NEETMAKER
Training and Stimulate Employability and Social Inclusion

Challenge

Develop skills in a target audience socially defined as "nem-nem", youngesters (aged 20 to 34) who are outside the labor market and do not attend educational institutions, in the project's area of coverage. The lack of appropriate skills associated with the lack of entrepreneurial spirit of this public puts them in a situation of social exclusion and marginality, being often seen by society as belonging to a generation that lacks a working culture and habits of work, thus living in dependence on friends and family. Thus, there is a double problem associated with NEETs: on one hand, they do not contribute to upgrowth, and on the other hand, social stigma, which can lead to risky behavior, impoverishment, and situations of social exclusion. The current problem may see in the training of the public an opportunity both for the recipients themselves and for the territories that see the critical mass and work capacity strengthened in areas of the new economy, following the strategy and the Strategic Plan of Penela’s County.

Solution

To promote the employability of young NEETs (Not Currently engaged in Employment, Education or Training), through a flexible and practical training program that stimulates the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of this social group. The program seeks to adapt the vast amount of unemployed young people to the real needs of the current market.

Objectives, Activities and Results expected / achieved

The project, run by the HIESE team, is structured in a hands-on approach with workshops, bootcamps, creative residencies and exhibitions of results (maker faire). The participant will be trained and invited to create their own project that can be a digital product or service, inside a FabLab properly equipped (FabLab Penela). The areas addressed in this project are digital fabrication, electronics, IOT programming, web programming, design and digital marketing. The access to these digital fabrication tools/resources allows the development of skills valued in the labor market and the generation of opportunities to create one's own business.
The project aims to create a one-stop-shop solution for young NEET participants, promoting their professional insertion and social inclusion, so it is expected to have a strong regional impact. An ambitious result is expected in the retention of young people in the interior region and in low density territories, thus avoiding their migration to urban centers, by making these youngesters more capable and motivated to the business market. Besides these impacts, there is also the restriction of social risks, because it reduces the risk behaviors associated with unemployment and the lack of future prospects, collaborating indirectly to the minimization of these behaviors.

Activities

• Activity 1: Project Management
• Activity 2: Awareness and mobilization of NEETs; Capacity building of mentors
• Activity 3: Empowerment program for employability 1
• Activity 4: Employability training program 2
• Activity 5: Creative Residencies | Digital Economy
• Activity 6: Product and service prototype ideas competition
• Activity 7: NEET MAKER FAIR
• Activity 8: External follow-up, monitoring and evaluation of impacts

• No. of people participating - 100
• No. of people who integrate into the job market or create their own jobs - 25