Project learning for young adults (PLYA)
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- Name of the project: Project learning for young adults (PLYA)
- The purpose of the project: Project learning for young adults – PLYA is a publicly approved programme of informal education intended for the unemployed aged between 15 to 25 years who do not have any occupational qualifications or competences and face social vacuum due to the lack of support and help from their surroundings.
- Duration of the project: 1 September 2008 – 31 August 2010
- Number of participants: 10,500
- Budget (ESF +national contribution): 2,530,000.00 Euros
- About the project:
Project learning for young adults – PLYA is a publicly approved programme of informal education intended for the unemployed aged from 15 to 25 years who do not have any occupational qualifications or competences and face social vacuum due to a lack of support and help from their surroundings.
The underlying purpose of the programme is to help early school drop-outs without occupational qualifications to overcome social exclusion in which they find themselves and encourage them to re-enter and complete the educational process, thus, acquiring occupational qualifications or the targeted level of education. The programme further caters the needs of the young by equipping them with skills and competences indispensable for job seeking and entry into the labour market.
The main objectives of the programme are personal growth, general education and formation of occupational, social and cultural identity.
The programme aims at activating the young by delivering as many possibilities, pathways, methods and people as possible to help them overcome social exclusion and enhance social integration. While searching for the best solutions for each individual, the PLYA programme promotes intersectoral action of various institutions and stimulates the young to get in touch with like-minded and to self-help. The programme is designed to help the young to enter into the social life in a creative and active manner, become able to efficiently carry out the “job hunting” task, identify their employment opportunities and present their know-how, skills and personal traits competitively and with the needed self-confidence. The educational process is carried out in interaction with the local environment. The PLYA programme does not deliver school subjects and classical school lessons, the mentors are there to help the young with the learning that takes place in the scope of the projects. The participants are active at all stages – from selecting to carrying out and, last but not least, giving final evaluations of the project. Thanks to its openness and direct learning in/for/with the environment, the programme possesses outstanding social-integration value that in fact constitutes the basic need of the young taking part in the programme.
The programme is free of charge and the participants formally enter it for the period of three months to a year. The duration depends on the needs the participant demonstrates or on the achievement of the set objectives. The decision to participate in the programme is adopted on a voluntary basis.
Results of the PLYA programme: according to an evaluation study two thirds of the participants achieve the set objectives: 40.4% of them continued their educational process within a year or more, while 23.7% of the participants entered into temporary or permanent employment.
In 2007 the PLYA programme received the award in the category European Regional Social Policy Champion from the programmes of social policy in the European Union - European Regional Champions Awards 2007, awarded by the Committee of the Regions in association with the Parliament Regional Review.
The impact of the project on the citizens/individuals:
The story of Jana Urbanija
She attended the Project learning for young adults (PLYA) because she did not finish the fourth (final) year of high school education. She had a lot of personal problems and at that point a friend suggested to her to join PLYA. The mentors there were very different from school teachers. They helped her find her talents and skills, which were often suppressed by society. Mentors helped her to become “a person” and to feel accepted end equal to others. She did not feel like an exception, outsider or looser anymore, though she had a lot of problems at home. Her parents were divorced and her father was an alcoholic. That caused extra tensions at home. With the help of PLYA she became aware of the meaning of education and employment and learned a lot about foreign cultures through exchanges. What was also new to Jana was the support from other group members. She never experienced such a thing at school. She changed with the help of mentors, mostly because she could not manipulate them. She says she could manipulate her parents, social workers and school psychologist but not PLYA mentors. Thanks to them, says Jana, she is still here today.
The story of Klas Preželj
Klas did not finish high school education because he started experimenting with drugs. At PLYA he gained motivation, encouragement and was taught how to think actively. With their help he finished high school for tourism and started studying at the Faculty for Social Work. At the workshops and debates they talked about family violence, taboos in society, sex, sexual transmitted diseases, excepting difference and about the deeper reasons for somebody’s reactions in a given moment. The mentors helped him to set his goals and to upgrade them. They also encouraged him to achieve his goals and to face the society stronger, wiser and more confident. Klas also says that the PLYA mentors helped group members to find their talents, which helped them in their decisions about their education and profession path.
