On October 18th 2024, students, youth workers, volunteers and NGO representatives gathered at Eduspeis to learn more about the opportunities offered by the Erasmus+ programme. This became possible during the ErasmusDays event in Sofia, organized by Mundus Bulgaria in partnership with the Professional Forum for Education. The highlight of the evening was the Employ Me project and the presentation of its final outputs.
The event started with an interactive quiz designed to test the attendees’ knowledge about the Erasmus+ programme. The participants were divided into teams and had the chance to exchange experience and enrich their knowledge on various youth initiatives under the programme. This interactive quiz sparked curiosity and conversation about the various European opportunities for personal and professional development. After a short break in an informal and networking-friendly environment, the focus of the event shifted towards the career opportunities offered by Erasmus+.
Such an opportunity is the Employ Me project, which was thoroughly presented during the event. The aim of the project is to improve and enhance the employability skills of young second-generation migrants, thus contributing to their successful integration into the local community and the labor market. To achieve this goal, the project created innovative training resources in the form of a digital Employability Toolkit, a Virtual Academy, and a Toolkit for Youth Workers.
The Employability Toolkit is composed of 10 modules showcasing the 10 most desirable soft skills for today’s labor market – leadership, communication, problem solving, teamwork, etc. Each module is made up of bite-sized lessons that are easy to understand and remember. At the end of each module, users can find a self-assessment quiz, aimed at reinforcing the newly acquired knowledge.
The Virtual Academy is an interactive platform where each of the lessons from the Employability Toolkit can be put into practice. Once registered, users get access to gamified exercises to build on what they have learned and monitor their progress. Such exercises include writing a motivational letter or enhancing decision-making skills and business acumen by guiding a pirate ship to shore.
The Toolkit for Youth Workers is a guide for youth workers and educators on how they can contribute to tackling the issue of migrant underemployment. It contains all evidence and data collected through the piloting activities of the project, as well as relevant instructions and guidelines, tools and resources that youth workers, VET trainers, and organizations can use to develop the employability skills of young 2nd generation migrants.
All training resources developed are completely free and available in English, Bulgarian, Czech, Lithuanian, Greek, French, and Spanish. You can find them on the EmployMe website (https://employ-me.eu/).
The ErasmusDays event was closed with a rapid-fire Q&A session, which continued in a non-formal, networking-friendly environment. Attendees demonstrated strong interest in the topics discussed and left the event motivated to actively participate in European youth initiatives.
If you also need more information on the Employ Me project, as well as on all Erasmus+ youth opportunities, please contact Mundus Bulgaria – a certified Eurodesk Info Point.