Page 18 - Compendium

AWARDS

1st Award

‘Strong Youth Centre’
Foundation ‘SOS Villages Republic of Serbia’, Belgrade
Centre ‘Strong Youth’ aims to support and develop employability and life skills of
young people from vulnerable groups. Their users are 16-30-year-olds: children
in alternative care (ex. foster homes, children village) and young people in risk of
poverty. The centre developed set of services cooperating with employers, social
workers, and other relevant stakeholders as well as young people themselves.
The benefi ciaries of the Centre choose services based on their needs and their
personal Individual Development Plans (IDP). Together with a career counsellor

the benefi ciary creates IDP which incorporates some of following services:
individual psycho-social and career counselling, employability skills training,
requalifi cation, internship and fi rst job experience. Each IDP is regularly evaluated
and reviewed until it is fulfi lled. The career counsellor follows up benefi ciaries
three to six months after they complete their individual development plan.
The Selection Committee concluded that this practice has clear goals that
lead to the development of career management skills of their users. This is
a comprehensive service that is adapted to the needs of a vulnerable group and
the methodology used is specifi c and consists of a series of steps that guide
users towards improving their employability and career management skills.

2nd Award

‘When I grow up, I will be…’
NGO ‘Connecting People’, Pančevo
This non-governmental organization from Pančevo developed a summer
training programme designed for high school students (14-18-year-olds) who
were still undecided about continuation of their education. The training is
based on the principles of non-formal education and youth work. The aim of
the training is the development of transversal skills while supporting students
to make informed decisions about their possible future career paths. The
participants in the training are followed up two months after the training.
It is a good example of a local grass-roots initiative to provide guidance services

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