At the table, not under it – NGOs as a pillar of youth career education –
Non-governmental youth organizations and youth workers can be natural allies to schools and youth career guidance. They operate in the public interest, offering young people a safe environment, experiential learning, mentoring, and space for developing future competencies.
The project “At the table, not under it: NGOs as a pillar of youth career education“, implemented by Mreža KROJ – youth network for career development, addresses exactly this gap.
PROJECT GOAL is to strengthen the understanding and recognition of the role of non-governmental youth organizations as professional, value-based, and long-term partners to schools in youth career education.
THE PROJECT STEMS from the belief that quality career support is based on cooperation between formal and non-formal education, on trust, clear quality criteria, and a shared vision for youth learning and development.
– Key project activities –
- Research and dialogue with schools, NGOs, and municipalities: We begin the project with research on existing cooperation practices between schools, non-governmental youth organizations, and other key stakeholders. Through surveys and conversations before and after the collaboration, we want to see how the understanding of the youth sector’s role in youth career education changes.
- Personal visits and cooperation with institutions: At the forefront of the project are personal visits to schools and meetings with educators. The purpose of these meetings is not to promote programs, but to discuss school needs, challenges in working with youth, and opportunities for cooperation that have a long-term effect.
- Cooperation with youth workers and youth career counselors: The project supports connecting schools with qualified youth workers and organizations that operate in the public interest and have experience in non-formal learning, career counseling, and working with youth with diverse needs.
- Development of a clear cooperation model: Based on collected data and good practices, a clear model of cooperation between schools and NGOs will be developed to help schools in decision-making, planning, and implementing career education.
– What does the project address – and what does it not? –
The project is not intended to sell workshops or increase the number of external providers in schools. Its focus is elsewhere. The project addresses:
- a lack of understanding of the role of non-governmental youth organizations as professional partners to schools,
- the absence of clear criteria for quality cooperation,
- insufficient personal contact, dialogue, and trust between schools and the youth sector,
- the need for long-term, content-driven partnerships instead of one-off activities.
– What does the project bring to schools and educators? –
- a better understanding of the role of NGOs in youth career education and greater clarity on why and when to cooperate with the youth sector,
- support in assessing the quality of external partners and examples of good cooperation practices between schools and youth NGOs,
- the possibility of long-term partnership rather than just occasional activities, and support in developing inclusive, value-based career education,
- relieving schools in addressing complex career and personal challenges of young people, and
- connecting with a network of professional organizations operating in the public interest.
The project “Learning with a vision. Career with a mission ” does not offer schools additional tasks, but an alliance – an opportunity for career education to become a shared, meaningful, and sustainable process in which formal and non-formal education work as a unified support system for young people.
