approaches, and the training of future youth workers to get familiar with Erasmus+ and international youth work. Additional positive outcomes were to foster a creative dialogue with young people, enable them to voice their ideas and develop entrepreneurship and creative skills.

Project partners: Germany (coordinator), Netherlands, Bulgaria, Italy, Austria

Project duration: May 2021 to April 2023 (24 months)

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Mental health

Mental Health of Youth in the Post-Corona-Time

This project aimed to establish and further develop a network of (social) youth work organizations addressing mental health issues of young people, as well as youth and social workers. 

The project focused on creating a framework for collecting more information on the following aspects directly related to the issue of physical and mental well-being in youth work:

• The impact and consequences of psychological stress for young people (in Europe).
• Gathering information on the psychological impact of the Corona pandemic on young people, with a particular focus on socially disadvantaged young people and youth and social care workers.
• What practical solutions already exist in youth work?
• What opportunities are there to work preventively in youth work to promote resilience and capacity building?
• What youth work methods can be used?
• What other requirements are there in relation to the situation of young people, youth workers and youth work organizations?

Project partners: Austria, Germany (project leader), Italy, Netherlands and Greece

Project duration: May 2022 to July 2023

EUpTrain activities include:

• 3 transnational project meetings attended by a total of 16 experts
• one knowledge exchange workshop with the main goal to filter out examples of good practices from all participating organisations and to show international differences, new opportunities, new ways of work and different methodologies in training of low-skilled adults
• based on the workshop results: creation of a handbook containing 16 best practices and 8 methodologies

Project exchange in Portugal

From 8 to 12 November 2021, 26 adult education trainers from a total of 7 countries came together in Amadora, Portugal for a knowledge exchange. Working with low-skilled adults poses challenges for all of them in their daily work. The workshop offered space and the opportunity to exchange and learn from each other about helpful ways of working, methods and didactics. A visit to AFID, an organisation that works with adults with special needs, also opened up new perspectives.

Project partners: Austria (coordinator), Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal, Greece and Romania

Project duration: October 2020 to March 2022

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

COMPASS

Career cOnsulting and Mentoring skills caPAcity building for youth workerS working with NEETS

ÖJAB was a partner in the Erasmus+ project COMPASS from November 2019 to October 2021.

This project aimed to improve youth work’s impact on the education of NEETs while also placing a focus on NEETs’ labor market integration.

The immediate outcome of this project was a training program focused specifically on developing youth workers’ soft skills. The intent was to integrate specific knowledge and skills that are necessary for the successful career advising and mentoring of NEETs.

Project partners: Bulgaria (coordinator), France, Greece, Spain, Romania, Austria

Project website: www.compass-eu.org

Project duration: November 2019 to October 2021

Europe through young eyes

Exchange, Explore, Exhibit

ÖJAB was a partner in the Erasmus+ project Europe through Young Eyes from November 2019 to Juli 2021.

This project aimed to cultivate meaningful active citizenship, raise political awareness, and deepen social inclusion among youth.

This project’s objectives were achieved via the following measures:

• connecting young people’s lives with Europe on the personal level
• using the photovoice method (participative photography) to give rise to creative and integrative interaction with “Europe” as a theme
• using a simulation to render Europe more tangible
• participants’ research and exploration on Europe’s influence at the local and transnational levels
• participants’ development of recommendations for EU policy
• development and publication of strategies for disadvantaged young people

As part of this project, disadvantaged young people were provided with an opportunity to get to know Europe and its institutions better. 

Projektpartner: Deutschland (Koordinator), Griechenland, Frankreich, Niederlande, Großbritannien, Österreich

Projektdauer: November 2019 bis Juli 2021

Projektwebsite: www.yes-forum.eu

MOBILNA PREŠERNOVA 

A Mobility Project of the Economics and Business School Ekonomska šola Ljubljana & Europass Mobility – an important EU Certificate – www.oejab.at/mobilnapresernova

Each year from 2017 to 2019 10 enthusiastic school students from various classes at the secondary and grammar school Ekonomska šola Ljubljana (School of Economics Ljubljana) completed three-week internships at various ÖJAB institutions and subsidiary enterprises, including at the residence and nursing home ÖJAB-Haus Neumargareten, the occupational training institute BPI der ÖJAB – Ausbildungszentrum Wien, the ÖJAB Head Office, the education, conference, and event center Europahaus Wien, and the myNext hostels, hotels, and apartments.

The objective of this mobility project, which is conducted as part of the Erasmus+ program, was to link students’ theoretical knowledge relating to office and administrative work with practical experience through their activities at ÖJAB institutions while also helping to cultivate the students’ social skills via their experience of a new working environment.

ÖJAB, as the hosting partner organization, organized and coordinated the Slovenian group’s stay in Vienna. This included arranging their accommodations, sustenance, internship positions, and cultural activities. ÖJAB also monitored and evaluated the students’ internships along with preparing their Europass and ÖJAB certificates.

The school students were accommodated at the dormitory ÖJAB Europahaus Dr. Bruno Buchwieser and provided with meals by the adjacent education, conference, and event center Europahaus Wien. Their educational program in Vienna was complemented by cultural activities including city walks and tours of various sites accompanied by ÖJAB volunteers. And on the program’s final day, all participants received the important EU certificate “Europass Mobility”, which documented not only their stay abroad but also the skills acquired during this stay.

In 2017 and 2018, Ekonomska šola Ljubljana produced a short video that presents some impressions of this project.

Project partner: Ekonomska šola Ljubljana, Slovenia (coordinator); ÖJAB, Austria (project partner)

Project duration: 3 weeks

This mobility project was supported by EU funds as part of the Erasmus+ program; increasing student mobility is one of the objectives of Erasmus+.

YOUTH workers 2.0

Advising and Schooling of Youth Workers all over Europe in the Use of ICT Tools (Information, Communication, and Technology Tools = PCs, Laptops, Software Programs, Printers, etc.) and Digital Working Methods.

From November 2018 to June 2020, ÖJAB was part of the Erasmus+ KA2 project “Youth Workers 2.0”. This project aimed to expand upon youth workers’ digital skills in order to improve the fundamental training of those who work with young people.

Two surveys were conducted as initial steps toward achieving this project’s objectives. One of the surveys addressed the direct target audience of youth workers, while the other addressed the indirect target audience of young people with low qualifications.

The findings from these surveys were used to compile a report that analyses existing needs. This report serves as background information upon which further employment-related studies for youth can be based.

The information thus collected is used to compile guidelines containing proven procedures with which to support youth workers’ daily efforts. These guidelines serve to inspire all of their readers and support them in their future work.

Project duration: November 2018 to June 2020

Project partners: Spain (Coordinator), Austria, Romania, Hungary

Project website: https://youthworkers2-0.eu

Project partners: Italy, France, North Macedonia, Spain, Finland

Project duration: December 2018 – November 2020

Volunteers 4 All

This Project helps Volunteers in NGOs to develop Social Skills.

Volunteers 4 All was a 20-month European project, co-funded by the European Commission's Erasmus + (KA2) program, which aimed to help youth workers and NGO volunteers develop new social and digital literacy skills in their day-to-day work need to address the refugee crisis in Europe. This project, in collaboration with four project partners, focused on promoting quality youth work in the social and digital sectors. 

In the project, an e-learning training was developed to familiarize volunteers with the possibilities of digital media, to get involved, to tell a story, to understand events, to create awareness and to bring about change. 

In addition, a digital guide was compiled, in the form of a series of learning materials as open educational resources.

Project partners: Alternativi International, Bulgaria (Coordinator), PROJUVEN, Spain, Futuro Digitale, Italy, ÖJAB 

Project duration: October 2017 to May 2019

Like Home

Promoting the Inclusion of newly arrived Migrants and their Integration into the Labor Market and the Host Society.

From December 2016 to November 2018, ÖJAB and 8 organizations from different EU countries participated in the „LikeHome" project. The overall aim of the LikeHome project was to foster the inclusion of newly arrived migrants and refugees to the host country education and training system, to the local economy and to the society in general.

As part of the project, the project partners implemented following activities:

• Development and implementation of a framework of best practice models for the assessment and recognition of already acquired skills, qualifications and competences of migrants and refugees, based on models defined by the European Commission as best-practice models
• Development of training materials for trainers, educators, and government officials responsible for reception of migrants and recognition of qualifications
• Creation of the LikeHome e- assessment tool
• Organization of Train the Trainer seminars
• Piloting

Project partners: Spain (coordinator), Austria, Greece, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Italy

Project duration: December 2016 - November 2018

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme under grant agreement No 2016 - 2791 / 001 – 001. It has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.