

A prison sentence can often last long after leaving incarceration. Offenders may miss out on chances to acquire education, skills and work experience, and may suffer social exclusion – and re-offend as a result.
Supported by the European Social Fund (ESF), The ‘NiKre TeBra’ project is helping young people to break the patterns of reoffending by empowering participants to make a positive change. The project works with young, incarcerated people by providing a trade qualification while they are still in prison, helping them to develop the skills and mindset necessary to find employment upon release.
Having a qualification helps participants gain employment quickly, giving them a much better chance to break the cycle of reoffending.
One young person to benefit was Marko, who valued the opportunity to learn a skill whilst finishing his sentence. He said, ‘This programme was very useful for me because I plan to become a professional tile installer when I get out of prison.’
The project is helping Marko and 15 other incarcerated young people aged between 16 and 29 years old to build their future. To be eligible, the young person needs to have finished primary education and pass a medical exam. Once accepted, they are assigned to a construction professional who teaches them the trade.
Social workers and psychology professionals also mentor the participants throughout the project, supporting those who finish the programme with training in other life skills.
The project takes a holistic approach to re-education, which participants like Marko appreciated, ‘I got to learn the trade, but also learn about things like communication, managing my finances and so on. I feel this will help me once I get out and find a job.’
To keep the young participants motivated, the project team tried to make the training experience as engaging and enjoyable. ‘The time spent in the workshops was actually a lot of fun,’ says Marko.
The organisation leading the project, the Association for Creative Social Work, plans to train a further 16 young offenders throughout 2022 and 2023.
Project details
- Project name
- NiKre TeBra – support for young NEET people in education and employment
- Countries
- Croatia
- Organisation
- Association for Creative Social Work – Croatia
- Participants
- 16 (with 16 further planned)
- Project start
- 2021
- Project end
- 2023
- Contact details
- Lucija Živković
lucija.zivkovic@uksr.hr - Total budget
- EUR 153 537
- EU Budget contribution
- EUR 153 537