A competence building framework for NEETs’ engagement and empowerment:
Introducing the SPECIAL training curricula
During the implementation of SPECIAL Project Result 2, Partners mapped what are the specific needs and challenges preventing NEETs from overcoming their situation of isolation/marginalisation from the world of education and/or labour market at local level. The Countries taken into consideration were those of the Consortium: Iceland, Spain, Italy, Romania and Sweden. IHF – SPECIAL’s partner operating at International Level – provided a general mapping of the phenomenon all over Europe.
The main challenges seemed to be faced by young people without proper formal education, preventing them in accessing wide employability opportunities and, generally speaking, more long-term reliable occupations in the labour market. These trends are even more tangible within the socio-economic “texture” of rural, remote and isolated areas, which per se lack of the same opportunities provided by urban hubs and centralised territories.
The results emerging from the analysis, partners will develop a training curricula which learning outcomes are informed by the specific dynamics stemming from literature review, namely: skills-gap at national and international level that seem recurrent and common among all countries.
Training material and other education deliverables will match the training areas and related sub-competences of two of the most robust European Training and Education Frameworks for development of entrepreneurial attitude and sense of initiative (i.e., EntreComp); and learning to learn, personal and social competences (i.e., LifeComp).
Based on our analysis, out of the framework there seem to be several training areas of interest that more than others match the skills-lag that projects partners wish to address through their education and training offer. These are:
| Spotting opportunities | Identify and seize opportunities to create value by exploring the social, cultural and economic landscapeIdentify needs and challenges that need to be metEstablish new connections and bring together scattered elements of the landscape to create opportunities to create value |
| Valuing Idea | Judge what value is in social, cultural and economic termsRecognise the potential an idea has for creating value and identify suitable ways of making the most out of it |
| Self-awareness and self-efficacy | Reflect on your needs, aspirations and wants in the short, medium and long termIdentify and assess your individual and group strengths and weaknessesBelieve in your ability to influence the course of events, despite uncertainty, setbacks and temporary failures |
| Motivation & perseverance | Be determined to turn ideas into action and satisfy your need to achieveBe prepared to be patient and keep trying to achieve your long-term individual or group aimsBe resilient under pressure, adversity, and temporary failure |
| Taking the initiative | Initiate processes that create valueTake up challengesAct and work independently to achieve goals, stick to intentions and carry out planned tasks |
| Planning and Management | Set long-, medium- and short-term goalsDefine priorities and action plansAdapt to unforeseen changes |
| Working with others | Work together and co-operate with others to develop ideas and turn them into actionNetwork Solve conflicts and face up to competition positively when necessary |
| Learning through experience | Use any initiative for value creation as a learning opportunityLearn with others, including peers and mentors Reflect and learn from both success and failure (your own and other people’s) |
The training material will is available for free and in open access format via the official Open Education Resources Platform of the project: https://projectspecial.eu/
