Name of the organization: Coalition of youth organizations SEGA
Website: sega.org.mk
Brief description of the organization
The coalition of youth organizations is a national network of youth NGOs with head office in Prilep, North Macedonia. SEGA continuously works on developing and implementing youth policies in North Macedonia as well as connecting and strengthening young people to improve their overall state. SEGA as a national organization builds upon collective membership. The membership of SEGA (at the moment) consists of 23 member organizations who work in the field of protection and improvement of the environment, development of entrepreneurship and tourism, options for healthy living among the youngsters, regional development, international youth cooperation etc. The main focus of the field of work of SEGA includes youth activism; youth participation; youth employment; democracy, mutual confidence and cooperation; community development; information; advocacy and lobbying for youth policy.
Problem addressed by the good practice
The traditional indicators for labor market participation are frequently criticized for their limited relevance to young people. The fact is that basic (un)employment statistics do not accurately capture the situation of young people because many are students and hence are classified as being out of the labor force. Youth unemployment and underemployment in North Macedonia represent a major cost to the country in economic, political and societal terms. One in every two young persons in the national labor force is unemployed. The high youth unemployment rate – among the highest in the world – means a loss of investment in education and training, a reduced tax base and higher social costs. At the same time, long periods of unemployment in the early stages of life affect job prospects across the working-life span of young people. Furthermore, the high level of unemployment among young people can be a source of social instability.
According to Eurostat, statistics for young people neither in employment nor in education and training aged 15-29 show that the total unemployment rate in North Macedonia for 2015 is 32.5%, compared to Croatia 20.1%, Poland 14.6% and EU28 14.8%. As a result, political attention has increasingly been focused on boosting the employment of young people in the country through a combination of employment, education and social assistance policies.
The project “Youth Information Centers fit to NEET” brings together partners from North Macedonia, Croatia, and Poland to work on an innovative approach in identifying role models for youth information to fit the needs of people in NEET situations. Learning about the experiences of different European countries will be crucial in delivering the innovative outputs of this project. The overall aim of the project is to: Increase the quality of youth work in addressing the needs of NEETs in Europe. Through the project, partners will strive to achieve the specific objective of the project to introduce innovatively tailored youth information approach for the active inclusion of NEETs in the society. The innovative approach will further encourage and support high-quality guidance including career information, information on rights at work, employment and education prospects, free movement possibilities, and more comprehensive advice and support for all young people, especially for those at risk of getting into a NEET situation. Since the project includes partner organizations from North Macedonia, Croatia and Poland, the first impact will be in these countries, and in particular at a regional level, where the partners are more present and develop their work.
Target groups
The target group is youth workers, youth organizations, and NEETs.
Summary of the good practice
The innovative approach encourages and supports high-quality guidance including career information, information on rights at work, employment and education prospects, free movement possibilities and more comprehensive advice and support for all young people, especially for those at risk of getting into a NEET situation.
Another innovative aspect offered through this project is utilizing ICT in disseminating methodology for working with youth in NEET situation, for youth workers in Europe, therefore contributing towards increasing the quality of the youth work. In order to achieve this, the project will develop and implement a methodology for ToT webinar, thus offering an opportunity to youth workers from all around Europe to join the training and increase their knowledge and skills in working with NEETs and especially in the field of youth information and career guidance.
Evaluation
After the end of the project, the partners are measuring the results by following the number of interested organizations and youth information centers to use the created methodology.
Recommendations
The “Youth Information Centers fit to NEET” concept can be transferred to other countries and regions where the public services to NEETs are not enough to supply these young people with needed information and training.
Resources
Tot Webinar “Information Methods for Youth NEET Situation” is available on YouTube. Manual on information methods for youth in NEET situation is available on this link. You can also check this link for more information about the project.