The Laboure HotSpot Project is an initiative aimed at strengthening the position of youth in the labour market and empowering NGOs working in the youth sector. The project activities aim to identify key stakeholders, conduct youth research and data processing, organize focus groups, and engage young people in structured dialogue sessions. The project results will provide innovative solutions for the inclusion of young people in the workforce, improve their socio-economic position, and provide opportunities for youth empowerment. So far, alongside two transnational meetings, these activities were held:
The project focuses on three participating countries, and it is led by a consortium of partner organizations that have joined forces to provide innovative solutions for the inclusion of young people in the workforce. The Laboure HotSpot project includes a series of activities aimed at identifying key stakeholders, conducting youth research and data processing, organizing focus groups, and engaging young people in structured dialogue sessions.
One of the first activities of the Laboure HotSpot project is the mapping procedure of youth organizations and NGOs dealing with the issue of youth integration in its respective country. The activity involved the participation of all partner organizations, with each one conducting a mapping procedure of youth organizations and NGOs dealing with the issue of youth integration in its respective country. The mapping procedure aims to shed light on the position of youth in the three participating countries and collect data on youth organizations’ activities in each country separately. The acquired data is shared among partner organizations and used as an information source for the development of a comprehensive database representing NGOs’ systems of values and activity perspective directed at the area of providing opportunities for youth integration into the labour market.
Another activity of the Laboure HotSpot project is the analysis of all the contributing factors in the poor positioning of youth, which disable their efforts, and those of the subject matter involved NGOs, to enter the labour market, reach job opportunities and access the social and economic sphere to improve their well-being. The method used in carrying out the activity was online survey of noted information, previous historical data shared, interviews provided, reports from public bodies, agencies covering the subject matter and NGOs. Partner organizations created an online survey that consisted of questions regarding all three participating countries. After all the necessary data were collected, partner organizations undertook the procedure of data analysis. The information collected will be a basis on which further discussion on mitigating constraints and opening towards opportunities will be established.
Stemming from the mapping procedure and developed toolbox, key actors within the NGO community were organized in expert focus groups. The purpose of the focus groups was the gathering of expert input in the area of youth inclusion in employment and the labour market. Three focus group meetings were held, each covering a specific interest category. The delivered output from the focus groups in the shape of feedback and perspectives will be used as a blueprint and source of information in carrying out further activity, in which a Guidebook Manual for Youth Inclusion in Labour Market and Youth Work will be developed.
In line with the vision and mission of the European Youth Forum, leading European platform for youth organizations, three structured dialogue sessions were organized to involve youth in the participating process through collaboration and joint shaping of recommendations to improve their position in the socio-economic context. The structured dialogue is a tool enabling youth policies to reflect their needs, challenges they face, and ambition, and an area in which youth can actively participate in developing policies on national, regional, and European levels.