N. Ireland has high numbers of Young People (YP) who leave school with no /few qualifications; these YP often drop out of education and are described as being NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) They often have fewer opportunities & many have complex barriers that prevent them engaging with mainstream VET. In 2010 GEMS NI began to research & develop ideas to improve pathways to VET for NEET YP. This wasn’t about creating new VET programmes or delivery infrastructure, but creating the right conditions to make VET more attractive & accessible to YP who need additional support and a flexible menu of learning, life, leisure and work opportunities. GEMS NI developed the Co-Ment project - a flexible model which through personal mentoring assists a YP to develop their personal action plan around 4 ‘Zones’ Learning, Life, Leisure and Work with the YP banking time through activities in each Zone, supported by a personal mentor and an innovation resource to support their goals. Key to the model design is collaborative working between the range of organisations that need to share knowledge and resources to support a YP on their learning pathway with the YP’s personal Mentor helping them to navigate their learning journey. The project, delivered by GEMS NI since 2012, has been highly successful in supporting disadvantaged & marginalized YP to engage in VET; improving their personal capacity for learning & work resulting in positive destinations - return to education, engagement in mainstream VET programmes and employment. The EC-YP project aimed to develop, transfer & implement the innovative Co-Ment model in Italy, Austria & Ireland, customised to the needs of the partner country, to improve VET outcomes & lifelong learning pathways for NEET YP.The EC-YP in VET partnership combined the experience & expertise of organisations committed to working together to develop attractive & inclusive VET for disadvantaged & marginalized YP: GEMS NI,UK (Co-ordinator);TIME,UK; Antares ,Italy; Die Querdenker, Austria and Ballymun Job Centre, Ireland.The project had 2 direct target groups 1: 20 VET mentors who have a specialism and practical experience of delivering dedicated mentoring and careers advice to NEET YP 2: 62 YP who are not in education, training or employment and are recognised as amongst the hardest to reach, hardest to help In addition, 32 NEET YP and 10 VET trainers participated in the EC-YP YP Forum and EC-YP Advisory Group respectively contributing to the product design, evaluation and project dissemination. EC-YP was delivered through 8 work packages (WP), 3 core (Management, Quality /Evaluation and Dissemination/Exploitation) and 5 integrated product development WP (Needs Analysis, Product Model and Web-based platform, Training of Mentors, and Pilot Testing) Each WP had an allocated partner lead mapped to skills and experience and all partner roles and responsibilities within a defined budget & time-frame. ACTIVITIES• Project Management Structures (EC-YP Advisory Group, Quarterly Reporting, Basecamp, Dropbox, 8 transnational meetings, SKYPE meetings, & monthly partner contact)• Bi-annual Internal Monitoring reporting, bespoke evaluation methodologies mapped to project stages, YP Forum)• Dissemination Strategy & live plan, European, National, Regional and Local / 4 European Multiplier Events • Baseline Auditing and Needs Analysis • Product Development – collaborative mentoring model, & web-based platform • Training for Mentors piloted programme • 15 month Pilot Testing phase SUMMARY RESULTS & IMPACTA Quality Assured EC-YP Training for Mentors package, Collaborative Mentoring Model & web-based communications platform for use in partner countries UK, Ireland, Italy & Austria. A tried & tested approach which creates meaningful VET pathways for YP which creates meaningful VET pathways for NEET YP who experience multiple & complex barriers. POTENTIAL LONGER-TERM BENEFITS In Ireland the Police Service is interested in the model and how it could be used to work with young people on remand. Ballymun Job Centre have introduced the model into its practice portfolio and will share its learning within the Ireland-wide Employment Service membership. In Austria the project has made a strong impact with the Upper Austria Labour Department providing Die Querdenker with €50,000 to work with NEET YP. In Italy, Antares is developing a gamification tool to support teachers/VET to work with young people who are NEET including young migrants. In the UK GEMS NI and TIME have received interest and commendation from the NI Education and Training Inspectorate with GEMS NI being asked to present on how the model measures distance travelled and soft skills. The project is also being highlighted in international NEET research undertaken by Professor Sue Maguire, University of Bath and the work of Professor Robin Simmons, University of Huddersfield; both academics are recognised as experts in the NEET field

The project originated from 2 observations: a) in the school and in the society there is not enough talk about environmental sustainability (ES), while it is one of the 5 central points of Europe 2020; b) a fundamental EU document (Roadmap to Resource Efficient Europe '11) proposes to create a sustainable European economy by the year 2050. Wanting to operate in the VET system on these issues, we have activated a partnership able to promote a joint action of institutions belonging to the knowledge triangle, aiming at the creation of tools for VET teachers and trainers. We involved 6 very qualified partners from different fields and coming from 5 countries (IT, DK, ES, LT, UK). They have experience both in training and in environmental topics and have strong links with stakeholders in the reference contexts.Strengthened by a shared vision at the beginning, the partners immediately started to work trying to form a team focused on achieving the goals set by the project. They are: providing a coherent set of information and a program of advanced didactic modules for the VET teachers; designing the material (also using the ECVET approach) to help them develop an environmental-friendly mentality shared at European level and promoting, for their students, a proactive attitude, oriented towards the objectives of a resource-efficient Europe. EN VET realized, according to the scheduled timeframe (two more months were added to the original period) the five IOs. In particular, the following was carried out: 1) a comparative Report on the approach to ES in the involved countries, 5 country reports and 12 case studies; 2) 3 introductory didactic modules, enriched with sub-modules connected to UN Agenda 2030; 3) 6 Deepening Knowledge modules; 4) a more extensive than expected and very fruitful testing activity of the modules; 5) the EN VET Book with guidelines and the enhancement of the value for the products. This material is offered free of charge to the European VET system and is ready to be used by VET teachers who will manage the tools according to their needs and their educational objectives.Each one of the 9 modules is divided into three sections (handbook to organize the teaching; presentation with slides and learning questionnaire); they cover these topics: Renewable and non-renewable natural resources; Human load capacity of the Earth; Efficient management of resources in the EU; Circular economy; The water resource; Low carbon emissions in cement production; Sustainable waste management; Sustainable textile production; Energy efficient buildings. VET teachers, using the EN VET tools, will be able to increase their knowledge on strategic topics for humankind and transfer them to their students. On the other hand, the modules proved to be useful also for updating adults interested in the topic.To achieve these products, from a methodological point of view, a highly intersectoral approach was used in order to recreate, in this case for the VET system, a synergy between training, scientific research and companies similar to that existing in the EU programs such as HORIZON 2020 and LIFE. This is one of the most innovative aspects of the project and it was possible by involving, in addition to partner experts, stakeholders from the production, research and VET trainers, to contribute to the planning and drafting of products and then to test and validate them.The management of the project was carried out by the Coordinator, assisted by a Steering Committee. The climate in the partnership has been always clear and productive; no conflicts or misunderstandings have ever arisen. From the beginning there was full responsibility of all partners for the implementation of management activities; each of them coordinated one of the activities and actively participated in the others. Proper communication to strategic recipients has been ensured; 5 project meetings were organized (one in each partner country); a Quality Plan has been planned, a constant monitoring of the project has been carried out and a final Report on the Quality System has been drawn up which used more than 100 indicators. Each product was evaluated by external experts and then approved with the consensus of the whole partnership. Finally the dissemination was made using various tools: two mailing lists; web page linked to the platform (www.en-vet.eu); blogs and social networks; 5 multiplier events; the brochure and the newsletters; printing and dissemination of the book. In total we estimate that around 2000 people were contacted during the life of the project. During the last meeting the partners approved a sustainability agreement. It commits them to carry out a series of actions in the years after the end of the project, to allow a full functionality of the tools developed; these actions have already been successfully launched.

The ITER (Improving Transitions - Enabling Results) Project. NEET is a pan-European challenge; 14.3% of Young People (YP) aged 16-24 in the EU (5.3million) are NEET; (Eurostat 2018) the aims and objectives of the ITER project are directly linked to EU Youth Strategy (2019 - 2027) core priorities to fight the social exclusion and poverty affecting large numbers of YP in Europe. NEET YP across Europe are at serious risk of poverty and social exclusion; the ITER Project will contribute to opportunities and resources necessary for NEET YP to participate fully in economic, social and cultural life. The ITER project is designed to improve methods to engage NEET YP in identifying their needs and barriers to mainstream vocational education, empower them to co-design and implement their personal action plan to address their needs and barriers across 4 ‘Zones’: Learning, Life, Leisure and work, building in the customised assistance needed to support their transition from NEET to mainstream VET and support them & their receiving VET College with a transitions action plan which sets out the YP's support needs and agreed plan that prepares them for transition, supports them during transition and offers support to the VET organisation. The ITER project will focus on developing, testing and implementing innovative approaches and practices for study programmes, learners, staff and organisations; ITER is a partnership of 9 organisations/institutions representing 5 European Countries: UK, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Hungary. The partnership has the optimum skills, knowledge, experience and expertise that will be applied to develop and test innovative approaches and practices which support YP aged 16-24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) to successfully make the transition from intensive support programmes/specialist NEET provision to mainstream Vocational Education and Training (VET Partners involved in the ITER project are:Antares (IT) ; Békés County Government Office (HU) Desincoop (PT) Eulab (IT) Extern (UK) GEMS (UK) lead partner, Polytechnic University of Bucharest (RO) Time (UK) University of Huddersfield (UK) The ITER project has been developed and designed to build on the innovative approaches of two previous Erasmus+ projects EC-YP (Extended Choices for Young People in VET) and DayPlot ) Diagnosis and Actions for Young People Looking for a Better Future) The ITER project will consolidate and improve the EC-YP collaborative mentoring model with specific emphasis on developing an improved initial point of entry NEET needs and barriers diagnostic and developing guidelines and practical solutions to improve the transitions of YP who are NEET to mainstream VET; the ITER project will develop a web-based platform and interface/dashboard using the DayPlot gamification methodology to encourage the engagement of NEET YP in the initial assessment, action planning and transitions readiness stages of their customised assistance and support their transitions to mainstream VET reducing dropout/withdrawal and increasing completion/qualifications rates for previously-NEET students/trainees. The ITER project combines the development of an innovative model, piloting it in UK, Italy, Portugal and Romania with 60 YP and 12 IAG Practitioners/Mentors, and impact analysis to measure the pilot outcomes at regional/national level. The ITER project will be realised through the delivery of 5 Intellectual outputs each led by the designated IO lead and supported through a project management and implementation framework based on PRINCE2 IOs are: IO1NEET isn't Neat - Challenges and Opportunities & lessons for policy & Practice Result: Comparative Analysis, Presentation of Findings of the measures that have been introduced at national level in the UK, Italy, Romania, Portugal and Hungary in relation to the NEET challenge & the identification of good practice models . IO2The ITER Platform Result: online YP friendly and exciting interactive platform adapting gamification methodology to support initial needs and barriers assessment, action planning, review and transitions management support IO3 The ITER Handbook: Bridging the Transitions Points between customised assistance for NEET YP and Mainstream VET Result: A handbook with practical support and guidelines for partnership working to improve transitions.IO4 Pilot Testing the ITER Model - Pilot Study Report Result: analysis of the pilot testing of ITER involving 60 YP and 12 IAG practitioners/Mentors in 4 European countries. Potential longer-term benefits are A tried and tested innovative approach and model which creates meaningful VET pathways for NEET young people who experience complex barriers to participation in VET; Open Source access to ITER platform and increased social inclusion through Enhancing access to training and qualifications for all & increasing the quality in VET through feedback loops to adapt VET provision.