PPC

The most vulnerable young people in our society face particular difficulties in obtaining and sustaining vocational education and training and work placements. Existing research into the experience of most vulnerable in society, highlights the difficulties faced by vulnerable young people in obtaining and sustaining training and placements across the EU.

The aim of the project is to provide resources for current VET providers and employers who are interested in implementing apprenticeships and other training placements for the most vulnerable young people in our society.

The key objectives are:

1. to explore the experiences of young people;
2. to identify the needs of employers;
3. to identify the needs of schools and VET trainers;
4. to map good practice;
5. to bring together practitioners;
6. to provide a model of evidence based social support requirements;
7. to share good practice beyond the immediate partnership.

The indirect beneficiaries of the project are the most vulnerable young people in society. We are using a broad age range from 16 to 25 in order to capture different definitions of ‘young people’ that are used across Europe.  Vulnerabilities relate to a wide range of often inter-related issues such as histories of violence and abuse, problematic drug and alcohol use, serious undiagnosed mental health issues, problematic family relationships, experience of offending and prison. This group includes young people from different ethnic origins, includes young people who are migrants. Some of the most vulnerable young people are women who at particular risk of domestic violence, sexual abuse and sex work.

The project is innovative for two main reasons.  First, it allows the sharing of lessons and good practice in implementing schemes to support the most vulnerable young people in our society obtain and sustain vocational training and placements. Second, it will provide opportunities to identify the extent to which such activity is transferable across different cultural and economic situations in the EU. Third, the project is innovative in seeing the young person holistically i.e. combining social support with VET activities.

Seven Project Partners, from five countries, will work together to identify the current policy approaches in Europe. The partner countries are Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, Austria, and the United Kingdom.

For more information please access:  www.positivepartnerships.eu