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Contents
Foreword
Executive Summary
1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 5
2 Non-formal education and employability: key concepts and policy context .. 14
2.1 Non-Formal Education and Youth Organisations ........................................................................ 14
2.2 Soft-skills and competences………………………………………………………………………
2.3 Employability, qualifications and skills .......................................................................................... 19
2.4 The Recognition of non-formal education and non-formal learning: international perspectives .. 22
3 Research aims and methodology ................................................................. 28
3.1 Aims and research questions ....................................................................................................... 28
3.2 Research methods ....................................................................................................................... 28
3.2.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................................... 29
3.2.2 Review of sources ........................................................................................................................ 29
3.2.3 Surveys: youth organisations and young people ......................................................................... 30
3.2.4 Stakeholder workshop ................................................................................................................. 38
3.2.5 Employer interviews ..................................................................................................................... 38
4 Findings ........................................................................................................ 40
4.1 Research question 1: What soft skills and competences, and at what level, are demanded in the
labour market? ....................................................................................................................... 40
4.1.1 Skills that employers demand ...................................................................................................... 40
4.1.2 Ranking of skills most frequently demanded by employers ..........................................................
4.1.3 Employers’ views on soft skills and successful job performance ............................................... 43
4.2 Research question 2: What soft-skills and competences are developed and at what level through
non-formal education in youth organisations? ....................................................................... 44
4.2.1 Soft skills and competences developed by young people in youth organisations ....................... 44
4.2.2 Young people’s degree of involvement in youth organisations and level of skills development .. 48
4.2.3 Soft skills development and involvement in youth organisations outside the home country ........ 51
4.2.4 Activities and tasks young people undertake in non-formal education in youth organisations .... 52
4.2.5 The importance of educational and assessment plans ................................................................ 55
4.2.6 Usefulness of the soft skills developed through involvement in youth organisations in young
people’s current occupation ................................................................................................... 59
4.3 Research question 3: To what extent are young people aware of those skills and competences
and how to present them to employers? ................................................................................ 61
4.3.1 Young people’s awareness of the skills and competences they develop in youth organisations 61
4.3.2 Young people’s awareness of how to present the skills and competences developed in youth
organisations to employers .................................................................................................... 62
4.3.3 The use of recognition tools: European portfolios, Youthpass, Europass and other instruments 62
4.4 Research question 4: To what extent, and under what conditions, do employers accept the skills
and competences acquired through non-formal education in youth organisations ................ 66
4.4.1 Review of sources: young people, extracurricular activities and recruitment processes ............. 66