Erasmus+ – EAGLEs Project
(Empowering and Activating the Young Generation through Learning and employability Skills)
Project Description:
Lack of employment, or employment loss, is a very stressful event for young job seekers. Several studies have indicated that unemployment is related to mental distress and depression, a low level of self-esteem, and a risk of death by suicide. Unemployment is also associated with large and lasting reductions in happiness.
As a result, unemployed people, and especially young job seekers, lack the ability and confidence to activate their positive characteristics and end up with inadequate positive emotions, energy and motivation to achieve their goal.
Employability skills are typically considered essential qualifications for many job positions and hence have become necessary for an individual’s employment success. Skills, such as team working, communication, problem solving, and self-management, are highly valued by employers, often far more than educational qualifications. However, employers report that young job seekers seem to lack, or need, to improve basic employability skills that make them more ready to enter the labour market, face job requirements, and adversities, and subsequently be productive at work.
Thus, it is vital to develop and test interventions that can help unemployed people to manage their aversive situation, build skills, and maintain an acceptable level of mental health and well – being.
The EAGLEs project aims to develop an innovative and practical training package for young unemployed people to acquire positive coping skills based on positive psychology principles as well as professional skills that will facilitate their personal development, their employability, and foster their entrepreneurial spirit.
Duration:
2015 – 2017
The Research Team:
The project team involves institutions across four European countries including The Institute of Development Ltd (Greece), GrantXpert Ltd (Cyprus), Panteion University of Social and Political Science (Greece), CESIE (Italy), and ICEP Europe (Ireland).
National Advisory Board:
The project partners are supported by National Advisory Boards in each jurisdiction, whose role is to provide independent guidance and advice to the project. We are delighted to have as part of the Advisory Board for Ireland, Dr Amanda Fitzgerald (University College Dublin) and Marie-Claire McAleer (National Youth Council of Ireland), who are both well known experts working in the field of positive psychology and youth employment.
Funding:
The project is funded under the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership initiative..
Project Objectives:
- To develop, test and publish an innovative training program for young job seekers combining Positive Psychology and Employability skills.
- To create an educational tool that will be provided to Youth Workers to further enhance the quality and professionalism of their efforts to help young unemployed to acquire skills and qualifications support them on their journey to job search.
- To enrich Youth Workers’ personal and professional development so as to be able to better support young unemployed people in their job search.
- To create and publish the educational tools and strategies in a widely available online format.
Press Release:
Download the latest project press release here.
Project Newsletters:
