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Sustained involvement in youth organisations generates additional benefits in
terms of skills development when compared to lower levels of involvement.
Young people should be made aware of the additional benefits of sustained
involvement in youth organisations.
Similarly, given the benefits for skills development of even short periods of
youth work abroad –in particular in relation to language skills, intercultural
skills and leadership skills-, opportunities for such activities should be further
supported and enhanced.
Youth organisations that reported having an assessment and educational plan
report greater levels of skills development amongst young people. The
development of assessment and educational plans should therefore be
stimulated in the sector.
Studies that directly measure the skills of young people before and after their
participation in non-formal education in youth organisations would further
enhance the evidence-base in relation to this question.
RQ3 To what extent are young people aware of those skills and
competences and how to present them to employers?
Data from the survey of young people on the level of skills development
during young people’s involvement in youth organisations, suggests that
young people are aware that they develop their skills and competences
through involvement with youth organisations.
Organisational strategies are in place in youth organisations to stimulate
young people’s awareness of the skills and competences they develop in
youth organisations, for instance through the assessment of skills
development. Many organisations also recognise ‘making participants aware
of the skills and competences that they develop through their involvement in
the youth organisation’ an explicit objective of their work. However, for many
organisations, ensuring such awareness and skills assessment depend on the
specific group of young people or activity in which they took part. Greater
uniformity in the sector would contribute to making more young people aware
of the skills they develop in the youth sector.
Employers often only discover important and valuable elements of the
engagement in youth organisations during the interview stage. There is a
need to make young people more aware of the value that employers place on
the skills and competences developed in youth organisations and how to
present them. This is particularly the case for those individuals with lower
educational achievement, who tend to be less aware of the value of this kind
of activity.
According to employers, young people do not present their engagement in
youth organisations effectively. More detailed information regarding their
youth organisation involvement can help applicants, in particular when it is
organised in a clear way and linked to an explanation on the relevance of
these aspects to a particular job application. There is also a need for greater
guidance, coaching and support to young people from youth organisations, as
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