thinking space
Outreach activation
Young people neither in employments or training (NEETs) are a diverse group that are difficult to reach and activate. Inactive NEETs tend to be particularly hard to reach. They are often not willing to cooperate with institutions as they mistrust them. Hence, outreach activities need to vary by country to target particularly affected. Moreover, the outreach and activation strategies need to allow for further flexibility depending on the local focus, for instance in a rural vs. urban setting or if migrants or locals are targeted. The following Thinking Space Papers present approaches to successfully outreach, engage and activate these NEETs or specific sub-groups.
Thinking Space Paper No.1: Outreach to NEETs
Young people neither in employments or training (NEETs) are a heterogeneous group in terms of age, gender, level of education, migration background and regions and often not easy to reach. This Thinking Space paper therefore proposes a step-by-step approach a successful outreach to the target group. It draws on KIZ’s experience and discussion with the project’s implementation partner’s outreach plans. It aims to be a concise guideline for organisation targeting NEETs.
Thinking Space Paper No.4: Approaches to activate female NEETs
In all EU countries young woman are at higher risk than their male counterparts of becoming a NEET, a young person neither in education, employment or training. This short thinking space focusses on female needs that are particularly far from the labour market and aims to share experience of KIZ. Before any effort can be made to integrate these female NEETs successfully into the labour market, they need to go through a well-structured and closely followed activation programme.
Thinking Space Paper No.9: Project conference – a communication tool to activate underserved target groups
In the following, we would like to introduce a communication tool project conference. This tool is used in projects with underserved target groups to teach its participants (soft-) skills such as self-responsibility, self-confidence and a respectful interaction with others. A project conference is based on democratic decision-making and group dynamics, in which each participant is a full and respected member of the group. This tool has been developed and successfully tested by KIZ.
Thinking Space Paper No.10: An activation programme for NEETs
The following paper presents activation measures for a support programme for NEETs. The activation approach was developed and tested by KIZ in cooperation with underserved youth and shows how disadvantaged target groups can be motivated to (re)integrate into the labour market. The concept of activation essentially follows the three principles that the participants in a programme should understand and internalise: Getting to know yourself, breaking up unhelpful behavioural patterns and taking responsibility for one’s own life.
Thinking Space Paper No.20: Selection of NEET youth target groups
An in-depth analysis of the local context should be conducted and robust targeting criteria established when recruitment is based on self-selection. In fact, programs may fail to attract the people most in need in a context of very unfavourable job market conditions. To help this process, we have developed a tool that can help identify potential target groups among NEET youth and establish a sensible program’s participation criteria.