<< Background >>EUROFOUND records that in 2019 there were more than 9.3 Million NEETs in Europe which translates in a loss for EU economies that is estimated to be around EUR 142 Billion in benefits (i.e. foregone earnings), source: https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/topic/neetsCOVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the condition of socio-economic isolation/marginalisation of NEETs with serious and very concerning impacts for their well-being and mental health. A survey conducted by EUROFOUND (COVID-19 and NEETs: Is History Repeating Itslef?) confirmed that NEETs’ motivation, resilience and sense of initiative are at their lowest rate since the 2008’ crisis. The needs analysis conducted during proposal – and confirmed by EUROFOUND – highlighted the following concerning trends: 1. due to COVID-19, NEETs are struggling even more to find a place for themselves in society2. the isolation caused by COVID restrictions is posing serious threats for their mental health and well-being: depression, loneliness, very low-sense of initiative, very low-sense of self-efficacy and adaptability3. NEETs are very insecure about their financial future. In the aftermath of the pandemic. Compared to over 30 y/o, NEETs shown greater “anxiety” about the stability of their future professional career >NEEDS tackled by SPECIAL:1.CEDEFOP’ EUROPEAN SKILLS INDEX 2020: skills mismatch, activation and development of skills is still very fragmented among EU – with many countries represented in SPECIAL (ES, IT and RO) performing way below the EU average. If not addressed by large-scale initiatives moved by the common mission and vision shared by participants as in SPECIAL, such heterogeneity in results might lead to ever greater differences and gaps among members states and EU citizens2. The disrupting forces intervening in the markets are moving professional careers in becoming more diverse, morphing and trans-functional: soft skills and life competences (adaptability, resiliency, self-efficacy, flexibility, etc.) are instrumental to enable job-seekers in embracing a new normality in which non-linear careers are becoming increasingly common (OECD Employment Outlook ‘19; Going beyond technical skills, ILO ‘18)3. SPECIAL is extremely time relevant. In the words of EUROFOUND: “The impact of the pandemic on education is also damaging NEETs’ opportunities to accumulate human capital. The suspension of schooling is likely to hinder skills formation, while reinforcing inequalities between the most privileged and the most vulnerable”. SPECIAL is inclusive by design and works to reignite sense of initiative among NEETs to sustain them in (re)engaging in education, labour market and/or nurture their entrepreneurial spiritsTARGETS NEEDS•VET providers, their need is assuring attractiveness of education and training from NEETs’ perspective. Based on EURFOUND findings and Council Recommendation on VET, EU training and education systems needs to be better equipped to tackle, face and overcome the new related challenges emerging from societies•Public Authorities, their need is to be better informed on new priorities emerging from their socio-economic ecosystems. This means planning and implementing policies that are better consistent with the 3rd EU Commission priorities for ’19-’24 “an economy at the service of people”, sub priority of reference “Youth Employment Support - A bridge to work for the next generation”, with specific reference to the following proposition from the EU: “preparing EU policies on vocational education and training (VET) for the future”•NEETs, their needs consist in being able to access and rely on “catchy” and easy-to-absorb training content that help them in (re)gaining trust in themselves, sense of initiative, motivation in education and training so as to help them in reintegrating in society as job-seekers and/or aspiring entrepreneurs. To trigger such “renaissance” of motivation, SPECIAL training content will leverage on two EU frameworks that exploit<< Objectives >>SPECIAL aims to strengthen, reignite and nurture “life” and “soft” skills of EU NEETs so as to sustain them in (re)integrating in post-COVID societies and labour markets. Particular focus will be given to NEETs from non-urban areas, as indicated by data (EUROSTAT, EUROFOUND), exponentially disadvantage in accessing training and education SPECIAL gives priority to adapt VET practices (exercised by trainers, coacher, and staff) to the current and future needs of the economy and society. SPECIAL targets the design, provision and exploitation of innovative training content that embeds agile thinking as an umbrella framework for soft skill developmentSPECIAL design, develop and test training programmes that are flexible, demand-driven, tailored on targets’ needs and learners-centred. SPECIAL training exploits soft and transversal skills for career development/employability/self-empowerment of NEETs. The project is flexible by design: SEPCIAL is adaptable at trans-sectorial and transnational dimension to successfully manage the transition of learners form their condition of “economic” isolation to motivated job-seekers/aspiring entrepreneursTo do so, SPECIAL project aims to design, develop, test and validate a new training framework for VET operators that is instrumental to: 1. reignite NEETs’ sense on initiative 2. nurture NEETs’ perception of self-awareness and self-efficacy3. strengthen NEETs’ flexibility and adaptation to social and market labour dynamics4. empower NEETs’ social and life skills5. enhance NEETs’ employability opportunities and/or entrepreneurial spirits6. increase NEETs’ proficiency in critical and creative thinking for self-employability/job hunting/development of business ideasThe SPECIAL training will stem from two of the most robust and reliable EU frameworks in the domain of education and training: EntreComp and LifeCompSPECIAL takes stock of available best practices and case studies to (re)engage NEETs in education and training so as to sustain them in unleashing their potential for employability/job-hunting/development of entrepreneurial spirts. Emerging needs and potential areas of intervention will be counter-assessed and benchmarked with the 15 EntreComp competences and the 9 “Life Competences” of LifeComp and exploit them so as to track development programmes that are consistent with: -NEETs needs -official EU frameworks for education and training. The training material will respond to the needs of all identified targets Consistently with the Council Recommendation on VET for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience (2020/C 417/01), SPECIAL will: >designing a training model that is designed to be readapted/adaptable to labour market, sectoral or individual up- or reskilling needs>offering training and education resources that are learner-centred, access to face-to-face and digital or blended learning in flexible and modular pathways>tackling the opportunity for skills development and enhance EU citizens employment prospect and participation in society – consistently with “Towards European Education Area ‘25”>providing VET students high quality and innovative training tailored on skills for work, personal development that help them to get or create new jobs<< Implementation >>1. partners will first establish the digital identity of the project and formal “online storage” of all PRs, relevant news and updates. The SPECIAL OER Platform stands also as its most strategic means for online engagement and visibility. Users will be able to access the content for FREE – no log in credentials will be ever required. The content will be also available in compliance with the “open access to research and data” recommendation of the programme guide (page 14)2. In conjunction with the launch of PR1, partners will kickstart the mapping and research activities on relevant needs, challenges and threats preventing NEETs from entering in the labour market or in further training paths. A common methodology for the assessment will be developed and shared among partners by IHF so as to assure comparability of findings and common operative guidelines. To strengthen the sample of results, each partner will conduct the assessment in reference to their national context. IHF, as EU think thank and centre specialised in research on EU policies and practices, will focus on the EU/int. level3. Partners will benchmark them with the education areas of the EntreComp and LifeComp. This matching activity will help partners to identify training and educations areas that are most suitable for targets’ specific necessities and that are consistent with the 15 EntreComp competences and the 9 areas of the LifeComp. The final deliverable from this task consists in a multidimensional matrix in which for each specific need there is a consistent LifeComp’s area and EntreComp’s competenceThis cross assessment will represent the specific framework of reference for the training development. The matrix settles up the key intervention areas on which partners should focus and the key expected learning outcomes4. in consideration of the aforementioned matrix, partners will start to develop the training material. The training content will be organised in training module (macro-topics). Each training module (max. 20000 characters each) will be divided in further sub-didactic units so as to facilitate learning from targets and the organisation of the training programme for tutors/coachesBased on finding emerged during the preassessment before proposal, the proposed outline of the training is as follows:2 modules on ICT 2 on business management and entrepreneurship 2 on digital entrepreneurship2 on soft skills2 on life skillsThe exact topic of each training module will be confirmed after completion of PR2 so as to assure pedagogical accuracy and consistency with targets’ actual needsAn internal peer-review evaluation is also foreseen. Each partner will review of another partner’s content so as to assure for reliability and homogeneity of the content5. Upon positive feedbacks from all partners, the consortium will enter into the validation phase w/120 targets + 15 practitioners (cumulative number). PR3 leader will develop a Validation Plan that will provide guidance on how to structure the teaching activities, which tools to be used to collect feedback and comments from users. The performance standard is settled at least 70% of positive feedbacks. PR3 will conclude with the finetuning of the training material based on targets’ feedbacks6. Partners will develop the official digital legacy of SPECIAL, instrumental to sustain opportunities for its further replicability beyond the partnership and the EU co-financing cycle. PR4 considers both the domain of (a) practice and (b) policy: (a)operational guidelines. It will enable other EU stakeholders to leverage on SPECIAL’ experience, replicate the “project formula” and trigger consistent impacts at EU level(b) Policy recommendations. Inputs to “evidence-based” policy making in the field of NEETs, socio-economic inclusion, equal opportunities. It is the policy guideline that informs policy makers and relevant stakeholders on new opportunities for NEETs engagement in labour/training market<< Results >>Partners identified the following outcomes for targets during and at project completion:• INCREASED SENSE OF SELF-INITIATIVE for LEARNING TO LEARN developmentTargets will be better empowered to:>identify (business opportunities) for value-generation>brainstorm creative ideas>develop a long-term vision>valuing and reasoning on business ideas• INCREASED SENSE OF SELF-EFFICACY (mobilizing, organizing and matching resources) for the SOCIAL AREA of development>identify and assess the operational context>nurture their business and financial literacy>remain motivated and focused>increase their resiliency and flexibility>mobile others• INCREASED SENSE OF SELF-RELIABILITY for the PERSONAL AREA of development>overcoming challenges with self-made solutions>planning and managing: setting priorities>coping with risk and uncertainty>coordinating tasks and roles>learning-by-doingPRs are designed based on a “staged methodological approach”, meaning that each PR is instrumental for the implementation of the following:PR1) the SPECIAL OER platform represents the main mean for project’s visibility and exploitation at international level. It stands as the “online identity” of the project and online community of practice dedicated to soft skill and self-empowerment for employability, upskilling, education and training. PR1 responds to the needs of:>make available for VET practitioners a set for tool and resources to better tackle the needs of their cohorts and build on online community of practice for the NEETs empowerment>make available for policy stakeholders a set of tool and resource to better informed them on social and economic challenges soaring form the EUPR2) desk assessment on NEETs’ needs and benchmark with the EntreComp and LifeComp so as to take-stock of:>quali/quantitative trends pertaining to the phenomenon of NEETs>best practices and case scenario that might be readapted to SPECIAL operational settings>drivers, inhibitors and challenges faced by VET practitioners in engaging and retaining NEETs students>linkages of preliminary findings with the 15 EntreComp competences and 9 LifeComp areas so as to tackle to most suitable and “EU consistent” training areas for social skills, self-awareness and self-efficacy, communication, creativity and critical thinkingDeliverables will be 5 country reports, 1 int./EU report, 1 cross-assessment matrix with EntreComp/LifeComp, 1 executive summary in multilanguage versionPR3) based on PR2 findings, partners will consolidate and upload on the Platform a set of training materials that are expected to nurture NEETs’ interests in development of personal and social skills. Training material will be: >EQF compliant (form lvl 3 to 5)>organised in Training Modules further sub-dived in Training Units so as to facilitate its ease of use and the planning of training programmes from coaches and consultants (the exact number of Module and Units will be agreed based on PR2 findings). What will follow is a validation phase w/120 NEETs + 15 VET providers (engaged by IHF and EPIC). Based on targets’ satisfaction feedback, after completion of the piloting, the training material will be revised accordinglyPR4) is conceived as the digital legacy of the project. 2 deliverables are foreseen:1.IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES for VET coaches. This document will set the stage for clear guidelines aimed to valorise the adoption of the SPECIAL training resources, materials and tools beyond the partnership. The document will give detailed instructions on operational and managerial features, including the delivery mechanisms and other operational aspects of the training to replicate SPECIAL-like initiative, sustain the uptake and exploitation of the project by other VET organisations2. POLICY RECCOMENDATIONS. The paper puts forward ideas and inputs to relevant public stakeholders, to advance the policy discussion with focus on the linkages between the world of VET and employabiability