<< Background >>Youth workers play a significant role in the personal, socioeducational and professional development of youth. In fact, the EC’s common framework for the further development of youth work has identified that youth work can result in a range of positive effects for youth which enable them to enhance competences, reinforce their network and social capital and develop positive relationships. Yet, working with youth is not an easy task. It requires youth workers who continuously develop their competences, embrace and practice a life-long learning, strive to get qualified and better address the needs of the youth while also managing to keep their own personal-professional balance. All these underline the need to focus on the personal and professional development of the youth workers as a means to achieve better and sustainable impact on youth in general.The Youth unemployment rate in January 2021 in all partner countries was quite high, especially in Italy and Cyprus: IT: 29,7%, CY: 20,1%, LT:18,2%, PT:14,3%, PL:14,3% (EUROSTAT) - there is a noticeable increase during the pandemic period in comparison to last year.“Youth unemployment and the integration of young people into the labour market” report issued by the Contact Committee of European Union Supreme Audit Institutions on April 2018 indicates many problematic fields like:- education sector produces graduates who can't find employment and there is insufficient correlation with the needs of the labour market,- the range of courses remained limited due to qualification standards and educational tools inconsistencies or incompatibilities,In fact, the authors of the Youth Work Report conclude stating “There is an identifiable need for clear learning opportunities for youth workers as an essential part of professionalizing the delivery of youth work. Incomplete learning paths and a lack of identifiable routes of study and training compounds the problems of unstable working/volunteer conditions within the sector.”This project is designed to support the development of quality youth work in the participating countries. As known in many of EU countries the youth sector is in the initial stage of development. Youth policies are under development and no national strategies for Youth work exists. However, in all countries in the cooperation between NGOs, educational institutions and government authorities (ministries and agencies) are made steps in the sphere of development of the youth sector. In this context, projects like this are important for building high quality standards and the development of youth work. This is particularly important as the digital skills are more required in the labour market in changing in post-pandemic Europe and youth unemployment levels have risen again.<< Objectives >>Opp4YOUth is a response to the demands of the labour market and youth workers. Increasing the competence of teachers working with a youth will directly affect the professional development of youth worker. In addition, the project will develop innovative tools to support teachers and the learning processes. On the other hand, increasing the skills of youth workers and the use of positive psychology will strengthen their position on the labour market and meet their professional ambitions. Staying on the labour market and cooperation with other young people will contribute to reducing unemployment in the European Union.OBJECTIVESThe objectives of the project are:1. To reduce the gap between the personal and professional needs of the youth workers, towards more fulfilling careers in the youth field.2. To develop innovative approaches (methodologies, digital tools and practices) for personal and professional development of the youth workers for better serving the youth in general and disadvantaged youth in particular.3. To use innovative approaches (positive psychology, education and eco-centric development) in professionalization of youth workers and to adapt this approaches for better services of disadvantaged youth.4. To increase the on-going support and lifelong learning for the personal and professional development of the youth workers)TARGET GROUPS- Teachers (mentors, tutors, managers in companies) of youth workers- Youth workers from partner countries trained by using the tools and materials elaborated within the project- Stakeholders: companies, social economy organizations, local/regional/national authorities.Opp4YOUth is a transnational cooperation project as its framework, needs, aims and target groups are shared by all involved partners and countries. Though the specific context of each partner country may vary the main features are shared. The proposed solution would be meaningless and ineffective if applied only by one partner/country.<< Implementation >>The general methodology that the project will follow includes the following activities:A1. Project Management and Coordination (M1-M24): planning of activities and resources for each result; distribution of tasks and responsibilities and coordination of work, covering:- development of Project Gantt chart and Risk Management Plan- management and coordination of financial, human, material resources within the project duration;- coordination and collaboration within the project and monitoring progress- hosting of project meetings and events- provision of progress/interim/final reportsA2. Dissemination and exploitation (M1-M24): ongoing distribution of information about project activities, progress, results, to ensure wider visibility of the project and involvement of stakeholders at each stage of the project life. It includes:- conduction of Multiplier Event – National conferences in Lithuania, Poland, Cyprus, Portugal and the final Valorisation Conference In Italy - development and ongoing update of D&E Strategy- development of templates for reporting of dissemination activities- preparation of texts for dissemination (press releases, articles for media publications, etc.)- collection and reporting of D&E activities and the issuance of consortium D&E report - coordination of the work of external subcontractors for promotional materials and project visual identityA3. Quality management (M1-M24): ongoing monitoring and evaluation of all aforementioned ongoing activities; assignment of corrective and preventive measures with regard to reducing perils to the project implementation and boosting quality of both work and results, including:- elaboration of Quality Management Plan and templates for internal evaluation- provision of input for evaluation e.g. filling evaluation forms- conduction of internal evaluations- evaluation of activities and results and the issuing of internal evaluation reports- communication and coordination of work with external evaluatorDevelopment of project results (M2-M22): execution of planned activities with the resources allocated within defined timeframe.RES1: Research among youthworkers and teachers about areas for personal and professional development1) Selection of 24 (4 x partner) young people and 12 (2 x partner) teachers who will be involved in project activities2) Carrying out an interviews and researches3) Review and experts discussion on partners’ thematic reports4) Elaboration of research summary report about areas for personal and professional developmentRES2: Methodology for personal and professional development based on non-formal learning1) Development of Opp4YOUth methodology and manual2) Opp4YOUth methodology testing during workshops for teachers3) Refinement of Opp4YOUth methodology and manual4) Digitalization of Opp4YOUth methodology and manual using web-platformRES3: Tools for personal and professional development for youthworkers1) Elaboration of the first version of training programme2) Cross-check of the developed training material3) Evaluation during training workshops for youth4) The final version releaseLearning/teaching/training activities are planned to held in this project:- LTT1 - Training workshops for 12 teachers in Cyprus (M11-M12)- LTT2 - Training workshops for 24 youth workers in Portugal (M18 -M19)<< Results >>TANGIBLE RESULTSA1. Project management:• Partnership contracts, Risk Management Plan and Project Action Plan – will serve as a tools for monitoring and allocation of responsibilities as well as official statement of partners’ commitment towards achievement of the project goals.• Interim and the final report–will be issued in M12 and M24 by V-S based on the inputs from all partnersA2. Quality Management• QMPlan: to be developed by V-s (M1-M2). The document will define the evaluation and monitoring procedures, tools to be applied and indicators to ensure quality of the work • Internal and external evaluation reports will be based on the evaluation procedures for quality assurance.A3. Dissemination and exploitation• D&E Strategy reports: developed by EduPlus, defining dissemination channels, tools and ways to reach target groups• Project website with platform with access to all results developed by EdiTC with EduPlus and will be maintained active at least 5 years after the project’s closure• Project visual identity: done by external design company subcontracted by EduPlus. The aim is to create a distinguishing and memorable image of the project across Europe• Opp4YOUth promotional materials & exploitation Pack: long-term marketing materials for dissemination purposes will be produced and will be circulated around Europe• Multiplier events intended promote and disseminate the project results: 4 small conferences in every project country: in total 120 participants and Project Final Conference - in total 60 participantsRESULTS:• RES1 - Summary report of the research among youth workers and teachers about areas for personal and professional development (EDS-FNS)• RES2 - Methodology for personal and professional development based on non-formal learning (VEM)• Manual including the developed intellectual materials (VEM)• RES3 - Tools for personal and professional development for youthworkers- training programme and materials including online platform (EDITC)• Testing workshops for 12 teachers (EDITC) and 24 young people (EduPlus)INTANGIBLE RESULTS- Exchange of know-how and good practices: all partners come from different professional fields and backgrounds and will exchange ideas and experience that will be useful in their work- Improved staff qualification- Improved organizational capacity: by implementing project activities, partners will improve their organisational skills and gain valuable experience for organisation of future large-scale initiatives and events- Extended network: partners will collaborate with stakeholders on national and EU level, which will lead to the creation of new and sustainable partnerships.- Increased the on-going support and lifelong learning for the personal and professional development of the youth workers- Reduced gap between the personal and professional needs of the youth workers.Among the intangible results there are also:1)Training activity (LTT1)-the initial version of methodology and manual in the international environment of teachers involved in the project will be tested. All participants will share their expectations, express opinions on the practical use of methodology and manual, validation process, remarks.2)Training activity (LTT2)-the participants will develop their competences in various areas:- will gain knowledge, skills and attitudes related to positive psychology, positive education, values, principles and quality standards in youth work at European level.- will enhance their capacities in the topics of Eco-centric development in youth work, in pedagogical tools, innovation and evaluation of results.- will enrich their competences on the topics of implementation, testing and evaluation of educational plans, self-directed learning, self-motivation for development and innovation.3)After training activities (C1, C2) the participants will train other youth workers in their countries (20 per country) In each of the countries involved in the project.

"<< Background >>Digital technologies are transforming people’s life, business and society. The lesson from the Covid-19 crisis is demonstrating that in Europe is essential that the real and the virtual business contexts will be seamlessly connected giving rise to what are known as digital integrated systems. It will be required the integration of devices and online working tools, the digitalization of workflows and several innovative production systems within a network of suppliers together the application of new operational activities and methods in various technical levels.The rapid development and spread of digital technologies are contributing to change in every aspect of people’s lives, business and society. Digital transformation is the result of digitization and digitalization of economies and societies (OECD, Going Digital: Shaping Policies, Improving Lives, 2019). We consider digital transformation as a more pervasive set of changes that digital technologies cause or affecting all aspects of human activities. The digital transformation is intrinsically connected to what has been defined as the fourth industrial revolution, a process through which digital technologies are shaping the future of society and economic development in a comparable manner to the case of steam power for the first industrial revolution.Digitalization influences mission-critical applications in B2B/B2C processes and it is expected a transformation also in organizations with long investment cycles, allowing decision makers about the new opportunities. DigiWork will give a contribution in researches, reports, sharing good practices, making sectoral analysis and defining the most innovative educational digital needs, working in close cooperation with the main institutions and associations. The urgent need is to learn more about the concepts of Digitalization and Industry 4.0, their implementations in several sectors, and what changes this will bring for the future. Digital industry central to the growth, the development and the competitiveness of the Europe. It generates turnover of more than 7 billion, accounts for 15.5% of the total added value, purchases more than €5,400 billion in goods and services each year, and still employs 14.2% of total workforce. So DigiWork will create an international synergy to integrate the actual EU limited open knowledge and experience, sharing it and creating effective results that will give a benefit for the employability of thousands and thousands of people in Europe. It is expected to create an impact on EU level to contribute to the industrial development of EU by sharing the results and each time adding on the previous studies to prepare the industry for future changes. The EU’s Future Government 2030+ “Accelerating the digital transformation of government"" and ""EU’s strategy for e-Skills in the 21st Century"" set an ambitious target for all Member States. By 2021, public institutions and private organizations should be efficient and inclusive, providing borderless, transparent, personalized, user-friendly digital services. But real innovative skills need to be acquired by students and workers to design products and deliver better services for the EU citizens, professionals and entrepreneurs.To bridge the gap between the labour market requirements of the digital industry and the skills that students entering the labour market acquire, universities should develop and implement appropriate curricula and/or course. This requires an emphasis on digital skills training adapted to different industries. Universities should therefore stimulate innovative learning and teaching practices as well as improve digital capabilities of the higher education sector.<< Objectives >>Good practices are scattered across the Europe, illustrating that digital technologies also provide new development opportunities in HEIs that do not operate in areas where digital technologies are common among local actors. In these cases, HEIs represent drivers of innovation and can improve the national and local existing ecosystems spreading the new process of digital transformation. HEIs and their competency centers/laboratories could be poles of excellence for enterprises to raise awareness of I4.0 by providing practical demonstrations of new technologies and best practices. Another important goal is to provide services to HEIs in order to strengthen their innovation by offering curricula and services linked to I4.0 opportunities. Universities, in partnerships with companies could provide services and guidance about the opportunities of digital transformation.The project will focus on the new digital working approaches that will be needed in Europe and that imply a real digital revolution in processes management and competences. Digitalization and Industry 4.0 imply also new working concepts based on the adoption of innovative digital ecosystems which will involve all the most recent digital factors and expertise. This new concept of advanced organization will require highly qualified profiles and more qualified workforce to cover the requirements of new digital jobs. Digitisation, smart working, job crafting, virtual teams, remote working empowerment, e-collaboration are having also a deep impact on business practices in companies and public institutions. So, there is the need in EU of a specific open curriculum to improve specific and transversal skills. The project can support actions to reduce the gap between the Partners European higher education (HE) systems and those in other European countries but also to foster and strengthen the role of HEIs as active players for a real impact of digitalization effects in Europe. It could also promote synergies among the different pillars of the digitalization of HEIs being:• the new digital teaching methods, training and development of digital skills;• the use of digital technologies to support the development of research and the contribution of research to investigate the new frontiers and challenges of digitalization;• the HEIs contribution of digital tools in the management of companies, business activities and support organizational change;• the role that digital technologies can have in the employability of students at Post graduate and Master levels.Collecting the Partners experience and including all specific analysis, DigiWork will produce innovative modules on topics as: disruptive technologies enabling digitization; managing digitalization; digital integration with physical production assets; rethinking the design of classical working-systems; analyze data; business data evaluation and big data management; e-procurement; e-health; Internet of things; document management systems and digitization of work-flows; human machine interaction; touch interfaces and accessible GUIs; advanced robotics and human-robot collaboration; virtual and augmented reality; blockchain; additive manufacturing; green production systems; smart factories, etc. The training curricula needs to adapt these requirements in effective changes to be able to train concretely the labour force. With DigiWork the determination of key competences required to create the qualified workforce that the Industry 4.0 demands in the advanced industrialization process of Europe and concretely contributing to train the workforce, with suitable skills and competences, is being targeted.<< Implementation >>Considering the large experience of V-s, LUISS and of each 4 other Partners, the project governance methodology and project management approach that will be adopted will combine related practices, methods and processes that will determine how to plan, develop, control and deliver in the better way the project goals throughout its implementation and successful completion. It will follow an evidenced, systematic and controlled approach, describing every step in depth, so that project team will know what to do to implement the work according to the schedule, budget and target groups specification. In particular: - The definition of the needs of target audience; - The establishing of a common “language”; - The activities management (complete, accurate and credible); - The adoption of a common methodological approach for the effective results delivery; - The resolution of conflicts in the easy and short way; - Fast implementation of experiences needed for the implementation of the activities, results and solutions. The DigiWork project is structured in 4 results, each one has a leader responsible for the result planning and execution. The detailed plan of each of them will be discussed and approved by the Partners in the transnational meetings. Also the evaluation and dissemination/exploitation activities, for each result will be structured by the Partners considering the activities in detail and their discussion/joint approval by the Partners. For the implementation of each result all Partners will participate actively in the result development and undertake the task envisaged and approved by the partnership to deliver the results foreseen. Each lead Partner will be responsible for accompanying the work development in order to guarantee the fulfilment of the task according with the planned timetable approved by the National Agency.The project will be managed following a specific planning that will includes 9 macro-Activities (A), each of that is important for the achievement of the DigiWork project goals: A1 Project management and coordination (Months: M1-M36) including 5 transnational project meetings in Slovakia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Spain and Italy and supplemented by online meetingsA2 Analysis of the impact and diffusion of digitalization gaps within RES1 (M2-M7) Starting from preliminary experiences of the 6 Partners it will provide detailed advices for the preparation of the DigiWork specific learning path and the evaluation tools.A3 Report on innovative skills to enhance HE students employability and develop effective work-based approaches (M5-M7) A specific report will be produced to analyse the needed specific and transversal skills. A4 Online training curriculum: methodology of development and delivering (M8-M14), focusing on the way to develop learning contents, knowledge and skills assessment tools. A5 Learning contents, knowledge and skills assessment tools (M15-M26) The main aim is related to DigiWork training modules and the implemented multimedia products. A6 DigiWork integrated platform implementation (M27-M36) including the website, the knowledge sharing area and the learning management solutions; it will be composed of almost 18 training modules including text, images, cooperation and resources sharing, video and interactive materials. A7 System implementation and contents validation (M31-M36) - learning products will be released. A8 Dissemination and exploitation (M1-M36) It includes the activities of Partners to reach the main stakeholders and target groups like five national and the final conference in Italy. A9 Quality and risk management (M1-M36) in order to guarantee the quality of the activities and of the expected results of DigiWork.<< Results >>COVID-19 will have far-reaching impacts on labour market outcomes. Beyond the urgent concerns about the health of workers, the virus and the subsequent economic shocks will impact the world of work across three key dimensions: the quantity of jobs (both unemployment and underemployment); the quality of work (e.g. wages and access to social protection); and effects on specific groups who are more vulnerable to adverse labour market outcomes. Digitalization, computing capabilities, smart working, workforce flexibility, job crafting, virtual agile teams, remote working empowerment, e-collaboration, new manufacturing devices, social media, artificial intelligence, addictive manufacturing, block-chain and big data analytics, are enabling, improving and transforming current public and private organizations. Digital technologies are becoming very relevant at the EU level for the workers employability; they are disrupting industries, re-shaping the organizations’ boundaries and changing the nature of business exposing people and entities to new competitive logics and threats. Underemployment is also expected to increase on a large scale. As witnessed in previous crises, the shock to labour demand is likely to translate into significant downward adjustments to wages and working hours. While self-employment does not typically react to economic downturns, it acts as a “default” option for survival or maintaining income-often in the informal economy. For this reason, informal employment tends to increase during crises. However, the current limitations on the movement of people and goods may restrict this type of mechanism. For this reason, in DigiWork project a detailed multi-sectoral analysis report will be prepared in 6 countries indicating the comparison of current situation of digitalization and Industry 4.0 pillars in Partners' countries, together a transversal needs' analysis that will be also included. These in-depth multi-countries researches will be carried out for the precise determination of the changes in the future of the vocations focused by Industry 4.0, the common grounds (e.g. smart factory, lean production and digital manufacturing) and newly emerging requirements especially for different vocational levels in European High education and training institutions. Detailed reports for educational requirements will be also produced, monitoring digital transformation and providing cutting-edge tools to foster innovation and value creation. A study will be carried out for determination of new educational requirements for digitalization and Industry 4.0, determining new key and transversal competences for various professional qualifications and levels, reflecting them to concrete and open educational programs (common and field specific programmes), arrangement and procurement of the required equipment infrastructure, human resources, etc.Specific events and meeting with HE institutions, SMEs associations, employees trade unions will be held for this purpose. An innovative curriculum model by the most advanced educational design techniques will be created for competences development. This also thanks an advanced and complete e-learning platform, integrated in DigiWork website, that will be produced by experts in the project fields. Innovative multimedia e-modules and e-exams will be prepared, permitting effective learning activities and the sharing of best practices of each Partners' country. It will gain the necessary knowledge to give the possibility students to increase their competences and give more opportunities to find new working positions or a new well-payed job. The project activities will be always shared with local target groups and stakeholders in each country. All the intellectual results will be translated into the languages of the partner countries. All the involved Partner organisations will increase also their capabilities on the project fields and in the European projects experience."

Despite the widespread recognition of the need of creativity, pioneering and innovation in industry, practical guidance and systematic approaches to managing the creativity process are still not available in educational and training framework for HEI. This is exactly the overall aim of the innCREA project: to transfer, adapt and implement an intergraded training programme package (material and methodologies) for teaching creativity and pioneering in pursuit of innovation in order to develop HE students soft skills and, at the same time, contribute do diminish the gap between skills in demand in the labour market and the skills offered by HE courses.Other purposes and objectives of the project- To strength the entrepreneurial skills of HE students and bringing skills demanded in the labour market closer to the skills offered by high education, by promoting a programme in creativity and pioneering management,- To provide European HEIs with a fully documented training material in creativity and pioneering management,- To provide HEIs with the necessary tools, which are demonstrated in practice (‘innCREA guideline’ and ‘creativity and pioneering Audit Tool’) in order to better develop abilities to identify their obstacles to creativity and pioneering and take necessary actions,- to increase the competitiveness and the innovation capacity by providing HEIs with the necessary creativity tools and practices for their everyday activities. Systemic creativity and pioneering support is a prerequisite for innovations development.- to increase the European business and high education community awareness and to cultivate a common consciousness about creativity and pioneering management in order to form the necessary supporting culture for creativity in Europe on the level of university – business,- to increase the adaptability of the business culture in the high education process as creativity requires the complementarities of both the technological and organisational modernisation as well as change management,- to engage into systematic and permanent dialogue HE institutions, employers and all relevant stakeholders: HE students, community, local/regional authorities and other organizations across EU.The 3 complementary outputs that will be generated within this project aim to develop and improve HE students’ and graduates’ basic skills by:1)meeting education and business, with regard to creating synergies between the sectors towards reducing youth unemployment and documenting the experience in applying the creativity techniques in different sectors as inspiration for others (IO1: innCREA Creativity and Pioneering Audit Tool to describe the specifications should be followed to better conduct a creativity audit)2)equipping the both sectors: business and education with knowledge and practical guidelines how they can contribute to the generation of these skills in students to create employees of the future (IO2: innCREA Guideline)3)improving teachers’ qualifications and knowledge about the relevance of these skills on the contemporary labour market and equipping them with practical ways to develop them in students (IO3: innCREA Creativity and Pioneering Training Programme Package)

"ContextThe fragility of young people in the labor market and the increasing instability of the transition from education are globally recognized by OECD and the International Labour Organization. The mismatch between the skills of young people entering the labor market and the skills sought and valued by employers poses additional challenge to the transition of young people to work and consequent emancipation and independence. Besides the need for matching skills identified by the EC as New Skills for New Jobs initiative, studies such as Bennett (2002) and Ferguson (2010) show the importance of shared understanding about the skills sought by employers, so that educational institutions can adapt their curricula and the young job applicants can prepare themselves in the best way. The McKinsey report ""Education to Employment: Getting Europe's Youth Into Work-The road with many barriers"", 2014 highlights that one of the reasons for the mismatch is the lack of or poor communication between education institutions and employers. Thus emerges a clear need for better dialogue not only between educational institutions and employers, but rather a dialogue involving all stakeholders, from the young people, communities and local authorities to the government. Project aimsBEGIN is an European social innovation project that aims to develop a comprehensive programme that will boost HE students soft skills and, at the same time, contribute do diminish the gap between skills in demand in the labor market and the skills offered by HE courses, by promoting a programme of career exploration activities and an initiative to engage into systematic and permanent dialogue HE institutions, employers and all relevant stakeholders: HE students, community, local/regional authorities and other organisations across EU.Target groupsThe target groups addressed by the project represent the main labor market actors that can contribute towards reducing unemployment among young graduates:- HE Students from universities’ faculties/courses with lower levels of employability- HE Teachers and other academic staff- HE Stakeholders: companies, social economy organizations, local/regional/national authorities, students’ associations/representatives, previous students from the involved HEIs and EU organizationsExpected outcomesThe project will result in three complementary intellectual outputs - BEGIN Toolbox for career exploration activities – partner will implement various career exploration activities and document the experience of students, employers and academic staff during the planning, execution and follow-up. The Toolbox will serve as a know-how and inspiration tool to other HEIs, proving guidelines based on real experience of partner universities.- BEGIN Practical methodology for joint Business-Education Initiatives - a comprehensive tool equipping successful professionals with a step by step mentoring plan and guidelines on how to effectively pass their knowledge to their mentees and develop the skills they would like their future employees to have. - BEGIN training course for Soft Skills & Personal Development - open e-learning training material that will boost HEI’s staff qualification and thus serve as tool for boosting students’ soft skills, demanded by both contemporary and future labor market. It will aid universities to adopt a proactive approach towards preparation of students by teaching them not only soft skills demanded by the nowadays market, but also by future labor market, such as cognitive load management; virtual collaboration; social intelligence; novel and adaptive thinking; cross-cultural competences, etc. The three outputs of BEGIN form a comprehensive programme triangle that addresses each of the main labor market stakeholders: HE students, academic staff and employers. Thus an integrated set of knowledge resources and practical tools is formed that contributes to the permanent engagement between the 3 target groups and boosts HE students’ soft skills portfolio, so as to promote better integration of HE graduates in labor market, reduce youth unemployment and shrink the gap between skills offered and skills needed on the present and future labor market."