Youth unemployment is one of the most relevant challenges in contemporary
Europe. Youth employability is directly related to life independence, which
plays a central role in other structural social policies, like family
policies, for example (when do we get children? When do we have a stable
financial situation that allow us to have a family?, etc…).
Youth workers are asked to tackle unemployment issues – despite not being
counselors or officials working for State employment agencies. Future
developments in European youth policy seem to lean towards employability
demands.
So, how can Non Formal Education and youth workers support youngsters to
activate their E-Factors and by doing it have a positive outcome on employability?
Employability as we see it cannot be restricted to “getting the job”, but rather a self development and empowerment process, that might culminate in creating one’s own job, being fit for the labour market, or anything in between. Individual empowerment provides youngsters with needed motivation, autonomy and responsibility to control their own life, responding to or beyond market demands.
Recently the seminar “ACTIVacting the E-Factor: empowering education for European employability and entrepreneurship” came to end, which took place from 8 to 16 December in Berlin (Germany). During seven days 24 participants, coming from Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Turkey, met to explore and learn more about topic such as self development and active citizenship. Now they return home full of ideas for 2013. Wait and see…