ESF-SI-2023-SKILLS-01-0058

The ITBridge project aims to promote the skill development of youth with a migrant background (especially NEETs), through the implementation and scaling of industry-aligned bridge programming integrated with holistic support services for the IT sector. 

Youth with a migrant background are a particularly vulnerable group: they are overrepresented in the NEET category; and more likely to experience early school dropout and to find employment in the informal labor market. The IT sector offers relevant opportunities, but these youths often lack the skills needed to participate in training in this sector.  The training model tested within ReadyForIT, aimed at creating job opportunities in the IT sector, shows entry barriers for youth with a migrant background due to limited outreach, language barriers, and limited support/resources to ensure long-term commitment. The project will adopt a social innovation approach, complementing the training with a package of actions designed to overcome those barriers. Through a personalized approach and holistic support, the intervention will bridge language challenges, knowledge gaps in the local ecosystem, and the limited social capital of youth with a migrant background, with the aim of increasing their employability and leading them to achieve significant career or education goals. 

Expected results:

• Increased beneficiaries’ employability and spread awareness of the possibilities related to the IT sector within this group (140 young migrants participate in the onboarding process, 90 young migrants participate in the Empowerment process). 
• Consolidated a multi-stakeholder delivery model in which all entities leverage their specific expertise, to be broadened to additional training paths/vulnerable groups (i.e. long-term unemployed people, people with disabilities): 300 entities reached through outreach activities, 500 potential beneficiaries directly reached through outreach strategy (50K indirectly reached). 
• Sensitized public and private sectors regarding the need to guarantee integrated support to vulnerable groups, to allow their participation in training pathways. This approach will represent a good practice to widen to private and public VET or within other social projects: 10 companies involved in the Speed Meets. 

Funding: 693,897.00 Eur

Social innovation scale-up 

The ITBridge project scales up the ReadyForIT model, an Italian program developed by Fondazione Accenture aimed at creating job opportunities in the IT sector, by making it more accessible to youth with a migrant background, particularly NEETs. This scaling involves complementing the original model with group and individual holistic support, tailored training, skill validation, and collaboration with companies in the sector to overcome barriers such as limited outreach and language issues. The effectiveness of this enhanced model will be tested in Italy, with the full model then being replicated in Spain.