CONTEXT Found in the Executive Summary of the report 'The Missing Entrepreneurs 2017 - Policies for Inclusive Entrepreneurship'; only 4.1% of the 30.6M self employed within the European Union in 2016 were youth. This is a significant under-representation relative to their share in employment. The Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan requires training to support business growth and actions reigniting the culture of entrepreneurship to nurture the new generation of entrepreneurs. This project seeks to do this using an existing enterprise education initiative 'YouNG' as a template. This targets young people in secondary education, it aims to embed 'Enterprise Education' into mainstream delivery, be more inclusive to cater for those with a disability and/or facing educational difficulties. PROJECT AIMS a) To embed the ‘YouNG Market’ (Enterprise Skills Development Activity) into mainstream curriculum delivery and deliver ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION for youth in schools; b) Make the ‘YouNG Market’ accessible to students of DISADVANTAGE with the capability of taking part successfully but who face barriers in doing so, improving their SOCIAL INCLUSION; c) Involve crucial STAKEHOLDERS (Teachers/Trainers and Employers) in delivery of the programme so they play a part in entrepreneurship education and creating a pathway for social inclusion. No. and PROFILE of PARTICIPANTS ➢We will work with 460 young people in secondary education between the ages of 15 - 19 years, 211 will be working at EQF Level 2, 144 at EQF Level 3, 85 are facing educational difficulties and 20 will be attending Special Educational Needs Schools; ➢A further 60 young people will be recruited to work with us in an informal educational setting; ➢We will work with 65 Teacher/Trainers, 15 will be based in Special Educational Needs Schools, 20 are predominantly working with those facing educational difficulties, 20 are mainly teaching at EQF Level 2, the final 10 at Level 3; ➢The final group of participants will be 40 employees, who are volunteering to mentor student participants involved in a 'YouNG Market' or similar enterprise education initiative. ACTIVITIES This project will focus on enabling the delivery of entrepreneurship education by creating new resources for teaching and learning, staff training, employer volunteering and generating work experience that seeks to develop skills within participants that business wants. We will innovate by creating new ways of working that will develop enterprise skills. A wide variety of activity is intended including the piloting of new resources so that the targeted beneficiaries will have a say in the final project outputs. We'll listen to the learner and take their feedback. METHODOLOGY EMPLOYED The project team have been involved in developing a comprehensive plan base on critical path analysis principles. So the process has been identified as has the key tasks which others are reliant upon. RESULTS and IMPACT ➢Embedded into mainstream curriculum enterprise education to raise awareness of business start-ups and the skills needed to be a successful employee; ➢A model which allows secondary school teacher/trainers to engage with enterprise education, increasing their skills and understanding of employer need from new job entrants; ➢More inclusive a model which engages those learners with disabilities, but with the capability to successfully participate in enterprise education; ➢Increased social mobility with a model which facilitates learners facing educational difficulties, to successfully participate in enterprise education; ➢Increased stakeholder engagement with school improving career guidance and aspirations.

"""Social competence training and other supporting measures in newly developed training courses"" Fighting rising levels of unemployment has become one of the most urgent tasks for European governments. Too many young people leave school prematurely and run a high risk of being unemployed. The same risk threatens high number of adult workers with low skills. One quarter of the working age population in Europe, almost 80 million people have only low or basic skills, and a great percent of them area hardly educable or trainable because of different disabilities.With decline opportunities for low skilled, unskilled, school dropouts and NEET young adults without work experiences are at higher risk of social exclusion and poverty. The fighting rising levels of unemployment was the main objective addressed in SoCoT project. The above mentioned target group is unable to react to the newest effect of the labour market. It does not only require new skills, professions, but also inner personality shaping, willingness, self-assurance, flexibility and labour market skills. Many unemployed had not the chance to learn these skills. The mentioned problems are similar in the partner countries. The project aims to tackle the problems, avoid an escalation of social and economical problems growing out of this situation. Target groups:1. Unskilled or low-skilled disadvantaged young people and adults between 16-36, who have troubles in finishing/ taking part of trainings in the regular school system as well as of the employment centre, being mentally and/or psychologically unable to follow the usual courses. These persons are excluded from the labour market and belong therefore to a disadvantaged group in social life. Members of the target group are not mentally handicapped, but the social-economic background did not allow them to develop skills, moreover the family and social surrounding often suppresses existing skills and motivation. 2.Trainers, tutors, teachers of the above mentioned group of young adults. 3. Youth protection officers, corporate training instructor, mentors, staff of labour organizations, staff of pedagogical services, staff of social institutes and professional services of child care officers.Project partners:Training Center of Szombathely Kft. (Hungary)Berufsförderungsinstitut (BFI) Wien (Austria) Ce.S.F.Or. Centro Studi Formazione Orientamento (Italy)NGi (UK) Limited (United Kingdom)LEED Nonprofit Kft. (Hungary)Partners are training centres, or organisations involved in labour market development and employment pacts.All the partners have a profound knowledge in the development of training material and curricula. Young adults and NEETs are in the centre of interest of their provided services. All of the partners have a strong cooperation with labour market institutions and are experts in labour market issues. The project runs from 01.09.2014 till 31.08.2016 (24 months).Activities of the project:1. Project management - general management tasks to ensure continuous flow of activities, financial and time control. 2. Partner meetings: The project partners met 4 times, once in each participating country. All partners took part in each meetings.3. Intellectual outputs:- Needs analysis- Course curriculum for the unemployed: ""Labour market reintegration of socially-economicaly disadvantaged unemployed young adults"" – 120 hours- Course material for trainers of the course for the unemployed: ""Attitude shaping of trainers of disaadvantaged unemployed young adults"" –30 hours.4. Multiplier events:Partners implemented 9 events: 4 workshops for trainers and labour market experts to disseminate the outputs.The last closing event conjoined with an international press conference.3 pilot courses delivered to test the curricula. 5.Dissemination activitiesFor other organizations who involved in the project showed great interest about the intellectual outputs in every country. Relevant target groups were all the organsations, who are in connection with the NEET young adults and their environment, family members, social institutes, pedagogical services. The contact with these organizations was active during the project.In Hungary from 12 pilot course participants 5 of them got job just after the course ended. The module system of the training curriculum gives the future users the opportunity to use the outputs in a very flexible way to meet the specific requirements and frame conditions of the given projects.BFI Wien will use all the experiences from the pilot course in further project concepts, in specific in trainings that provide professional orientation.Every partner offered the developed curriculums for use and for any further development opportunities. The training materials are available on the partner's website and free downloadable."

BackgroundTo combat youth unemployment the European Union and its member states are using apprenticeships as a solution. Public money is being used to encourage employers to invest in young people as apprentices. For employers however, it is not a level playing field the barriers for micro, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are significant and prevent them from taking on apprentices. In the UK less than 10% of SMEs will take on an apprentice compared to a third of large companies. Given that the consensus, amongst academic studies and labour market experts is that growth in employment will come from SMEs as they account for 98% of businesses in the UK, there is a danger that these business organisations will not engage with apprenticeships and public investment will not be as effective as it could be. Partners Gedling Borough Council (GBC) based in Nottingham (UK) was the lead partner for the project. Germany and Canada were ‘teachers’ and Bulgaria, Poland and the UK were ‘learners’ in this Key Action 2 project.UK - GBC Economic Growth Service Berlin - Research Institution for Further Education and Training (IBBF)Ottawa - Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF)Sofia - Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) Poznan - Zespol Szkol Lacznosci Technical College Poznan (ZSL)UK - NGi Ltd Objectives The project sought to address what elements of SMEs support and training could be adopted to help eliminate barriers to engagement through good practice examples from Germany and Canada, two countries with a good track record at assisting SMEs to take on an apprentice, and import this into Bulgaria, Poland and the UK who wished to do better. The first six months of the project focused on the identification of the barriers SMEs experienced when engaging with apprenticeships in the five partner countries, these barriers where then compared and contrasted to identify similarities and differences. The outcome was irrespective of the differing context in apprenticeship delivery in each country barriers were relatively similar with 7 common barriers identified. The partnership used research results, examples of good practice along with a consultation exercise with SMEs, apprenticeship commissioners, training providers and wider stakeholders to develop training programmes and resources to remove the identified barriers for SMEs in each pilot programme delivery country. The aim was to create an easy to access one-stop-shop where even the smallest of enterprises have access to the knowledge and skills required to recruit an apprentice of their own and to build the capacity and capability of the pilot programme delivery teams.Targets By the end of the project we aimed to work with 270 SMEs to take on at least 1 apprentice for the first time, and a total of 360 young people will have completed or be on course to complete an apprenticeship. We wanted to see a significant increase in awareness among young people of the opportunities an apprenticeship will provide as the project aimed to engage with 30 secondary schools. Further, we wanted to see a significant increase in the understanding of SMEs about the benefits of having an apprentice. The project has achieved an expected impact within the regions that partners in Bulgaria, Poland and the UK operate, to deliver a significant increase in SME apprenticeship engagement. Finally the project was to host 3 dissemination events attracting a minimum of 300 stakeholders, with the aim that the projects transferable outputs would be adopted elsewhere.Results No. of SMEs Supported 2016-2017 Target Actual UK 45 56 Bul 45 45Pol 45 45Totals 135 1462017-18 Target Actual UK 45 42 Bulgaria 45 45Poland 45 55Totals 135 142Combined 288 No. of Apprenticeship Starts 2016-17 Target Actual UK 60 37Bul 60 60Po 60 91Totals 180 1882017-2018 Target Actual UK 60 50Bul 60 60Pol 60 106Totals 180 216Combined 404 Next Steps Project partners will continue to update and develop materials created during the term of the project to support SMEs to engage with apprenticeships and secure apprenticeship starts. Partners have signed a MoU setting out how they will continue to work together to disseminate results and explore sustainability opportunities.

"The European Union promotes entrepreneurship as a key factor for competitiveness and has highlighted the importance of advancing a European entrepreneurial culture by fostering the right mind-set and entrepreneurship-related skills. The need to improve the entrepreneurial and innovative capabilities of citizens is also underlined in three of the flagship initiatives in the Europe 2020 strategy for jobs and sustainable growth: ""Innovation Union"", ""Youth on the Move"" and ""An agenda for new skills and jobs"". Enhancing creativity and innovation, including entrepreneurship, at all levels of education and training is also a long-term objective for 'Education and Training 2020', the strategic framework for European cooperation.The YouNG group was established by Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) in September 2012 as a legacy from the 2012 London Olympics. The Council wished to support young people to improve their skills, network with other young people and with adults at work, get business and employment experience and earn money. The board has a representative from each of the 7 secondary schools operating in the area. An initiative of this group was YouNG Market which in the words of Josh Bates (Aged 15) from YouNG; ""We want this new market to boost business and help young entrepreneurs get real life experience of selling their produce. The market is aimed at young people aged 13-21 who live or study in Rushcliffe.”Young people at the first market held in West Bridgford, July 2013 sold food and craft items alongside small businesses from the wider area in a farmers food market, with live entertainment from talented local performers as an added attraction. This was voted an overwhelming success by all involved and received significant support from a host of stakeholders including local traders who provided on the job coaching and mentoring of the young people. Subsequent markets at Xmas time and during 2014 in two other locations were also highly praised and resulted in a number of young people taking their first steps into the world of commerce and a number of young fledgling businesses.The objective of the project was to develop Enterprise qualifications by developing a unit of learning for 'International Enterprise'; within programmes that encourage students to set up a business, produce a good or service and then sell it in a ‘real’ environment, the focus is national. We created a programme that encourages students to take it one step further, where they market their good or service for sale within the European Union. Therefore needed to consider different markets, different routes to market, business culture, language and currency. This reflects today's reality, global markets and the need to think beyond our national borders.The project did four things;1.It shared and developed the best practice established and led by Rushcliffe Borough Council;2.It developed further innovation, by introducing an international element to this work by getting participants to grow further their business knowledge/experience by providing an opportunity to trade in the European Union;3.It developed an urban business game, creating 4 different language versions and implemented those in a different county;4.It linked activity to regional initiatives (Local Enterprise Partnership d2n2 Employability Framework) and national CBI recommendations - Employability Skills & Attributes.Primary participants were young people who were directly involved within the project activity, however the project also had additional direct and indirect impacts upon the following groups of people and organisations: Teachers; Local Business People; Parents; Market Traders; Local Enterprise Partnership; Local Councils; Schools and Local Communities.YouNG Goes Euro impacted on participating young people, on schools, deliverers, key partners and stakeholders and wider community groups. At its heart however, the key impact was the provision of opportunities for young people to help them improve their skills and introduce them to a real, professional working environment and to generate vocational and entrepreneurial spirit and opportunity. YouNG Goes Euro developed links between young people, schools and local businesses. As a result of the project young people developed a greater awareness of their abilities and entrepreneurial skill set as well as the way they can use these abilities in the workplace and to aid their career development. Teachers and deliverers developed their professional knowledge and were able to adopt new approaches to their curriculum delivery. Local communities widened their horizons experiencing different cultures and built a better understanding of European development policies and actions. The project created the materials and resources required to increase the entrepreneurial education of young people and improve their entrepreneurial skill set."