Youth unemployment remains a major issue in the EU exacerbated by several actors such as the digital transformation, the pandemic, the recent economic inflation and the war bordering the EU. Therefore, the Emerging Advanced Skills Youth (EASY) project aims to tackle these challenges that create skills mismatch in the current labour market.
According to the World Economic Forum, if the world’s workforce consisted of 100 individuals, 59 would require training by 2030. Among them, employers anticipate that 29 could develop new skills within their current roles, while 19 could be retrained and reassigned within their organization. However, 11 would be unlikely to receive the reskilling or upskilling needed, jeopardizing their job security.
This growing need for skills development is highlighted in the World Economic Forum’s report on the future of work, which presents the top 10 skills expected to be in demand in 2025. This top 10 includes :
- Complex Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking and Analysis
- Creativity, Originality, and Initiative
- Leadership and Social Influence
- Technology Use, Monitoring, and Control
- Technology Design and Programming
- Resilience, Stress Tolerance, and Flexibility
- Emotional Intelligence
- Cultural Competence
- Interpersonal Skills
Thus, EASY’s training programs have been thoughtfully developed to align with these key skills in order to enhance employability and support skill-building for youth, particularly from rural and marginalized groups.
In other words, our project seeks to help young people meet the demands of today’s employers by equipping them with the essential tools and emerging skills needed to prosper in a rapidly transforming job market so they can have meaningful career opportunities.
That’s why we’ve developed an upskilling program which includes activities like online courses, transnational bootcamps and practical training for youth.
As part of the EASY project, a training session was organized in Vilnius, Lithuania, from May 5 to 9 with 12 youth workers to test out the toolbox and training library developed by IASIS, Institutul Bucovina, WIPSEE, EPEKA and TavoEUROPA to address these challenges. Through this practical experience, participants actively explored the program’s essential elements, gaining a deeper understanding of the skills necessary to thrive in the evolving job market and how to develop them.
During this session, each organization introduced creative workshops designed to address various important themes. These workshops focused on developing key employability skills, exploring opportunities and challenges within Europe and guiding participants in creating a professional profile through tools like Europass or LinkedIn and then, training them to present themselves effectively during job interviews. They also focused on self-representation and self-reflection, equipping participants with valuable strategies for their personal and professional growth.
This training was structured to foster the practical use of the toolbox by dedicating each day to workshops facilitated by each organization. This structure not only allowed a positive exchange of ideas but also ensured that participants gained practical skills from multiple perspectives.
We started the first day with an icebreaker and team-building activity to build a sense of connection and set a positive tone for the sessions ahead. The activity consisted of holding a large sheet with holes and numbered circles on it. The goal was to place a ball in the center and, working together, move the sheet to make the ball roll from circle number 1 to circle number 18 while avoiding the holes. We quickly noticed, through this game, key benefits such as fostering communication, building trust within the group, and encouraging cooperation and coordination.
Next, WIPSEE introduced the first official workshop, which involved classifying different jobs into “high demand”, “medium demand” and “low demand” categories. Afterward, we chose three emerging skills and identified jobs where these skills are essential, demonstrating how one skill can apply to many fields and highlighting their importance in the current labor market.
For the rest of the first day, we focused on examining the key skills and competencies young people need in order to navigate the opportunities and challenges of EU employment.
The second day focused on practical tools to support our personal and professional growth. The workshop introduced us to SMART goal-setting, LinkedIn, and interview techniques. SMART is a method that helps set clear and effective goals, which need to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This means that a goal should be clearly defined, realistic, aligned with your needs, allow you to see progress clearly, and be set within a deadline to stay focused and motivated.
After this activity, we each picked three skills we believe we already have out of the top 10 skills and three we want to work on, then rated how confident we feel about each one from 1 to 5. The purpose there was to really understand what these skills involve and to recognize that we often assume we have a skill but when we break it down, we realize we might not know it as well as we thought.
The session then covered tools like LinkedIn and Europass. While LinkedIn is a powerful networking tool, it does have its gaps, especially when it comes to job options in rural areas or less traditional fields like the creative and artistic fields. We briefly explored both platforms to get a better understanding of their strengths and limits.
Additionally, we had a 20-minute exercise on writing an attractive LinkedIn bio to introduce ourselves in the best way.
In parallel, WIPSEE introduced the ESCO Skills Pillar which is a list of key skills and competences that are needed in the European job market. It helps people understand what employers are looking for and how their own skills match with different jobs or training opportunities.
We ended the session with mock interviews, working on how to respond to questions often asked by employers.
We opened our third day of training with an identity map activity where we had to list our roles, values, strengths and passions beyond the usual professional framework. This helped us take a step back and think about who we are beyond our job or studies.
Later, in groups of three, we used three cards: Personal Growth Voice, Job-Focused Voice and Self (a mix of both) to understand and find balance between career and personal development.
The second part of this session was dedicated to two visits : the ISM Career Center, a private school that supports students throughout their studies with career guidance and Kurk Lietuvai. Create Lithuania (Kurk Lietuvai) is a Lithuanian government program launched in 2012 to attract professionals with international experience to improve the public sector. It offers participants a 12-month opportunity to work on strategic projects within national or regional institutions. The program focuses on innovation, governance and social policies, aiming to drive positive change in Lithuania.
The group found it truly inspiring, as it reflects the same commitment many of us share to give back and contribute to our communities.
Day four kicked off with interactive activities that included inclusive engagement and motivation. We worked on an empathy map to put ourselves in young people’s shoes, to understand what they think, feel, say, and do and to figure out how to approach them and provide the support they really need. Further in the activity, we were given fictional character profiles with personal challenges and, in groups, we discussed how we could support them while being mindful of their background and context.
Another group exercise was about planning an event for people from specific diverse minority and ethnic communities. We worked on making sure it would be inclusive, safe, culturally respectful and aligned with everyone’s expectations.
To finish this fourth session, we worked individually on identifying our energizers, energy drainers, motivation patterns and personal reflections.
For the last day of this training, our final exercise was to create a youth mentoring action plan using simple, practical tools. It served as a wrap-up and helped us connect everything we had learned throughout the week.
At the end of this activity, each group of three gave a short presentation to share our reflections and outcomes.
Looking back, this training wasn’t just about trying out our toolbox that we’ve developed together. In fact, it turned out to be as much about self-awareness, reflection and empathy as it was about raising awareness of the importance of upskilling in today’s world.
Very soon, all the tools we used during the training will be available on the project website: https://www.emergingskills.eu/
