Shape Your Future

On the 4th May 2023, we held our final event for the Erasmus+ Shape Your Future Project in Dublin! More than 30 participants took part and learned about the project resources and activities. The Project The Shape Your Future project was designed to help disadvantaged young people find opportunities in the labour market and develop entrepreneurial skills. The project also targeted youth workers and its resources helped them work with youth more effectively both in-person and online. The project involved 5 partner countries: Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Romania & Spain. It included the organisation of 5 mobilities for youth workers and young people as well as the creation of 3 resources: the platform, the mobile application for Apple and Android, and the booklet. The event 37 young people and youth workers from Ronanstown Youth Service and Lucan Youth Service took part in our Erasmus+ event last week. We started off by presenting the Erasmus+ programme, the project objectives, the local activities and the mobilities we organised during the project. We moved on to introducing the outupts and we asked them to test the resources created. They gave us very valuable feedback on usability, content and possible use at their youth centres. We are proud to announce that the Shape Your Future website and application was successful among participants. Young people were interested in the job and erasmus opportunities they found in the platform. Youth workers found the courses and the resources very useful for the activities with their cohort. We also distributed the booklet containing 40 non-formal activities for youth workers’ future sessions with young people. What’s next Although the Shape your Future has come to an end, the resources will be available online on the Shape Your Future Platform! You will find available job, volunteering and youth exchange opportunities from around Europe to apply for. You can also take 3 free courses on employability and entrepreneurship and download the booklet. We also have other upcoming mobilities and local activities as part of our Erasmus+ projects! Stay tuned on our FB page to take part in our opportunities, fully founded by the Erasmus+ Programme!

Last month, we met our partners at the 5th and final Erasmus meeting in Lisbon for the Shape Your Future Project! The Transnational Project Meeting was hosted by our Portuguese partner, the European Association of Young Educators, on the 24th and 25th of February 2023. The Project Shape Your Future is focused on the social inclusion of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and their integration into the labour market. The project also targets youth workers and responds to the challenges of working with youth online. The platform, application and booklet will help young people find existing work opportunities and develop their entrepreneurial skills. The Meeting Our Romanian coordinator kicked off the two-day meeting by introducing us to the Apple version of our mobile app. The app is now available on both Google Play Store and Apple store. On the app, young people can apply for and stay updated on work opportunities on the Shape Your Future Platform. After creating an account on the platform, you can also apply for the opportunities via the app more easily! We also planned the multiplier events that will take place in April in all partner countries. We will disseminate the project to a broader range of young people and youth workers and share results with stakeholders. We concluded the meeting by discussing the success of the online training course in January, which was organised by all partners and included many young people from each country. We also had the chance to discover the lovely city of Lisbon. We got to taste Lisbon food and experience Portuguese culture together. Despite this being our final erasmus meeting, the project resources will stay available online after the end of the project. We also have more opportunities coming up! So stay updated on our FB and instagram page to take part in future activities!

Our Online Employability Course was a great success! From the 30th of January to the 3rd of February, we co-hosted online sessions about employability, digital skills and entrepreneurship as part of the Erasmus+ Shape Your Future Project. More than 40 young people and youth workers from Ireland, Romania, Poland, Portugal and Spain took part! The Project The Shape Your Future project is designed to help disadvantaged young people find opportunities in the labour market and develop entrepreneurial skills. The project also targets youth workers and its resources help them work with youth more effectively both in-person and online. The project involves 5 partner countries: Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Romania & Spain.It includes the organisation of 5 mobilities for youth workers and young people as well as the creation of 3 resources: the platform, the mobile application for Apple and Android, and the booklet. Day 1 On the first day of our online employability course, our Romanian coordinator Youth Vision introduced the project, the partnership and the aims of the online sessions. They also gave an overview of the three project outputs. Our Spanish partner BB&R carried out the second part of the session on the topic of fake news and coding. Participants also had the opportunity to increrase their digital skills with some practical exercises. Day 2 The second day was lead by HESL, the Irish partner. Their sessions focussed on communication skills for successful job interviews. Young people learned successful tips to stand out as strong candidates and had the opportunity to do a mock interview. We created two free Test Exercises using the example videos filmed during our 2021 Job Shadowing in Dublin! Check out the first part here and make sure to try out the second part here . Day 3 On the third day, our Portuguese partner Young Educators – European Association delivered a very interesting session about job skills in the workplace. Thanks to thier engaging role-play games, participants practiced conflict resolution in work place simulations. The second part of the session focussed more on self-presentation and job interview role-plays to practice the skills learned so far. Day 4 The fourth day was dedicated to CV writing. Our Polish partner gave instructions and smart tips on how to write CV and resumé for job interviews. In the second part, young people practiced their writing skills by creating their CV on the Shape Your Future Platform. Day 5 On the fifth and final day, our Portuguese partner took the lead once again to deliever two sessions on soft skills and workers’ rights and duties. Young people had the chance to share their experiences and their dream jobs, as well as to learn more about rights at the workplace. Our Shape Your Future project is coming to an end soon but we have other projects you can take part in! Stay tuned on our Facebook page for upcoming opportunities!

As part of the Erasmus+ Shape Your Future project, we created some digital resources for young people with useful job interview tips! We worked with our partners in Portugal, Spain, Romania and Poland to create these materials, making them comprehensive for young people across Europe and provide useful job interview tips. You will find all the digital resources here below! They are FREE to use and download, and we will pilot them during the Shape Your Future online employability training course in January 2023! The Project The Shape Your Future project is designed to help disadvantaged young people find opportunities in the labour market and develop entrepreneurial skills. It also targets youth workers and their need to adapt to the online environment during and after the pandemic.The project involves 5 partner countries in the creation of 3 main digital outputs: the platform, the mobile app and a booklet.It also includes the organisation of 5 mobilities: 3 job shadowing for youth workers in Portugal, Ireland & Spain, a training course and a youth exchange in Romania. Guidebook Our guidebook is an extensive guide to communication and interview skills! We created it during our Jobshadowing in Ireland in 2021 and we made sure it is clear and easy-to-read. It contains practical information for young people to sharpen their skills, perform well and make a good impression on employers on a job interview! You can download the Guidebook here and also use it as a guide to test yourself in our exercise below! Videos In these videos created by participants of the Job Shadowing in Dublin, we show you what you should and shouldn’t do in an interview! This resource can be used for teaching employability and interview techniques. There are two interview scenarios – an office job and a customer service job with examples of a bad and a good interview each! We have also prepared two exercises for you. Watch the videos and test your knowledge to learn some job interview tips (click here). Brochure This is an easy to read, visually stimulating quick guide to effective communication in your first interview! Check it out here! Booklet The Shape Your Future Booklet contains the non-formal education methods we developed and used with young people throughout the project!  It is a very comprehensive resource, containing in-person activities and online adaptations on a range of different topics! Youth workers and schools can easily use it to deliver training sessions and courses on employability, entrepreneurship and digital literacy. The booklet is available for free to download on the SYF Platform! Some of these methods will be piloted during our online employability training course in January 2023! Platform and Mobile App  The Shape Your Future Platform includes an updated list of volunteering and job opportunities around Europe. Young people can create a free account and insert their CV. They can also view the employers profile, apply directly and find contact information. With the Shape Your Future app, young people will receive notifications for new opportunities in their area and partner countries. Download the app via App Store or Google Play. The Platform also includes 3 free online courses on employability, communication and entrepreneurship.

Following up the exercises from the Video #1 Office Interview, we have prepared another set of questions related to a second example video. This time, two young people are attending an interview for a customer service role. The first part shows you a bad example of a job interview, the second part shows you how to conduct and answer the interviewer’s questions correctly. The employer’s questions asked in each video are different, so make sure to watch them both!  You can download our free Guidebook on “Effective Communication Skills for Your First Job Interview” to help you with the questions. VIDEO #2 CUSTOMER SERVICE INTERVIEW 1 Watch Interview #1 (starts at 00:44 and ends at 04:19) and answers the questions below. QUESTIONS VIDEO #2 CUSTOMER SERVICE INTERVIEW 2 Watch Interview #2 (starts at 04:20 and ends at 10:05) and answer the questions below. QUESTIONS Did you miss the first part of the exercise series? You can find it here. We hope you find the videos useful and have as much fun watching them as we did making them! These job Interview example videos and the Guidebook were created as part of the Erasmus+ Shape Your Future Project, which is designed to help disadvantaged young people find opportunities in the labour market and develop entrepreneurial skills. We have created many more digital resources for young people and youth workers during the project. Check them out here! If you want to participate in our Erasmus+ projects, check our Facebook and Instagram pages to stay updated on upcoming opportunities!

Back in August of 2021, we shot two great job interview example videos that showcased the dos and don’ts of a job interview. Each video was set in a different interview scenario and included both a bad and a good version of the same interview, helping jobseekers to better understand how to make a good impression on the employer. The employer’s questions asked in each video are different, so make sure to watch them both!  You can download our free Guidebook on “Effective Communication Skills for Your First Job Interview” to help you with the questions. VIDEO #1 OFFICE INTERVIEW 1 Watch Interview #1 (starts 0:44 and ends 04:41) and answer the questions below. QUESTIONS VIDEO #1 OFFICE INTERVIEW 2 Watch Interview #2 (starts 04:41 and ends 11:34) and answer the questions below. QUESTIONS NOW TRY VIDEO #2 CUSTOMER SERVICE INTERVIEW Now you have completed exercise 1, click here to try the 2nd exercise in the series. These job Interview example videos and the Guidebook were created as part of the Erasmus+ Shape Your Future Project, which is designed to help disadvantaged young people find opportunities in the labour market and develop entrepreneurial skills. We have created many more digital resources for young people and youth workers during the project. Check them out here! If you want to participate in our Erasmus+ projects, check our Facebook and Instagram pages to stay updated on upcoming opportunities!