Exyonet – Network for Employability of Young (Ex)Offenders – Conference

Unemployment rate among young people having reach 60% in Greece and been a main problem in South European countries, good practices towards employment, are of great importance to be identified and endorsed into policies.

The six entities involved in Exyonet project, know first-hand youth difficulties of adapting into a world of work in crisis and to the startle of social and technological changes.

The European Project EXYOnet (European Network for employability of young, is the first European network address to the young (ex) offenders employability and social exclusion inside the EU Youth in Action Program. This network put together the efforts of 6 entities of different European countries in 18 months, through the experiences that have been carried out by United Kingdom, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Italy and Spain.

European Center in Training for Employment, ECTE as a member of Exyonet network, participated in a visit to the European Parliament in Brussels, and met members of Parliament and policy decisions technicians, engaged in employment and youth issues. Subhect of the discussion was the consortium work in practices and politics recommendations that have been be added in the joint document: ‘WHITE PAPER: Good practices and policy proposals for Young (ex) offenders employment.

It was decided, a conference event to be organised in Brussels by Exyonet partners, in February 2015. In big event, will participate European parliament members and policy decision technicians,engaged in the field of employment and Youth. Good practices identified, will be presented in a form of white book, whereas there will be an extensive dialogue on youth employment existing policies and future strategies.

Learners and Staff mobility through Erasmus+ in Rethymno, Crete

Learners and Staff mobility through Erasmus+ in Rethymno, Crete

Mobility is more than travelling, because it fosters the geographic, mental and emotional adaptability of participants, and they learn and live under unfamiliar conditions. This engenders personal changes in their attitudes and behaviour.

ECTE—European Center for Employment, is an educational institute based in Rethymnon Crete. Its “international department” among others, is specialized in European mobility programs, with long experience in past mobility programs, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Grundtvig, Erasmus, IdA (placements for vulnerable social groups like people with special abilities, single mothers, long term unemployed youngsters.) Since 1994, more than 600 Mobility projects have been implemented (list of past programs)

ECTE is acting as a Hosting Partner (HO-PA), Coordinator – Sending Partner (SE-PA) and Intermediary Partner (INT-PA). If you are planning to apply for some of the below KA1 projects, ECTE can be your partner in Crete!

  • Mobility for Higher Education Students and Staff
  • Mobility for VET Learners and Staff
  • Mobility for School Staff
  • Mobility for Adult Education Staff
  • Mobility for Young People and Youth Workers

PATiE Project – Train the trainer

Arrasate, is a traditional town of the the Basque Country (Spain), best known as the birthplace of the Mondragón Cooperative Corporation (MCC), the world’s largest worker cooperative. In 2002 the MCC contributed 3.7% towards the total GDP of the Basque Country and 7.6% to the industrial GDP.

PATiE, project partners met in Arrasate for their fourth meeting, having as a main topic of discussion, the finalization of the form and the content of training modules and the organosis of pilot courses based on these modules.

Psychodrama as a tool for the trainers in adult education, is the subject of the training material, that is developing by the project consortium. The training material, includes a curriculum outline, eight training modules, and a “Trainers Guide” for each of the training modules. Till today, four training modules have already been developed, for the remaining four finishing at the end of this year.

Pilot courses will follow, in the cities of the four core partners, namely in Rethymno (Greece), Wadowice (Poland). Florence (Italy) and Arrasate (Montragon, Spain). In the courses, 12 Vocational Trainers, will act as learners, been taught by a professional certified psychodramatist, tools and Technics developed in the eight training modules.

The training modules include:

  • Module1 Experiential psychodrama
  • Module2 Power of the group
  • Module3 Sociometry
  • Module4 Warm up
  • Module5 The Power of playing
  • Module6 Working with symbols
  • Module7 Conflict management
  • Module8 Sharing

ECTE is participating as a core partner in PATiE project (www.patie.eu) and exploits training material outcomes in “training the trainer actions”. Moreover, trainers from many European countries are participating in training events organised, having as a subject experiential learning tools and thus that of psychodrama.

GSSkills Project – 2nd meeting in Eibar, Spain

Within the framework of the European Project “GSSkills”, the second meeting held from 7 to 9 October 2014, in Eibar, Spain. From Greece, except the Chamber of Chania, which is the coordinating partner, participate the European Center for Employment Training (ECTE) based in Rethymno, the organization “Les Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France” based in Paris and is a member of UNESCO, and the company for economic development of Debabarrena “Debegesa, “, located in Eibar, Spain.

During the meeting, a workshop took place between transnational partners, where was presented the results of two surveys that run between May and September in the three countries on the skills you need to have technical thermal and geothermal installations. The presentation focused on both the overall results, and the results for each country separately. There was also a presentation of the current situation of each country in the field of solar thermal and geothermal installations.

Then it became split into two groups (electricians / plumbers), where technicians from the three countries discussed above derived results, whereas questions were posted, related to their subject matter, in order to extract and present findings that will help in the implementation of the next phase of the program.

The participants visited to the Institute Tknika, an Innovation Centre and Vocational Training, which aims to connect research, business innovation and education. On-site, there was an overall presentation of the Institute and its objectives, the education system in Spain in terms of training, followed by tour of products manufactured or are under construction on site.

Technicians visited a building located in San Sebastian that was built in 2011, by the company Dalkia, which with the help of solar thermal and geothermal plants, produce as much energy as they consume 125 residences.

Finally, there was a meeting between the parties to discuss the progress so far in the program and set timetables for the next steps. The purpose of the program “GSSkills”, refers to the development of skills in green forms of energy such as solar and geothermal and addresses to plumbers and electricians working on photovoltaic systems and geothermal energy.

It is worth noting that the program is the only one approved in Greece and Crete. The program is cofunded by the European Commission.

Exyonet – Network for Employability of Young (Ex)Offenders

Exyonet is a network for Employability of Young (Ex) Offenders, financed by the EU Youth in Action Programme, Support Systems for Youth – sub-Action 4.3: Networks. It unites the efforts of six institutions in different European countries:

  1. Ealing City Council (UK)
  2. Romanian Foundation for Democracy (Romania)
  3. Cooperative Arimo (Italy)
  4. ECTE—European Center in Training for Employment (Greece)
  5. İzmir Valiliği AB ve Dış İlişkiler Koordinasyon Merkezi (Turkey)
  6. Meridianos (Spain)

The network partners, met in Ealing of London, in the 16th for setting up “a think tank” for preparing a white book and a good practice guide for practices and policies facilitating young people in social risk, to enter the social and working environment.

ECTE scientific team as member of the “think tank”, is working on posing good practices and policies for increasing employment opportunities for youngsters in social exclusion risk.