EC-YP Extended Choices for Young People

 Project Overview

Funded by Erasmus+ under Key Action 2, Cooperation and Innovation for Good Practices, the Extended Choice for Young People in Vocational Education and Training (EC-YP) programme is lead by GEMS Northern Ireland alongside four partner organisations:

Ballymun Job Centre (Ireland)

Antares (Italy)

Die Querdenker (Austria) and

TIME Associates( Northern Ireland).

Project Aims    

The EC-YP project, which started in September 2014, aims to develop, transfer and implement a flexible model of customised support to improve VET outcomes and lifelong learning pathways for disadvantaged and vulnerable young people who experience difficulty coping in traditional vocational education and training environments and helps them build confidence, self-esteem and encourage self-belief and motivation which supports their personal choices and commitment for learning and work.

EC-YP is about providing customised mentoring assistance that
Starts where a young person is at

Provides a joined up approach to addressing a young person’s complex and changing needs and the things that are important to them

Develops a flexible personal action plan and customised timetabled schedule that ”wraps around” each young person based on the 4 ‘Zones’ of Life, Leisure, Learning and Work

Offers bespoke support through a personal innovation training fund and tailored work placements

Enables a young person to maximise their potential through developing their confidence and motivation for learning and work

EC-YP will be delivered by the partnership through a series of integrated work packages across a three year period to August 2017.

The model developed will be driven by both country specific research and pilot testing with 20 mentors and 60 young people not in education, training or employment drawn from the partners’ home countries.

The partnership will optimise the value of the project through local, regional and European dissemination including the hosting of four conferences at key stages of the project. EC-YP Advisory Groups and Young People forums will be established in all partner countries to oversee the development of EC-YP and its recognition as a European quality learning package.