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    • Gathering forces for increased youth employment

    Gathering forces for increased youth employment

    In 2021 in Sweden 10.3% of youths are registered as unemployed at the employment agency. In Eskilstuna municipality the number is 13.9%. If you look at it even closer, the number goes up to 26.7% for youths born outside of Sweden. The numbers show a city where young people do not have the same opportunities to reach their full potential. The coming two years, Reach for Change together with Right By Me and the municipality of Eskilstuna, and with support of Inkludera will join forces to turn this around.
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    For the first time, ESF+ in Sweden (European Social Fund) has a separate programme area for social innovation. The call for proposals received 17 applications, of which three were funded. One of them was “Kraftsamling för ökad ungdomssysselsättning” where Reach for Change is the leading partner. The project aims to address challenges for unemployed youth by building on opportunities for collaborations between social entrepreneurs and the public sector. 

    The project, in Swedish called “Kraftsamling för ökad ungdomssysselsättning” (translates to Gathering forces for increased youth employment),  started in January 2023 and will be ongoing until June 2025. The project consists of three phases where partners will work together to conceptualize, test and disseminate a collaborative model that aims to make it easier for social entrepreneurs to collaborate with municipalities. 

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    Phase 1 - conceptualize 

    With the goal of developing a collaborative model that can be implemented as a part of municipalities' ordinary activities - partners will over a series of co-creating workshops conceptualize a model to pilot. Partners will also create two reference groups who will give input on the outline of the model- one representing the target group and one representing actors from other municipalities, government agencies and the private sector. 

    Phase 2 - test pilot 

    With the goal of reaching 60 unemployed youth, the model for collaboration will during phase two of the project be tested through a pilot conducted by the partners. Throughout this phase, partners will have workshops to reflect on key lessons learned from implementing the model of collaboration in practice. 

    Phase 3 - dissemination 

    After completing the pilot phase, the model for collaboration will be finalized and validated. To spread the model as well as learnings from the project's first two phases, several dissemination events will take place. Partners will also conduct a final report and encourage the uptake of the model in other locations. 

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    The project is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.