WAKE UP YOUR VOCATION involves educational centres, students, parents and public and private entities to reduce the gap between the educational system and the job market to promote the labour insertion of young people
This innovative initiative, which unites Spain, Italy, Belgium and Croatia, is immersed in the development of a methodological manual that will serve as a tool to improve career guidance in European educational centres
After the first phase of analysis, practical workshops have been carried out in the educational centres to complete the manual with resources and skills in employment guidance that will guide students in the decision about their professional future, thus facilitating their access to the job market
WAKE UP YOUR VOCATION has held a cycle of workshops on employment guidance, both online and in person, in coordination with educational centres in Spain, Italy and Croatia, participating in this project. These activities, in which more than 750 students, 100 families and 30 teachers have participated, will serve as the basis for the development of the ‘Methodological Manual for professional guidance: in route to the labour market’ that the project team is currently preparing.
WAKE UP YOUR VOCATION is a European initiative integrated into the Erasmus+ 2021-2027 program that seeks to reduce the gap between the educational system and the current labour market involving young people between the ages of 12 and 18, teachers, parents and tutors, and public entities and private.
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).
Employment guidance adapted to the current reality
The workshops have been aimed at students, teachers and families and the contents were focused on the work of skills and competencies for the future of work, the conditions of the current labour market or the generation of new positions linked to digital transformation and green employment. They were also able to address aspects of employability such as self-awareness or the establishment of an employment plan.
The results collected in these workshops have allowed us to continue with the elaboration of the manual from a more focused perspective on the reality of the youngsters and their family and educational circle. The objective is to turn the manual into a tool that can be adapted to the social and cultural conditions of educational centres in Europe.
The innovative nature of the project lies in its methodology, which focuses on guiding students on the type of work they could do and the professional profile they want to become. Although it is the pupils who benefit from the programme, the initiative is responsible for training their teachers. Moreover, the skills and knowledge acquired will remain in the schools, even after the group of mentored students have completed their training at the school.
Previous analysis
After a phase of analysis of the situation of youth unemployment, WAKE UP YOUR VOCATION has launched this cycle of activities that analyse and promote general and transversal skills, without focusing on a specific profession or skill.
In 2022, more than 1,600 young students, from 30 European centres, participated in the first analysis phase of the project, in order to learn about the reality of the youngsters and understand the expectations regarding the professional future of young people, their teachers and parents or tutors, the possibilities of labour insertion, or the sources of information that influence them to make decisions about the profession they wish to choose.
The profession of their parents when deciding on their future work; The aspects that most influence when choosing what to study, such as economics, or if you know the educational options available to you, are some of the issues analysed. All this made it possible to determine the skills in employment guidance to help students design their academic and training itinerary according to their knowledge, and that they may have the necessary preparation in terms of employability skills.
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.