Yo Train - Youth Workers In Training

Municipality of Skellefteå (SE)

The department of leisure and recreation in the municipality of Skellefteå is a public authority. The numbers of employed is normally about 200, but in summertime the sum is more tnah dubbeled. Basicly our work is to run for example sport arenas, swimming-halls and youth clubs. We are well-known in Sweden concerning our capacity to work with development in the field of youth work. Inclusion, gender aquality and fruitful cooperation with local associations and educational institutions har created a good enviorment for education and training of youth leaders. The national board for youth affairs gave our department a national commission in youth policy 2001 - 2006. The alignment was mainly towards developement of the role as youth leader.

The childrens society (UK)

The Children’s Society was established in 1881 and works across England. It has around 70 Projects working with a range of disadvantaged or socially excluded children, young people, their families and communities. It has strong links with other national, regional and local NGOs and voluntary organisations and with government bodies. The Children’s Society raises a substantial part of its operating costs from public charitable contributions. Local Government and Central UK Government funds also support its work. Its main areas of work are with children in trouble with the law, young migrants and refugees, disabled children and young people, children and young people’s participation and empowerment, young people living on the streets or who have run away from home, gypsy and traveller children and families. It is a member of ‘The YES Forum’ European network.

North West Regional Youth Work Unit (UK)

Small organisation of 5 staff working with youth work organisations across the North West of England. Specific expertise in co-ordination and development of networks particularly in the area of participation, workforce development and youth worker training. Staff are either qualified youth workers or qualified administrators. They have links with and knowledge of regional and national developments in their area of work. We have links with organisations delivering youth work training from the very local level to institutions of both further and higher education. We have strong relationships with the National Youth Agency, Life Long Learning UK and the Children’s Workforce Development Council, all national bodies concerned with youth worker training and workforce development. We run a Participation Workers Network in the North West and International Youth Work Network, having experience of the Youth Programme

Pestalozzi-Fröbel-Haus, Stiftung Öffentlig rechts (DE)

The Pestalozzi-Fröbel-Haus is a foundation under public law which includes direct connection of the college for social pedagogics with day care centres and youth work institutions of the foundation, located in Berlin City. We have about 500 employees an dabout 500 students in the college.The foundations concept for the different practical institutions is developed after the Early Excellence or Children’s centres in the UK. We are running different projects in the youth work sector which includes a Café for girls with migrational background, several after school clubs for boys and girls in socially deprived areas,a project for pupils who are avoiding to go to school, cooperation projects with different primary schools, a circus for and run by juveniles. During the education in the college our students are generally tought the basic skills and knowledge of youth work and are offered the possibility of a specific course in after school youth work. We are developing the discussion and skills for Gender work within the college by further education trainings in the educational program

Municipality of Trondheim (NO)

The directorate for Cultural Affairs in Trondheim has the overall responsibility for cultural and leisure matters, including art, sports, activities for young people , immigrants etc.. The municipality is experienced and well qualified in developing programmes and vocational training for youth workers on local, regional, national and international level. The city of Trondheim was the coordinator of the previous LdV project Yo-Pro ( Youth Work in Progress ) and is now responsible for a national training program run by the Youth National Agency and National association of Youth clubs. This program is also a part of a scientific program. They are responsible for a 2 – years training program for youth workers from several municipalities in a county and in 2006/2007 they trained youth workers in Ramallah, Palestine based on the modules in Yo- Pro.

OCN Sweden

OCN Sweden AB is an organisation that provides structure, recognition and quality assurance to life long, non-fomal learning. The OCN-method provides a systematic way to observe, assess and document individual knowledge obtained through non-formal education and training, This in turn, gives the prerequisites to quality assure and communicate such knowledge, and giving Life Long Learning the recognition it deserves. The OCN metod brings a structured presentation of learning which coheres to the ”language of learning” prescribed by the EU Commission. Learning is presented at different levels (coherent with EQF) and in Learning Outcomes, units and Credits (coherent with ECVET).

Pixel (IT)

Pixel, created in 1999, is an education and training institution based in Florence (Italy). Pixel’s mission is to promote an innovative approach to education, training and culture, this is done mostly by exploiting the best potential of ICT for education and training. Pixel training offers focuses on selected main areas: information and communication technologies (e.g. new technologies for education; Internet for tourism etc.); business administration (e.g. quality issues; marketing etc.) and language learning (e.g. Online language learning; Business languages; Language Learning for tourism management etc.); European Cooperation (e.g. European project planning; Management; Financial Planning etc).. Pixel training offer is addressed to: teachers; trainers; entrepreneurs; workers; public officers; post diploma students. Pixel trains around 300 people each year. Of those: 40% are workers going through in-company training; 40% are in-service teachers and trainers; 15% are public officers; 5% are post diploma students. Pixel has a permanent staff of 10 people and a network of about 100 external professionals and trainers that cooperate with them on specific activities. Pixel has developed strong co-operation agreements and partnerships, all over Europe, with universities, public authorities , training organisations, social parties, educational establishments, research and development centres, etc. Pixel has significant experience in the field of European cooperation and transnational collaboration. Pixel has been involved in 32 projects financed by the European Commission in the framework of the following programmes: Socrates ODL; Socrates Minerva; Socrates Grundtvig; Socrates Lingua; Socrates Comenius; Leonardo da Vinci; eLearning. Of those projects: 15 were developed in the field of teachers’ training; 5 were developed on the field of language learning; 5 focused on research on education and training; 4 were developed in the field of training for youth; 3 were developed in the field of in-company training. Pixel is currently the promoter and / or coordinator of the following European projects: European Languages For Secretaries (Leonardo da Vinci 2003-I-03-Bf-La-154168); Language eTeachers Tools (Leonardo da Vinci); Multimedia History Memorial (Socrates Comenius 2.1); The Learning Game (Socrates Comenius 2.1); School Inclusion (Life Long Learning Sub-Programme Comenius); Michelangelo (Life Long Learning Sub-Programme Comenius); History Online (Life Long Learning Sub-Programme Erasmus); Els @ Work (Life Long Learning Sub-Programme Leonardo da Vinci) Pixel has also coordinated over 30 training projects funded by the European Social Fund. Pixel quality system was certified compliance with the standard UNI EN ISO 9001:2000. Pixel is accredited by the Italian Ministry of Education and in this role provides officially recognised in service teachers training initiatives. Pixel is accredited by the Tuscan Regional County and in this role provides officially recognised qualifications for professional training.

Youth European Social Work Forum (YES forum) (DE)

The Y.E.S. Forum is a European network of 22 organisations in across 14 countries in the EU and one partner in Russia. It is bound together by a commitment to the social inclusion and active participation of all children and young people who experience disadvantage and exclusion. As the Y.E.S. Forum is a network of organisations that work with and for young people, it is a platform for exchange of good practice for the various stakeholders of youth work, specifically youth workers. (e.g organising seminars and conferences about current issues) Further the Y.E.S. Forum is recognised by the Commission as a partner and external expert in various working groups of the DG EAC. Hence it is conversant in transferring experience and knowledge from the practical field to actively influence European policies.

Skarpnäck folk high school (SE)

Skarpnäck folk high school is one of 25 schools in Sweden delivering education and training of leisure time professionals/ youth workers (in the following called youth workers). The education is full time for two years and equivalent to university studies. The youth worker profession is relatively new as such. Skarpnäck was one of the pioneers – founded 1963 by the city of Stockholm - with more than 40 years of initial and further training of youth workers