not applicable

The number of unemployed youth and early school leavers is constantly rising in most European countries, while at the same time many European companies are facing a shortage of skilled labor. To counteract both of these alarming tendencies, several attempts have been made to open the European market for young people. With our project “Accompany me!” we wanted to follow up the idea of attracting students not only to their national labour market, but also widen their view towards the international market. As high youth unemployment rates reflect the difficulties faced by young people in finding jobs, we wanted to prepare the ground for both students and companies for collaboration that has an impact not only on their future, but also on their motivation to continue school and not leave it too early. The idea of “Accompany me!” was to bridge the gap between the worlds of education and work through collaboration between schools and companies. Students were working in national and international teams and solving realistic and practical tasks, which were given by different companies. All their work was presented in blogs and these are published on project webpage. During the events teachers and mentors monitored and supported their group work. The students improved their key competences, such as solving problems, expressing themselves verbally and in writing, reading, mathematics, social science and using digital tools. All communication was in English, so the development of language skills was significant. All this combined has given both students and teachers a valuable insight into the European labor market.In this Project there were 4 partner schools. Lillesand Ungdomsskole (Norway) works together with an entrepreneurial agency and has experiences in entrepreneurial work at school. Integrierte Gesamtschule Thaleischweiler- Fröschen (Germany) has a lot of experiences combining school and working life. Their job was to enrich our project and to be responsible for the blogs and website. Tallinna Reaalkool (Estonia) has very good theoretical skills and they managed the budget, the timetable and were responsible for the monitoring and evaluating the project. They were also responsible for all documentation of the process and progress. SSOU MOSHA PIJADE (Macedonia) has good collaboration with local companies and their knowledge of connecting theory and practice were widened this project. They were responsible for the collection of ideas and lesson tasks, and supervising the establishment of partnerships between the schools and companies.During the project period there were 3 transnational meetings (with 8-10 teachers from 4 countries at each meeting) and 5 Learning-Teaching-Training Activities (24 students and 8 teachers from 4 countries at each meeting).The project raised the students' ability for self-motivated learning, fostered the process of “learning to learn” as a way to improve academic skills, gained personal growth and increased motivation. Students are now aware of the differences and similarities between various companies in Europe. But even more importantly, they have become more tolerant and respectful towards people in different professions and cultures. In the long run this project should lead to a lower drop-out rate and companies got the chance to establish cooperation with the participating schools, which might lead to permanent jobs for skilled laborers.Teachers have gotten a collection of best practices combining entrepreneurial and practical skills.

CONTEXTThe project idea was a natural initiative which stemmed from the needs identified at first by the coordinating school and then subject to discussion with the other partner schools. The analysis showed that most students were not properly equipped to launch and promote their trades in the virtual space, which often results in their inability to reach the target audience they need in order to sustain and develop their small enterprises. Some of our graduates do not find a workplace soon after their graduation, partly due to their poor knowledge of how to market themselves. PARTICIPANTS The project addressed students from wide range of specialisations - cookery, hospitality, tourism, agriculture, catering and services, transports or sports, in their pre-terminal years, which is at the age of 17-18. Out of the target group of 220 students, 64 participated directly in the transnational LTTAs, as a result of a fair and transparent selection process. OBJECTIVES The purpose of the project was to facilitate the insertion of students into the labour market or business world after graduation, through a learning by doing approach which gave them an idea about the requirements, limits and possibilities of the real business world. Objectives: - at least 70 % of the students in the TG gained knowledge of how to set up a business - at least 75 % of the students created an online CV, a cover letter, a business card and a portfolio - at least 60% of students used the online tools presented in the project meetings by professionals in order to access workplaces - at least 40 % of sudents developed entrepreneurial skills - at least 50 % of students made use of some of the online tools for marketing purposes - at least 80 % of participants improved their foreign language skills - at least 60 % of students and teachers in the partnership improved their organisational skills - all participants improved their knowledge of other European countries, customs and traditions - all participants improved their communication, team work and social skills MAIN ACTIVITIES We planned 4 LTTAs and 2 TMs and all of them were carried out C1 - HU - Mar 2018: professionals in the business field lectured students about how to identify business opportunities, what to take into account and what to avoid when starting an enterprise, European funding and co-funding opportunities for new enterprises, creating business plans. C2 - IT - May 2018: professionals in the hotel industry lectured students about the requirements in this area, as well as specialists in online marketing. Students simulated business initiatives based on knowledge acquired during C1 and C2. C3 - MK- Oct 2018: Getting employment in the specific domains - CVs, cover letters, portfolios, online platforms C4 - BG - March 2019: Online brochure for promoting the touristic potential of their areas, economy, job and business opportunities, cultural life, entertainment, hotels, restaurants and pubs, transport facilities, sports centres. TM1 - TR - Nov 2017 TM2 - TR - May 2019 RESULTS We attained the following tangible results: - 5 sets of management and implementation documents - 4 sets of documents related to LTTAs: minutes, certificates of attendance, Europass mobility documents, Europass CVs, students' work, photos, presentations of schools and systems of education, business plans (4), online tourist brochure (1), students' CVs, cover letters, portfolios, lecture materials, meeting minutes, meeting reports. We unederline that the Macedonian partners didn't provide the students with the Europass relating to the mobility in Macedonia, in spite of the many requests sent to the colleagues and to their Headteacher. - 2 sets of documents related to TMs - 1 collection of dissemination materials - articles, workshops, websites, logo, links to articles and publications, photos, lists of participants - 1 collection of evaluation documents and an impact study conducted at the end of the project. Intangible results refer to the acquisitions of students and teachers in professional, cultural, linguistic and social terms IMPACT On participants: - development of transversal competences such as ICT capability, critical and creative thinking, personal and social capability, intercultural understanding - improvement of knowledge about other cultures in the European space and attitude towards otherness, thus becoming more aware of their social identity - development of know-how about setting up a business, identifying business opportunities, promoting a business online - improvement of the ability to create a professional set of employment documents - CV, cover letter, digital portfolio - development of linguistic competence - development of a sense of European identity. On participating organisations - schools acquired visibility and a positive image in their communities - the students and teaching staff became more cohesive - i

The unemployment rate of the partner countries is among the highest in Europe (IT 9,7 % -SRB 12,1% -MK 16,6% - Cy 8,2% - SP 14,1% - BU 5,8% - FR 8.9% ; source taken from national statistics). And homeless, migrants, people in marginalized conditions are the more affected from this lack of employment. Their condition of marginality is often due to lack of opportunities, economic possibilities and stimulus. On the other side, the areas covered by partners, metallurgic/enterprises and welder, are strategical sectors where new and increasing skilled labour force is required. In the last years, the job offer is augmented and had to face a diminishing job demand, as young people are not considering VET as a possible career for their future. The SMELT project- : Skilling Marginalized people to Enter Labour Market, is aiming to face the paradox of job vacancies that are available but cannot be filled, by promoting a new model for solving this workforce shortage and support vulnerable and marginalized people in acquiring and developing key competences strategical for the labour market. Marginalisation, is often due to a lack of adequate education and/or specific technical skills, which contribute to cut off those people from the labour market and, as a consequence, exacerbates their social isolation and marginalisation, which in turn, further hinders their access to the labour market. This vicious cycle perpetuates inequality, marginalization, poverty and isolation.Combining expertise and experiences of association/NGOs working with marginalized people, enterprises, VET centres and educational institute proceeding from 7 countries, the project is expecting to promote the access to VET and low-skilled professions (in the specific the welder one) through organizing specific training courses.The training course will be shaped for this specific target group mixing/merging technical workshops to learn the welder profession and classes to increase digital skills and soft skill to facilitate people’s access into the labour market and, more in general, into social tissue. Specific courses will be carried out to explain how to create a CV, where to send it, how to find job offers and to reach the job center. The idea at the basis is to foster their inclusion and participation in the society.The project is addressed to people living in situations of social marginality, namely vulnerable people who are normally excluded from the labour market, as often as a consequence from the society as well, because of their age or their lack of skills, homeless, migrants, people who do not have access to training or have not the possibility to acquire specific professional skills. The project foresee the realisation of 3 IOs: a training to explain vulnerable people the most fundamental information on rights in the workplace, principal contact of where to find a job, a training course, how to write a cv and hoe to send it, which will end with the co-creation of an Easy handbook on the Labour Market, accessible and easy to read to all; a more technical and practical training course “VET for all – training new welder workers” aimed at increasing job opportunities and developing specific skills in the welder sector; and the IO3, indeed, will be a ITEM to Improve The life of Marginalised people, namely the creation of an item, useful in the daily life of vulnerable people, co- created by the participants of the welder course and specialised workers. The innovative aspect resides in the formula of the training and its aims. We believe in an active participation of the direct beneficiaries of the project as well as in their essential contribution to create effective products able to impact their lives and those of people living in the same marginalisation. For this reason, the training modules proposed are followed by a moment of co-creation where participants, educators and trainers will give birth to innovative outputs able to trigger a solidarity mechanism – where people can give back something to the society. The SMELT project is expected to improve vulnerable people lives and support them in find their personal path, increasing their self-respect and giving back their dignity, enabling them to form social connections, enrich their knowledge, engage with professionals of the field, familiarise themselves with training, getting the opportunity to ask questions and seek meaningful support.

Context/background of the projectThe Survey of schools: ICT in Education, ( Digital Agenda for Europe) outline how the ICT provision and use in European schools is improving but several obstacles remain. Firstly, teachers still believe that insufficient ICT equipment is the biggest obstacle to ICT use in many countries. Secondly, whilst teachers are using ICT for preparing classes, ICT use in the classroom for learning is infrequent. Teacher training in ICT is rarely compulsory and most teachers devote spare time to private study. Thirdly, students and teachers have the highest use of ICT and ICT learning-based activities when schools combine policies on ICT integration in teaching and learning. However, most schools do not have such an overarching policy. Therefore it is not surprising that teachers generally believe that there is a need for radical change to take place for ICT to be fully exploited in teaching and learning. Despite the fact that having access and positive attitudes towards implementing ICT into their teaching and learning, teachers often find this difficult and require on-going support - not only technical but also pedagogical. ObjectivesThroughout the planned activities, DISCO project enhanced the key competences and skills on ICT and learning performance of young people attending schools, through promoting quality improvements, innovation excellence at the level of education, in particular through enhanced transnational cooperation between education and training providers and other stakeholders in the field of ICT integration in Schools (teaching and management). Moreover the project has boosted the emergence and raise awareness of a European lifelong learning area designed to complement policy reforms at national level and to support the modernization of education systems, in particular through enhanced dissemination of good practices and cooperation. Also special attention was given to enhancing the digital integration in learning, teaching, at various levels: supporting ICT-based teaching, as well as ICT-based assessment practices. In particular, supporting teachers, educational staff in acquiring or improving the use of ICT for learning and related digital competences.Number and profile of participating organisations;There were 5 partners in the project from 4 countries: - SOUTH EAST EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY TETOVO - Macedonia, (SEEU) is private, public, not for profit higher education institution, consisting of faculties, centers and institutes as its integral part, specialized in socio-economic sciences. - SSOU MOSHA PIJADE - Tetovo - Macedonia, VET high school with students from 14 to 18 years old. The school is a regional center as well in which students from the city of Tetovo and surrounding villages are attending the lectures and educational process in general. - Pakize Kokulu Anadolu Lisesi- Turkey, governmental organisation working within the National Education Department of Mersin Province.- Inercia Digital S.L. - Spain, young company, established in 2012 in Andalucía (Spain) which provides specialization e-learning on several sectors. - ZENDENSINO - Cooperativa de Ensino IPRL, Portugal. The Professional school of Esposende was created in 1993, as a result of a Contract Program celebrated between the Ministry of the Education and the promotional entities, respectively the City Council of Esposende. Description of undertaken main activitiesStudy of best practices and case studies - During the first 6 months of the project, a comparative survey was carried out in each participating organizations' countries with a focus on the strategy of ICT integration in schools. Training on methodology on ICT in education - Training on methodology in ICT integration in education in 5 best practices selected, was delivered for 25 teachers.Digital School Distinction - Contest for Digital schools was organized Web site and OER - Web site was created (www.digitalschools.eu) and all materials from the project were shared.Dissemination multiplier events - In order to spread the results of the project, 9 multiplier events were organized.Results and impact attained4 case studies, 25 best practices, 25 trained teachers in ICT, Guide for schools, more than 20 schools participated in contest are the results from the project that have impacted more than 2000 teachers, more than 2000 students and about 30000 stakeholders.Longer-term benefitsThe project have encouraged long-term collaboration between schools and other research and training organizations with a view on ICT integration in education establishing exchanges of good practices, for the creation of a dedicated network.