Abstract:

The development of digital and human skills among youth is increasingly recognized as vital for fostering their growth, employability, and active participation in society. This is particularly crucial for disadvantaged youth, including Ukrainian refugees who have been displaced across several EU countries, facing unique challenges in their new environments.

The Metaverse Learning Hub project aims to address these issues by designing and developing evidence-informed guidance and supporting tools for youth workers. This project seeks to empower youth workers with resources that effectively facilitate the development of digital and human skills among young people. By conducting a needs analysis through focus groups with 25 youth workers from the consortium countries (the Netherlands, Greece, Romania and Poland), the project gathered insights from people operating in different professional environments such as schools, youth associations, and community centers. The goal of this paper is to present the results of this study, which aimed to explore the access to high-quality learning resources and innovative pedagogical methods and to assess the professional development opportunities for youth workers. The results reveal that while resources are available, their practical application is hindered by economic constraints, rigid training schedules, language fragmentation, and sectoral gaps. Additionally, there is a notable disparity in the availability and quality of professional development opportunities, with financial constraints and program rigidities limiting effectiveness. The findings underscore the need for a systematic approach to integrate human skills development into core activities and better support youth workers through comprehensive training and resource provision.

Moreover, the paper presents two project outputs, which are delivered as a response to the above-mentioned results. First, a handbook featuring evidence-informed resources and good practices for youth workers to foster human and digital skills among (disadvantaged) youth is presented. It includes an introduction with the key concepts, followed by instructions on it can be used by youth workers. The main body of the handbook is divided into two sections. The section with good practices (20+ successful projects and local/EU initiatives) and the section with hands-on guidance on how to use more than 40 research-based resources in youth interventions. Finally, 22 standards are identified to help youth workers evaluate the impact of their interventions. The second output is a guide with specific examples of pedagogical methodologies that can be implemented to develop human and digital skills, such as project-based learning, game-based learning, digital storytelling, collaborative learning, experiential learning, peer-to-peer learning, social and emotional learning, and active learning, in youth interventions. To ensure these outputs meet the actual needs of youth workers, consortium partners have collaborated closely with them throughout the design and development process. This inclusive and participatory approach underscores the project's commitment to addressing the real-life scenarios and challenges faced by youth workers. Through these resources, the project aims to enhance the effectiveness of youth work and the development of young citizens who contribute meaningfully to their communities and the broader society.

Keywords:

Youth work, Erasmus+, digital skills, human skills, metaverse learning hub.