Ready to Start

JULY! HERE WE COME! WE ARE STARTING OUR NEW ERASMUS PROJECT!

„READY TO START”

Project number: 2023-1-PL01-KA210-VET-000153013

Duration of the project: 01.07.2023-30.06.2024

Leader – FERI, Poland

Partner – IMPULSI, Macedonia

Objective

The main objective of this project: CREATING NEW DIAGNOSTIC AND EDUCATIONAL TOOLS FOR CAREER ADVISORS AND TEACHERS WORKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE FIELD OF PROFESSIONAL CAREER AND BUILDING A CAREER PATH OF YOUNG PEOPLE.

Tools for Career Advisors

Nowadays, the labor market is changing very quickly, and the geopolitical situation affects the situation on the markets. The last two years of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the economic crisis require young people not only to have appropriate qualifications, but also the ability to build a career in a dynamic environment.

The Future of Jobs Report 2020 prepared by the World Economic Forum indicates that in the next 5 years the key skills for future employees will be: analysis and problem solving, creativity, leadership and introducing changes, digital and soft skills. This is confirmed by Cedefop in the Skills Forecast 2030 report. Adecco Poland (2021) indicates that the most important skills of young employees are: the ability to work in a team, creativity and innovation, communication and negotiations, technological skills and the ability to learn throughout life.

Tools for career advisors will help young people acquire skills that are not only desired by employers, but also useful in everyday life. Thanks to this, young people will be more willing to participate in training and vocational education, which will increase the attractiveness of these activities. These tools will be flexible because career counselors will be able to use them in different contexts and for different target groups. Thanks to this, they will be available to everyone, regardless of education level, age or skills. As a result, this project will contribute to increasing the flexibility and diversity of the vocational education and training offer. Moreover, these tools will be flexible and available to different target groups, which will contribute to increasing the flexibility and diversity of the VET offer, in line with the priorities of the Erasmus+ Program.

KEY RESULTS:

1 guide for career advisors on building a career path
3 educational sets for conducting career workshops with a multimedia case
tools that diagnose and support predisposition tests
evaluation report after pilot testing
improving the knowledge and skills of career advisors, adapting them to the current needs of the labor market

English Version

Macedonian Version

Polish Version

INTERMEDIATE GOALS:

Optimization of work tools for career advisors
Greater opportunities for young people on the labor market
Better career prospects
Stable position of young employees on the labor market
Increasing the flexibility and attractiveness of vocational education and training

Testing Workshops Tools and Techniques for Career Counseling

On 11 June 2024, Workshop with students was held to test the tools for self-assessment as part of the decision making process on the future career path.

Testing the interactive online tools the participants gained insights through fun activities. They discovered their career interests, personal traits and work values as basis for choosing future jobs. The feedback is that the tools are easy to access, fun to use and the results are eye opening. This encourages us to proceed with testing the tools with teachers.

Within the project 'Ready to Start,' co-financed by the EU Erasmus+ program (Project number: 2023-1-PL01-KA210-VET-000153013). Games and infographics for youth are developed in 3 languages (English, Macedonian. Polish). They are available on the FERI platform.

On 29 August 2024, a workshop with teachers was held in Gostivar.

Being skeptical at the beginning, the teachers were positively surprised of the tools and techniques developed by the project Ready to Start. They found the guide for career advisors easy to follow and practical. They appreciated the emphasis on the competencies and the labor market inputs.

During the workshop the teachers had chance to test some of the online tools within the 3 modules available on the FERI platform, developed by FERI and IMPULSI, They expressed gratitude for having access to online tools that are very easy to use and interesting for the students. They found the possibility to discuss the results with the students in an interactive training session or class especially nice.

All participants were curious to try the tools with the start of the new school season, especially the students in their last two school years.

Within the project 'Ready to Start,' co-funded by the EU Erasmus+ program (Project number: 2023-1-PL01-KA210-VET-000153013). Games and infographics for youth are developed in 3 languages (English, Macedonian. Polish). They are available on the FERI platform.

Building Network with VET Teachers, Advisors, Mentors - Tools for Career Advisors

On 26 & 27 August 2024, we held two successful workshops in Skopje & Kumanovo with 30 teachers, school psychologists, and pedagogues on career counseling, and its importance, focusing on the process and different tools and activities that can be used with students.

Participants had the opportunity to feel the process by being part of the self-evaluation process and working individually and in teams on different tasks. As part of the hands-on experiential learning process, they had a chance to try and test two digital decision-making games, available in Macedonian language, developed by our consortium, FERI and IMPULSI, under the scope of the project 'Ready to Start,' co-funded by the EU Erasmus+ program (Project number: 2023-1-PL01-KA210-VET-000153013).

The feedback we received from the participants was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the practical value and effectiveness of the tools in real-world educational settings. It was particularly interesting that, while working on the Self-Assessment Ability Test, many participants received confirmation of their career choice and their current profession - it was fun to see their smiles and satisfaction as they recognized this.

Webinar: Ready to Start - Empowering Career Counselors with Practical Tools!

On September 11, we proudly presented the innovative tools and results of the Erasmus+ project Ready to Start to the Association of Career Counselors members.

Attendees gained hands-on experience with practical tools designed to elevate career counseling and coaching, empowering professionals to make a real difference in guiding individuals toward successful futures.

Dissemination of Project Results

Exciting Day for the Erasmus+ "Ready to Start" Project co-funded by the EU Erasmus+ program (Project number: 2023-1-PL01-KA210-VET-000153013)!

On September 17th, we had an incredible event with over 30 participants, including GCDF Career Counselors from ASK Skopje, representatives from elementary and high schools, the University St. Kiril&Methodius, the State Employment Agency, Euroguidance, psychologists, freelance coaches and youth organizations.

The program started with presentation of the project objective: CREATING NEW DIAGNOSTIC AND EDUCATIONAL TOOLS FOR CAREER ADVISORS AND TEACHERS WORKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE FIELD OF PROFESSIONAL CAREER AND BUILDING A CAREER PATH OF YOUNG PEOPLE. Than the key results were pointed out and presented on the platform available in Macedonian, Polish and English language:

The guide for career advisors on building a career path
The 3 Modules with educational set for conducting career workshops with a multimedia case
The tools that diagnose and support predisposition tests for the self-discovery phase of the career counselling cycle.

By an interactive, experiential workshop, led by Biljana Velevska and Katerina Zlatanovska Popova, featuring tools from Module 1: Know Yourself and Module 2: Coaching Tools, the participant experienced sample of a group career counselling. Participants also got a chance to test two engaging decision-making games. They shared ideas how to use them with different groups of young people.

The satisfaction of improved knowledge and skills of career advisors, adapted to the current needs of the labor market was confirmed in the evaluation of the workshop.

Thanks to all the active participants who made this day a success!

Project Tasks

Task 1: Development of Materials in Career Counselling

The aim of the task is to provide new diagnostic and educational tools for:

Communication

Interpersonal Skills
Knowledge of the Job Market
Problem-Solving Skills
Knowledge of tools and technology
Self-Development

These skills form the basis for building effective career advice in today's world and will be the guiding principle for the partners' actions. Each partner will involve 2-6 key experts from their project team in carrying out this task.

As outcome the team will have a Guide for Career Advisors and 3 Modules for successful group career training.

Task 2: Testing and Building a Network

The task will involve testing the developed developmental materials for career advisors in the field of building and planning the careers of young people at the level of higher education institutions and vocational schools. Key stages of the task include:

Communication and building relationships between partners
Testing materials by involving recipients and potential users of the results
Developing solutions based on tests and practical recommendations regarding the developed developmental materials
Building a new network of project partners in the field of vocational education and training

Task 3: Dissemination of Project Results

As part of the activity, the following have been planned:

Dissemination seminar in Poland and Macedonia - each with 25 participants
International webinar promoting professional advisors/teachers from vocational schools, lecturers, etc.
Film promoting career counseling and the need for career planning - dissemination on social media/educational websites
Active social media activities on the Polish and Macedonian sides

Important Links

Learning Outcomes Webinar

On May 23rd, a webinar was held as part of the Erasmus+ project: Learning Outcomes in Adult Education

New professions and competences in adult education

Adult education is currently undergoing a transformation under the influence of global megatrends, which have a huge impact on the situation in the labor market, the needs of employers and people seeking employment and wanting to expand their professional qualifications.