PLYA inspires pilot implementation in Tuscany

The Project Learning for Young Adults (PLYA) programme is widely recognised internationally as a model of good practice for the (re)integration of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) into society and the labour market. In December last year, it was piloted in Italy for the first time.

In Slovenia, the programme is delivered by organisations across 12 municipalities. Young people who have dropped out of education develop key competences through project-based learning and active engagement with the local community, while shaping their professional identity. They explore pathways to return to formal education or enter employment.

At the same time, the programme strengthens cooperation among various institutions and stakeholders in the fields of non-formal learning and youth social activation, while building bridges between formal education, youth work and employment.

This unique, modern and integrative approach inspired representatives of the Italian municipality of Empoli in the Tuscany region, who became acquainted with the programme during a study visit organised by the ŠKATELC Association for the Development of Responsibility, one of the twelve providers implementing the programme, based in Ljubljana.

They recognised that the programme, developed in Slovenia, offers an effective response to many of the challenges faced by young NEETs in Empoli. In cooperation with project partners within the atWork4NEETS initiative – ANCI Toscana and the Employment Service of Slovenia – as well as the social enterprise CORA, the municipality successfully secured funding to transfer this good practice to the local environment.

Read more in the SIAE Newsletter here.