The last week of September marked the first consortium meeting for the
Erasmus+ YES project: Youth Engagement and Employability for Success through
Social Entrepreneurship, which is co-founded by the European Union.
Partners aligned on the project vision to empower young people and youth
workers through a participatory approach that blends soft skills development
with social entrepreneurship, supporting positive change in local communities
across Italy, Spain, Croatia, Malta and Romania.
During the meeting we confirmed the overall roles within the partnership,
reviewed how work packages interconnect, and agreed on task leadership to
ensure smooth coordination and quality. We also mapped the immediate next
steps, connecting research, training design and local engagement so that
activities move from planning to implementation without gaps.
The team outlined the research efforts that will inform the training
programme, including needs analysis with beneficiaries and youth workers, case
studies of social enterprises from each partner country, and a shared method
for collecting insights. We agreed to keep the methodology bottom up, starting
from real needs, and to use practical tools that help participants build
employability and entrepreneurial confidence.
Looking ahead, we set our first transnational project meeting for January in
Bucharest, which will be organised by GEYC, where we will validate the
research findings, finalise the training structure and plan the in person YES
Up activities. We also aligned on a dissemination approach that uses a common
visual identity, partner channels and stories from the field to build
awareness, encourage participation and connect volunteers with young people
who can benefit most.
The consortium closed the meeting with a shared commitment to inclusive
participation, regular coordination and transparent quality monitoring,
ensuring that YES delivers meaningful learning experiences and tangible
community impact.
GET INVOLVED - Next steps for GEYC Community
1. If you are 18-30 yrs old, not in education, employment or training
or have a fewer opportunities background, fill in our survey to self-assess your soft skills while providing the YES
consortium with valuable information about your training needs.
You can fill in the survey HERE
3. If you are 18-30 yrs old, not in education, employment or training
or have a fewer opportunities background
come join us for a focus group where you can express your views about the
needed soft skills on the job market nowadays and tell us more why you think
they are important and what soft skills do you personally feel you need to
be equipped for the job market.
You can enroll to the focus group HERE
3. If you are a youth worker and want to contribute to the creation of a
training material for both young people and your workers, help us assess your
your reskilling and upskilling needs, especially regarding the importance of
soft skills to be conveyed to young people.
Please fill in the survey HERE
Funded by the European Union. However, the opinions expressed belong solely
to the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European
Union or the Italian Youth Agency. Neither the European Union nor the
granting authority can be held responsible for them.