Problem addressed

Spain is one of the European countries with the highest youth unemployment rate recorded, reaching approximately 38% for those aged between 16 and 25. In the case of Asturias, in the fourth quarter of 2022, a youth unemployment rate of 47.56% was recorded, which represents a variation of 4.01 percentage points with respect to the data recorded in the previous period. The high youth unemployment rate has many negative economic and social consequences. 



From the social point of view, this situation of unemployment has a negative psychological impact on unemployed young people, as it lowers their self-esteem, can lead to problems of social acceptance and is a major constraint on their independence and personal development. This situation not only generates discomfort not only for the young people who suffer from it, but also for their families and the rest of society, thus becoming a problem that affects the population. 



On an economic level, there are also negative consequences derived from the loss of quality human capital and the loss of talent, which leads to a lack of competitiveness in the economy. In addition, the high rate causes one of the most serious problems faced by companies today, which is the talent drain, driving qualified people to look for job opportunities in other cities and even countries. This leads to serious consequences such as economic losses and reduced competitiveness of the affected sectors. At the economic level, we also find negative consequences derived from the uselessness of quality human capital and the loss of talent, which results in the lack of competitiveness of the economy.



 In addition, the high rate causes one of the most serious problems facing companies today, which is the talent drain, driving qualified people to look for job opportunities in other cities and even countries. This leads to serious consequences such as economic losses and reduced competitiveness of the affected sectors. 



For this reason, it is essential to develop programmes to adapt the professional needs of young people to the needs of companies to retain talent, thereby increasing their employability. Likewise, as formulas to solve this issue, they will carry out networking events that, together with the public-private collaboration within the framework of the project, will bring the young participants closer to the companies in the territory.

Innovative solution

The main objective of this project was to improve the employability and interpersonal skills of 25 young people between 16 and 29 years old who are neither studying, nor in training, nor working, through advice and development of comprehensive training actions appropriate to their profile and interests, with special emphasis on training for employment in training actions with potential for employment generation and that allow cultural exchange and experiences in the field of the European labour market.

Key results and benefits

The target group to which the expected results of this project were addressed was made up of young people between 16- and 29-years old living in Gijón, who were neither working nor undergoing training and who have been selected to participate in the project. This target group was benefit directly from the project because thanks to this project they got, firstly, access to both complementary and specific training that provided them with the knowledge and personal and professional skills necessary to successfully enter the labour market and, on the other hand, allowed them to experience the opportunity to live and work in another EU country, with the consequent personal and professional growth that this entails. This directly contributed to reduce one of the needs detected and which was the basis of this project, and which lay in the high rate of youth unemployment in the city of Gijón and the social, self-esteem and economic problems that this generates in the young population belonging to the target group. 

The activities from which the results were achieved are, mainly, the provision of complementary and specific training whose content was designed according to the needs of the current labour market and that, therefore, allowed young people to obtain a profile of interest for companies in the region. The internships abroad, which allowed them to apply in a practical way the skills and knowledge learnt and also allowed them to live a new and enriching experience and, on the other hand, it is also important to highlight the continuous monitoring tasks that the participants were be able to enjoy, which included personal coaching, labour intermediation and the monitoring, review and evaluation of the initial Work Plan established for each participant. Through the last-mentioned actions, it was possible to monitor the achievement of the objectives set and helped the beneficiaries to make the most of the opportunity they got. 

Potential for mainstreaming

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