On the 13th of July, on the way to the World Skills Day, celebrated tomorrow all over the world, the YEP training programme has come to a conclusion.

Over 3 months, about 70 young people have been trained in the 3 cities on how to start a business and to strengthen their entrepreneurial skills and knowledge, including financial literacy, market analysis, business planning and access to funding and core work skills such as communication, creativity and teamwork.

In the final event, the young participants presented their business ideas: the 5 best ideas won the chance to undertake an incubation with FABRIQ and the other a tutorship on microcredit programme with Fondazione Welfare Ambrosiano, so everyone will receive an individual support that will help them turning their ideas, potential and skills into action.

Moreover, in 2017 YEP will publish a Youth Entrepreneurship Training toolkit, which will present the activities carried out in the YEP training course, for other trainers and anyone interested in developing youth skills for employment.

The final event took place two days ago, closely to the World Youth Skills Day, an official UN Day promoted since 2015 to raise awareness about the importance of youth skills development. As a matter of fact, youth unemployment is a priority on the international polical Agenda.

In Italy, Spain and Portugal, where YEP program was held, youth unemployment rates are among the highest in the OECD area, at approximately 38%, 44% and 28% respectively (OECD data, 2016).

Young people in these countries have difficulties in entering the labor market and, if not unemployed, are still most likely to engage in temporary contracts and to be underpaid and underemployed. This situation is particular difficult for young people with fewer opportunities, such as migrants and  NEETs who are therefore also more at risk of social exclusion.

By taking this into account, YEP program was carried out in the cities of Milan (Italy), Madrid (Spain) and Lisbon (Portugal) to help youth getting the right set of skills to start a business, to consider entrepreneurship and self-employment as a viable option for employment, and to improve their employability. The program aimed to support their skills an help them discover and develop their talents and aspirations.

YEP is a program funded by the European Union (Erasmus+ Programme) and two Italian Foundations (Cariplo and Giulini). It is promoted by ICEI – Istituto Cooperazione Economica Internazionale together with a series of public and private organisations working in the field of youth coming from Italy, Spain and Portugal.

For more information, please visit:
https://icei.it/yep-young-enterprise-program/
https://youngenterpriseprogram.com