Follow Us Piloting PR2, September 2023, Romania

Nowadays, the NEETs rate in the EU is persistently high and the pandemic situation has worsened their chances to find a suitable education, training or employment. On the other hand, EU Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are not effectively using Social Media Platforms due to many obstacles identified in many EU studies, being the most relevant the lack of knowledge on digital tools and, a tight financial capacity. Therefore, the Follow Us project’s main objective is to use the existing digital and personal skills of NEETs to inspire, motivate and re-integrate them with innovative training-tools, services and methods to develop their skills as Social Media Managers and connect to SMEs who need their services.

The Follow Us Trainers’ Book, which is a result of PR2, is an essential part to guide you as a trainer through the Course by providing a clear structure, teaching aims and learning objectives. Trainer Upskill Course is the online course is based on the NEETs Programme and trains and educates Socio Inclusion workers in a new and effective manner to become knowledgeable and successful trainers of the Follow-us Training programme for NEETs. Course is designed to provide the necessary knowledge and skill to the Follow-us trainers in a convenient way: it is structured in the form of Modules and contains subjects of Social Media, Digital Marketing, Key Competence training methods and Employment & Entrepreneurship support.

For the piloting TEAM4Excellence chose to approach youth workers and trainers of NEETs who can transfer and apply the results of the project. They were informed about the FollowUs project initiative, as well as about the benefits of the practices they could take up and introduce in their teaching for NEETs. The participants selected for the pilot of the FollowUs Trainers’ Upskill Course were a diverse group of dedicated individuals with experience in youth work and education. Their expertise and commitment to education made them invaluable contributors to the pilot program, as they provided valuable insights and feedback to enhance the course materials and support the learning journey of their students.

On 25th of September 3 participants were invited to go through the FollowUs Trainers Book and Trainers’ Upskill Course on the Follow-us platform at TEAM4Excellence headquarters in Constanta, Romania. They discussed the functionality of the project results, their key points and weaknesses. Participants were invited beforehand to familiarize themselves with the FollowUs project website and the platform. Afterwards, the participants went through the course, the trainers’ book and the platform to make specific observations.

Participant feedback was distributed face to face and collected after. In a nutshell, most participants rated the toolkit with 5 on a 1-5 scale, while none of them rating the toolkit less than 4. This is considered an outstanding result, which speaks that the course is a valuable teaching resource which touches the most important key points in integrating NEETs as Social Media managers. The purpose and the implementation of the course, the platform and the trainers’ book were praised and encouraged among participants.

In Romania there is a real need for educational materials for NEETs that provide them with skills suitable for today’s labour market and keep up with current technological advances. By mixing formal and non-formal methods, information can reach young people more quickly, so digital tools are useful for both NEETs trainers and the NEETs.

Location: Constanta, Romania

Date: 25 September 2023