Youth Employability Skills Training of Youth Workers from Georgia, Armenia and Ukraine
In April, Action Against Hunger conducted a 4-day Training of Trainers (ToT) for Youth Workers from Armenia, Georgia and the Ukraine, in the framework of the ERASMUS+ Youth Employability Skills (YES) project. The project is implemented by the YOUTH AGENCY Georgia, together with the NGOs Armenian Progressive Youth, GO ON Ukraine and Action Against Hunger.
The training aimed to strengthen the attending Youth Workers’ capacities in becoming trainers and mentors of other youth workers. This is done to support the project’s overall goal of enhancing youth employability skills in the region. 20 youth workers participated in the training, 10 from different Georgian municipalities and 5 from the Ukrainian and Armenian youth organisations each.
The goal of this Training of Trainers was to support all participants in the:
- Understanding and applying adult learning principles
- Increase of learner participation by applying various training techniques
- Assessment and evaluation of learner progress
- Provision of constructive feedback
Expert trainers held training sessions on topics as: presentation and communication skills, handling of challenges in training, Digital Youth Work and Development, and Effective Action Plan writing. Besides these trainings Action Against Hunger provided information on its ethical framework, principles that are important when fostering social inclusion and developing entrepreneurship and employment skills for vulnerable youth.
With this, the project aims to contribute to employability and enhancing youth work development in the project consortium member Neighbourhood East countries.
Feedback from some of the participants
“What an amazing opportunity,” says David and expresses his gratitude for the personal and professional skills acquired, “truly, a huge improvement.” “For me, the project and action plan writing skills are what I will take away from this week of training,” Zhenya says. And Volodymyr adds that this ToT week has been a “great possibility to learn from others. With the coaches and trainers leading by example.”
Participants of the 4-day Training of Trainers (ToT) for Youth Workers
“This was actually my first time working in such a setting,” says Heonhii and adds, “I was very surprised by the skills training, particularly that I was able to acquire good skills over such a short time,” referencing the training on the use of body language. Narek particularly feels that this training gave all participants the chance to network and meet other young people, “over time, we have developed a friendship,” he voices. He adds that this training has helped him “feel more confident.”
“I have joined similar training sessions before, both as a participant and a trainer, but you always learn new skills,” says Eka. Akaki underlines this by stating that “this mix of theoretical and practical training opens doors for all of us on how to apply the acquired skill in our work.”
After finalising the training, these youth workers are now set to train 50 trainee youth workers and disadvantaged youth during the training practice in all 3 countries, transferring the learnt knowledge through mentorship and training. “I met so many well-educated people, who are doing a great job in their respective country,” replies Mariam, expressing gratitude for this opportunity, “and now, I am looking forward to help others improve their skills!”
More pictures from the 4-day Training of Trainers (ToT) for Youth Workers
