More information
Description
During the year 2020, Covid-19 has influenced work life around the globe in two significant ways: unemployment, especially among youth, has skyrocketed and remote work has become the “new normal”. Usually, rapid changes exacerbate inequality, yet with this project, we aim to counter the negative effects (unemployment) with the positive ones (remote work) and develop an integrated A to Z approach that provides new access to employment for NEET youth in rural areas and young mothers (25-29) through remote work. GO REMOTE project will open 2 ways for youth to gain remote employment in Latvia, Cyprus, Croatia and Bulgaria:
- Active learning path consisting of “remote job training” tailored towards specific remote professions, followed by online job speed-dating events, during which companies and youth meet eye-to-eye in order to land a job. The path is completed by remote work mentorship that sustains the lasting impact of remote employment.
- Finding a remote work path, as a broader, but less regulated process, allowing NEETs to find a job at any time. It is enabled by our online job platform with remote and hybrid-remote (e.g. weekly attendance) vacancies coupled with a database of job seekers, personalised profiles with employer-employee matching options and up-to-date “Learning Hub” with high-quality educational content on remote work. The main innovation of the platform stems not only from the specific focus on remote jobs but from integrating transnational remote job vacancies between the EEA countries.
To construct impactful activities, we will begin with expertise-partner-led in-depth research (from ISL, NOR, FIN), creating youth, employer and market need assessment, and developing a roadmap for a training plan and job speed-dating events. We plan to reflect on the project via a final report and develop a Learning Guidebook, enabling our solutions to be easily adapted and our platform to be self-sustained and easily scaled beyond the 4 countries.
Summary of project results
The "Go Remote" project aimed to address the growing challenge of youth unemployment, particularly focusing on marginalized groups such as NEETs, young mothers, and those residing in rural areas. By promoting remote work opportunities and providing comprehensive support, the project sought to empower youth and enhance their employability.
The project started with researching the needs of job markets, then developed trainings that are both interesting, but ensure good remote employability prospects. Finally, job-matching events were developed that allowed for job seekers and employers to connect and ensured employment.
All of these activities were supported by mentoring program towards youth, so that they have higher confidence in navigating the challenges, as well as Go Remote platform, which served as a one-stop-shop for remote work. It had Knowledge base, which showed 2 books (38 articles) in every language, as well as translated 2 online conferences. At the same time the platform, had a practical approach, as it showcased 1683 job vacancies and was the registration place for all the trainings and job-matching events.
Over the project duration, 7058 unique people were involved. 3941 young individuals were trained in remote work skills, resulting in 530 successful employment placements, bridging the youth-employment gap.
A total of 318 Small-And-Medium Enterprises were engaged in remote work practices, signaling a shift in organizational culture towards flexible work arrangements.
The project trained 74 mentors to provide support to young job seekers. This initiative not only facilitated skill development but also encouraged long-term career growth among participants.
As this was the first such a high level project for the beneficiary partners, all partners gained unique experience in nation-wide marketing and digital work with youth, with 3 of the 4 partners planning to continue this action. It worked as a springboard through which almost all partners developed new products (university trainings, job-matching platform, larger trainings and campaigns).
The project has shifted society''s understanding towards idea that rural life can be digital and work can be remote.
Summary of bilateral results
The partners from Norway and Iceland were pivotal to the project for two reasons - first, their deep expertise in specific areas (training and communication) provided a more contemporary perspective, enabling project partners to incorporate more strategic and targeted communication, as well as flip-learning and transversal skill courses, which clearly demonstrated knowledge transfer. Second, drawing on their experience and the longstanding NGO sector experience in those countries, they offered considerable insight into project management, risk management, and conflict resolution.Additionally, the donor partner, while offering substantial advice, also provided an external viewpoint, focusing on issues critical to beneficiary partners from a broader perspective.The primary outcomes included innovative marketing campaigns in collaboration with the Participation Agency, which facilitated free advertisement acquisition in Latvia and significantly aided the digital marketing strategy in Croatia. Keilir, meanwhile, developed a remote training course featuring transversal skills. Following the project, one partner has already initiated a collaboration with Keilir, and several initiatives are underway with the bilateral partners.