The target group consists of economically inactive young people aged 15 to 29 years old who are currently not in education or training. The project will cover a minimum number of 55 to 60 people.
– young people who are inactive, unemployed, not in training and are not looking for a job or opportunities for professional realization and participation in a work environment.
– young people at risk of social exclusion, the ones with criminogenic behavior, ultras, those in danger of radicalization, as well as youths from marginalized communities etc.
The choice of target group creates a synergy between: IP2 for a sustainable integration of young people into the labor market, in particular those who are not engaged in any work or educational activity, and young adults who are part of marginalized communities. This includes applying the Youth Guarantee and the specific objective towards IP2- for encouraging the transnational cooperation in terms of exchange of experience, good practices and models for sustainable integration into the labor market of people up to 29 years old.
Over the last years the number of young adults who are neither engaged in a work activity, nor in education or training has increased significantly. The responsible factors are on one hand objective and are predetermined by the condition of the labor market (employment/unemployment, incomes, working conditions). On the other hand, there are subjective factors such as passiveness and depleted motivation for learning and working. At the same time, considering the lack of professional experience and work habits, they are often neglected by employers. Another important thing is that part of the young people with low level of education and/or professional qualification have quit the educational system prematurely. Their chances of realization without mediation and support for increasing their activity and employment are very low. Part of them are highly unmotivated and do nothing and the other part display risky behavior, participate in ultras groups and are susceptible to the influence of radical organizations. Some of them are part of marginalized communities which increases the risk of social exclusion.
The inclusion of the target group in the project is in unison with the European Youth Guarantee- for better engagement of unregistered non-working, not in education/training young people who are inactive, as well as young people with low qualification, those at risk and the ones from marginalized communities.
The specifics of the indicated youth group, as well as the fact that very often there is no information about them /they do not register in the bureau of labor and other database/, enforces the applying of a new approach to their identification, reaching and employment activation. Bulgaria has a leading number of young unemployed and not in education people across Europe. Every fifth adolescent (24%) aged 20-24 years old falls into that category. According to NSI 47 % of the non-working young people above the age of 18 have dropped out of school prematurely. Findings show that 51 on 100 of those who are not engaged in any work-related or educational activity are from Turkish and Romani ethnic groups.
The reasons young people are out of the labor market and the educational and training systems are complex. Home environment is a key factor responsible for acquiring basic qualities for successful work integration, but often those families do not have the necessary parenting capacity. Employers are looking skeptically at young people who have dropped out of the educational system, who have been unemployed for a long period of time, those with criminogenic tendencies, the Romani and others at risk.
The candidate and all partners on the project have already worked on resolving problems within the target group in previous activities. They know the specifics and particularities of the youth at risk, the socially excluded and those unmotivated to work and progress. The current project proposal approaches the target group’s issues with understanding in order to create relationships based on trust and to achieve success in terms of the developed and applied innovative measures.