Agenzia Nazionale Giovani (Italian National Agency) presents the research report “Effects of Active Citizenship on the Employability of Volunteers Participating in the European Solidarity Corps Programme“.

Effects of the European Solidarity Corps on Youth Employability

Open mindset, networking, active participation in social and democratic life, transversal skills: these are, according to the research carried out by the Agenzia Nazionale per i Giovani “Effects of Active Citizenship in the Employability of Volunteers Participating in the ESC Programme”, the main characteristics acquired by the Volunteers participating in the European Solidarity Corps, a project based on more than 25 years of European programmes in the fields of youth and solidarity.

The EU programme, managed in Italy by ANG, since 2018 allows thousands of girls and boys to live voluntary and solidarity experiences all over Europe within projects designed to help communities or populations. In fact, the programme’s activities support the objectives of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027, which encourages young people to active and responsible participation in social, economic, cultural, political and civic spheres through exchange opportunities in a European context.

The Research

The primary aim of the research was to identify the potential impact of the programme on the world of work for Italian volunteers who participated in European volunteering projects, investigating to what extent this experience has a positive impact on employability, but also on the improvement of their personal skills and abilities.

42.5% of the interviewees, out of a total sample of 244 subjects (64 men and 153 women) with an average age of 27.8 years, 60% coming from Northern Italy, followed by 20% from the South and Islands and only 13.5% from Central Italy, highlight how the experience abroad proves to be a strategic lever for the development of a more open-minded personal and professional outlook; 8.63% emphasise an increased awareness of the value of diversity and inclusion obtained by strengthening their networks of extra-national relations and learning new cultural models in the organisational sphere and in the management of relations; again, 12% highlight how participation in the programme favours the development of specific and transversal skills.

An important element to underline, in order to reinforce the message that emerges from these data, is also that at the time of the interview, the population under analysis was mostly in a condition of employability or training (55.3% employed and 30.3% student/trainee) and only 9% were seeking employment. In addition, 85% confirmed that they intended to undertake further mobility in the future, demonstrating an awareness of how investing in their training can be a driver for finding employment.

Among the main motivations behind the decision to join the European Solidarity Corps programme are in fact both the need for personal development in order to experience and deal with a context different from the domestic one, and the desire to expand one’s professional dimension, improving one’s skills and competences, and the desire to network in order to build new relationships.

“Youth volunteering through the European Solidarity Corps programme,” says Lucia Abbinante, Director General of ANG, “is an extraordinary opportunity that broadens the cognitive horizons of the young volunteers involved. The comparison with other cultures, personal growth, active participation in political, cultural, democratic and civic life in a European context contributes to forming citizens of the future who respect the values of inclusion, equality, social, economic and environmental sustainability. The photograph returned by the research overcomes and demolishes all the clichés about a generation that, when not ignored, is portrayed as disinterested and apathetic: nothing could be further from the truth. It is the duty of the institutions, on the contrary, to widen these opportunities, make them more accessible and overcome the gap that can still be bridged in this age group, before it is too late. Training even in non-formal contexts is a driving force for the future, and the research carried out by the Agenzia Nazionale Giovani shows precisely how much experiences of this kind help to enrich knowledge and skills with positive spin-offs in terms of employability. A new generation of European citizens is growing up and deserves more attention’.

In fact, the research shows how participation in the ESC programme increased participants’ awareness of social issues (72.65%) – such as democracy, immigration, sustainability, equality, exclusion, citizenship, equal opportunities – confirming how experience abroad facilitates the development of multifaceted knowledge.

Critical thinking, greater self-confidence in oneself and in one’s choices, the ability to mediate and adapt to different contexts and cultures, and language skills are the main competences learnt detected by those who, between 2018 and 2020, took part in the European Solidarity Corps projects: a crucial training background to face future challenges in the world of work, but also in life.

L'articolo Italian National Agency Research | Effects of the European Solidarity Corps on Youth Employability proviene da Youth Networks.

The Project objective is to maximise their engagement in the labour market through offering professional development paths that go beyond formal HE trainings. In order to meet the expectations of entrepreneurs and recruiters connected with the most desirable soft-skills, the courses that the project offer are based on the demand-driven employers’ perspective.

Background

According to ground-breaking research published by World Economic Forum in 2016, in the era of digital automation and AI, career success factors are facing times of significant changes especially in industry sectors at high technological coefficient (but not exclusively!).

From 2020, at the very edge of the forth industrial revolution, strategic competitiveness relies more and more on intellectual capital assets – hence the needs to cultivate new managerial talents that are strongly empowered not only on technical knowledge but mostly on soft and intangible capabilities.

ESSENCE aims to nurture a complete set of new soft-skills on HE students and fresh graduates to complete, enhance and enrich their education and employability competitiveness beside the formal University training. During the project, the partners have developed trainings, courses, educational modules and contents that are in line with the CEDEFOP guidelines for Learning Outcome and fully aligned with the EQF from levels 3 to 5.

In addition, the project developed operational tools (i.e. self-assessment means) that systematically engage multiple organisational studies field and functions – communication, people management, HR, etc.

ESSENCE Project

On the website of the ESSENCE project you can find:

• OER Platform: The ESSENCE project has created its own OER platform which has been translated into 7 languages to reach different international target groups
• Mapping: Here it is intended to link soft skills with employability. Mapping the most desirable soft skills among employers within the EU countries.
• Toolkit: Training content is available (short, easy to use for teachers and intuitive to manage for users) for each soft skill identified as relevant in the process of mapping.
• Guidelines: They consists of two components: guidelines for the exploitation of the project results and a soft skills manifesto.

Read also

ESC2LEARN | Online Training Platform to Support Volunteers

L'articolo ESSENCE | Improve Employability Opportunities for HE Students proviene da Youth Networks.

The budget will increase from approximately €89,6 billion to approximately €106,8 billion – around 19% more than the amount proposed by the Commission.

The proposal of the Employment Committee

At the beginning of last December the Employment Committee voted a proposal to increase the budget in order to strengthen the ESF+. It passed with 38 vote to 3 and the Parliament voted exactly the evisaged measures.

The main issue to tackle regards the young people currently not in employment, education or training (NEET). It was decided that at least 15% of the ESF+ shall go to the countries with a percentage of NEET above the european average or at least of 15% – the European Commission set the bar at 10% of the Fund. Moreover, at least 5% of the available budget shall go to the implementation of the European Child Guarantee (for which it has been also introduced a specific allocation of EUR 5.9 billion).

The management of the budget is partly shared between the European Commission and the member states. The Commission proposed that this should be 25% out of the total, while the Committee made it increase up to 27%. What is left to the Commission to manage (for EUR 1,1 mio, out of a total of EUR 106, 781) are the two strands of employment and social innovaton, on one side, and health, on the other.

For more details, check the Multiannual Finance Framework 2021-27.

L'articolo More investments for young people: MEPs voted for strengthening of EU Social Fund proviene da Youth Networks.