WAKE UP YOUR VOCATION is an Erasmus Plus project, which aims to reduce the gap between the educational system and the job market to promote the labour insertion of young people
The project, which brings together Spain, Italy, Germany and Croatia, publishes its first report on the reality of professional guidance in European schools and the needs that are identified to increase the vocational motivation of students aged 12 to 18
More than 1,600 students, parents and teachers from more than 30 schools in 3 countries participated in the study, which will lead to the development of a training manual for workshops to be held in 2023. The report is available here: english / croatian / italian / spanish
WAKE UP YOUR VOCATION provides teachers with the resources and basic competences in vocational guidance that will enable them to guide their students in deciding on their professional future, thus facilitating their access to the labour market
The European project WAKE UP YOUR VOCATION has published its first report, focusing on the current reality of vocational guidance in European schools taking into account the perspectives of three key target groups: students aged 12 to 18, their parents and their teachers. They recognize the value and the need for professional guidance in their schools, however, they find obstacles to include this type of activities and demand more training for teachers and the appropriate tools to increase the vocational motivation of students.
“There is still a gap between the need for vocational guidance and the opportunities that are actually offered to students”, as reflected in this study, whose results show how the people surveyed demand more vocational guidance training itineraries, information on the current labour market and their changes, as well as the identification of personal interests and development of soft skills, among others.
This European training project is led by the Fundación Santa María la Real, through its Area of Employment and Entrepreneurship (Spain), and together with it the Agenzia regionale per il lavoro la formazione e l’accreditamento (Italy), Goethe-Institut e.V. (Belgium) and Zaklada Znanje na djelu (Croatia).
A methodological guide for teachers
The study began its first phase of analysis with surveys and interviews with more than 1,600 students, teachers and parents in Spain, Italy and Croatia. The results will be used to produce a comprehensive methodological manual that will serve as a guide for the workshops that teachers will give in 2023 in more than 30 schools.
This report, which can now be consulted on the project’s website www.wakeup-vocation.eu, has made it possible to get to know the reality of the young people and to understand the expectations about the professional future of the students, their teachers and parents or tutors, the possibilities of finding a job, or the sources of information that influence them when making decisions about the profession they want to choose.
The results obtained make it possible to determine career guidance skills through an innovative methodology to subsequently help students design their academic and training itinerary based on their knowledge, and who have the necessary preparation in terms of employability skills and career guidance.
Collaborative work
One of the objectives of WAKE UP YOUR VOCATION is to promote the collaborative work of young people through the development of intercultural skills and critical thinking. Its teachers manage to form an active working group with their students to achieve a digital, equal and sustainable Europe in the coming decades. The skills and knowledge acquired will remain in the schools, even after the mentoring has ended at school.
This initiative seeks to make both students and their families aware of the reality of the labour market in Europe, the new skills demanded in digitalized sectors and that support sustainability, as well as the academic or professional training options available to them. In this sense, it will bring students and the private sector closer to generate a better understanding and connection of their realities, especially in rural areas, and will promote social inclusion through equality, the promotion of digitization and environmental challenges.
About the Erasmus+ program
Erasmus+ 2021-2027 is the renewed program of the European Union in the fields of education and training, youth and sport, which offers opportunities for all people and in all educational sectors (School Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Education of Adult Persons).
This new Erasmus+ is more international, more inclusive, more digital and more ecological, supporting digital transformation, inclusion and diversity, as well as the environment and the fight against climate change. With a budget of more than 28,000 million euros, mobility and cross-border cooperation projects related to learning will be financed for 10 million people of all ages and from all origins.
In Spain, the Erasmus+ program is managed by the Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education (SEPIE), a public body attached to the Ministry of Universities that acts as the National Agency for the program in the fields of education and training.
