As part of the Erasmus+ Project Shape Your Future, we ran two stimulating employment focus groups in March and April! As you can read below, we talked with youth workers and young people from Ireland about recent challenges of remote working and youth employment.
30th March 2021 – Focus Group and Roundtable with Youth Workers
Our session with youth workers aimed at sharing experiences and thoughts about the impact of the pandemic on their work and the use of digital tools to engage young people online.
Participants agreed that digital tools helped them keep in contact with their cohort despite restrictions. However, engaging young people is becoming more difficult, because the online environment is wearing off its initial appeal. Youth workers also reported a sense of frustration for not being able to reach all those in need and to offer the same good quality support of face-to-face interactions.
Nevertheless, they gained digital skills and reflected upon their professional figure and their presence in the local community.
15th April 2021 – Employment Focus Group with Young People
Our activity with young people aged 18-24 was a good opportunity to share some thoughts about the lack of skills required to find and keep a job during and after the pandemic.
Starting from the questions and answers of our survey, young people shared their experiences in job search. They agreed that the current situation has increased the challenges in finding work, keeping a job and changing the current employment for a better place.
They claim they need more training, especially in CV writing, communication and job-specific skills. Also, they strongly hope to go back to in-person interactions to expand their network and receive the training they have lacked so far.
Thank you to everyone who joined us online for these employment focus groups! We collected some interesting ideas and useful information that will help us create training material for young people and youth workers throughout the project! Check out the Shape Your Future Facebook Page for updates on materials and local activities!
If you want to share your thoughts on these topics and/or get involved in other Erasmus+ Projects, make sure to check our Facebook page and explore our website for our next free activities, or email us at [email protected].