Training Needs Analysis Transnational Report Prepared by The Rural Hub This project has been funded with support from the European Commission under the Erasmus+ Programme. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. [Project Number:2021-1-CY02-KA220-YOU-000029051]
2 www.digital-youth.eu Table of Contents Introduction..............................................................................................................................3 Methodology ............................................................................................................................3 Digital Youth Work ...................................................................................................................4 Current Status of Digital Youth Work in Cyprus………………………………………………………………. 4 Current Status of Digital Youth Work in Greece……………………………………………………………… 4 Current Status of Digital Youth Work in Ireland……………………………………………………………… 5 Current status of Digital Youth Work in Spain………………………………………………………………… 5 Training Needs Analysis of Youth Workers ..............................................................................7 Training Needs Analysis of Youth Workers in Cyprus……………………………………………………… 7 Training Needs Analysis of Youth Workers in Greece…………………………………………………….. 8 Training Needs Analysis of Youth Workers in Ireland…………………………………………………….. 9 Training Needs Analysis of Youth Workers in Spain………………………………………………………. 10 Recommendations and Conclusions ......................................................................................10 Annexes ..................................................................................................................................12 Annex 1 – Focus Group Questionnaire…………………………………………………………………………. 12
3 www.digital-youth.eu Introduction The main focus of the Digital Youth project is to prepare youth workers to provide young people with the necessary knowledge, skills, and competences in the digital environment. The project involves five partner countries from four different EU countries: Cyprus, Ireland, Spain, and Greece. These organisations have been called upon to create initiatives and activities to boost the digital competences of young people in Europe. According to studies, Cyprus, Greece, and Spain are below the EU average in terms of Internet user skills, advanced skills, and development. And Ireland, while above average in terms of advanced skills, ranks below average in terms of Internet user skills. The Digital Youth project partners have conducted focus group interviews with youth workers in each partner country to map their needs in relation to digital youth work in terms of their knowledge, skills, and competences. These focus groups aim to: 1. Assess the current state of digital skills knowledge in youth workers. What do they already know? 2. Identify gaps in digital skills and competencies of youth workers. 3. Identify what youth workers need in digital skills. 4. Identify digital devices and apps/software youth workers use daily. This Transnational Report will analyse the data collected in the focus groups in each partner country. This will include coding the content of the discussion, recording any emerging themes and coding their frequency. This analysis will serve as the basis for the creation of the Digital Youth Training Package, an Interactive Handbook for youth workers and online learning modules. Methodology Focus group interviews were conducted in each partner country to map the needs of youth workers regarding digital youth work in terms of their knowledge, skills, and competencies. Though it is not to be used rigidly, like a questionnaire, at the focus group discussion, the facilitator encourages participants to explore topics in-depth, reflect, raise their own issues, etc. Each country partner invited 5-10 youth workers for a group interview and collected qualitative data for the needs assessment. Homogeneity was considered when forming the groups: a representative panel with similar ages and professions and from a different geographical area should be selected. A set of predetermined questions was pilot tested during the first focus group. A series of focus group meetings will ensure that no new major themes surface during the discussions. These sessions lasted 1.5 to 2 hours duration, depending on the number of participants and the depth of discussions.
4 www.digital-youth.eu Digital Youth Work Digital youth work means proactively using or addressing digital media and technology in youth work. The digital age can succeed in creating great new employment opportunities for young people.As we approach the year 2030, developing digital competencies has become increasingly important for professional success. These include generic skills such as conducting internet searches, communicating online via email or instant messaging services, using online career platforms, and understanding digital financial services. In the future, tens of millions of jobs will require much more advanced digital skills, for example, coding, software and application development, network management, machine learning, cyber security, etc. Therefore, digital professionals should consciously seek to apply better-targeted strategies in programme design to help young people succeed in high quality digital jobs. In order to participate meaningfully in society and the workplace, young people must have the skills and opportunities necessary to advance their vision of a connected future. While young people are often considered to be "digital natives", in practice, most may lack the digital skills needed in the workplace for certain jobs. Current Status of Digital Youth Work in Cyprus In Cyprus, there is a communication gap between digitally excluded and digitally literate people in both the public and private sectors. There is a need for youth workers to acquire essential digital skills or competencies, because if they do not acquire these, they may succeed in losing connectivity and influence on young people, especially those with physical or mental difficulties, or even those residing in geographically isolated areas. Therefore, digitally competent youth workers in Cyprus are committed to promoting and ensuring the civic participation of young people. And to train key points of competences and digital literacies in youth organisations, youth workers and policy makers. Current Status of Digital Youth Work in Greece In Greece, the importance of face-to-face teaching and relationships in working with young people is highlighted. Many youth workers carry out their work in different and unusual environments and offer different opportunities to different target groups. It is felt that while online, project-based activities can be a great opportunity, it does not offer the connection that face-to-face communication can offer. For youth workers in Greece, the environment that young people choose to interact in can greatly influence their relationships, so it is essential to allow young people to immerse themselves in experiences, try new things, and experiment.
5 www.digital-youth.eu In Greece, youth workers see digital tools as a means to make work more enriching, but not as a substitute or replacement. Current Status of Digital Youth Work in Ireland In Ireland, practical demonstration activities and various digital media are being used more frequently to engage young people. There is a preference for non-formal education, as it offers better learning environments, making it more attractive to work with young people. Youth workers often encounter difficult challenges and difficulties in working with young people. These include managing telephone use, social media use, cyberbullying, anxiety after COVID-19 and funding and accessing resources. In Ireland, the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected youth work, as most youth centres had to close, which greatly restricted physical contact with young people and, to a large extent, face-to-face interaction. After the lifting of restrictions in Ireland, youth workers continued to find it difficult to re-engage young people in face-to-face activities. Therefore, youth workers find the implementation of digital tools a vital part of the constant use of current technology to better connect and engage with young people. Also, this would facilitate learning for young people with physical disabilities. These digital tools have come to prominence during the pandemic and have shown youth workers how they can be used in face-to-face settings. It is hoped that, in the future, youth work can adapt to ICT technologies, including the incorporation of blended learning, hybrid learning and gaming resources into youth work practice. Current status of Digital Youth Work in Spain The main challenges identified in Spain are the transformation of youth work into digital youth work and the use of digital tools. There is a great need to combat the youth population's demotivation, primarily caused by the high unemployment rates in the south of Spain and the consequent emigration to other European countries. The potential in digital youth work is recognised, and this enables deeper cooperation between young people and youth workers. However, some challenges are also seen in the lack of digital skills and competences to handle the new dynamics that digital youth work brings. Many Spanish organisations are already fast catching up with digital work, creating good adaptive jobs. But it is still important to create tools that reduce overstimulation and excessive hours with digital devices among young people.
6 www.digital-youth.eu Social media has become essential for young people, as social networks form a large part of young people's daily lives. For young people, social media is a quick way to interact and stay connected with others and the latest information in their environment. Therefore, in Spain, some organisations are creating tools that can control the excessive time spent on digital devices and help to decrease their use adequately and appropriately. Local universities, the Chamber of Commerce, and non-formal educational organisations have offered many youth workers online courses during the pandemic.
7 www.digital-youth.eu Training Needs Analysis of Youth Workers Youth workers aim to prepare young people for life, a digital life. To offer young people a combination of practical skills, knowledge, motivation, attitudes, and other social and behavioural components that are mobilised together to achieve effective action. In the Digital Age, how we learn has changed, and therefore, how we teach must adapt. This means that both the figure of the teacher and the teaching methodologies have to adapt to a changing world and to the needs of the current generation of young people. On the other hand, the young generation is indeed fluent in technology, but at no time does this indicate that they are making correct, useful, and beneficial use of it for their personal development and learning; and this is where youth workers need to have an impact. Any trainer's task is to create and foster a learning ecology that enables learners to improve quickly and effectively on their existing learning. Ultimately, youth workers in the Digital Age must maintain an attitude of permanent enquiry, foster the learning of competences (generate learning environments), maintain a continuum from individual to teamwork (support integrated educational projects) and encourage the development of an ethical spirit. Technology and information alone do not guide, help, or advise young people; therefore, the work of an educator in the digital world is more important than ever. Training Needs Analysis of Youth Workers in Cyprus The arrival of COVID-19 has had a negative impact on youth work because communication barriers have been reinforced. Face-to-face contact with people has been lost, and this has led to a decrease in volunteers interested in civic engagement and participatory activities. At the same time, the need to use online communication platforms (ZOOM, Skype, etc.) for meetings and seminars has increased. Therefore, there is a need for youth workers to provide basic ICT skills, as well as up-to-date training methods (webinars, etc.), and a digitised workplace for discussions or debates. In the Focus Group conducted in Cyprus, the need was found to apply more cost-effective digital tools in a workplace (online communication platforms, online seminars/trainings/workshops/training activities, study visits, etc.), not only to have an efficient management but also to establish a strong connection with young people through social media. "Young individuals are voicing the need for simplicity: simple lives, simple online application procedures, and minimum paperwork". In addition to formalising and recognising the profession of youth workers in Cyprus, youth workers also need to be digitally trained and skilled in the use of social media (Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter), and online communication platforms (ZOOM, SKYPE, Microsoft Teams) to communicate with young people and keep them engaged by disseminating
8 www.digital-youth.eu information on various participatory activities. Without downplaying also the need for governmental (financial), and social support. In Cyprus, the need has been highlighted to create an online platform accessible to all youth workers, both nationally and internationally, where they can all exchange best working practices, webinars, training sessions and other useful digital tools that they could use to improve their quality of work and better connect with young people. Nowadays, young people are used to using tablets, laptops, and smartphones, so it is necessary to know how to use digital tools to be able to connect and communicate with young people. The main reason for learning to use digital tools is also to connect with people with limited opportunities. In the focus group in Cyprus, participants were not very familiar with the digital tools used to connect with people with physical difficulties (mobility, visual, hearing). However, participants were willing to learn and evolve, and also expressed dismay at the lack of availability and accessibility of online training and digital tools, as well as the lack of digital literacy. Training Needs Analysis of Youth Workers in Greece Some of the main challenges faced by youth workers are the restrictions on many activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the use of the single screen, as this is still a big novelty for many of them. The advent of COVID-19 has not only made youth workers begin to capitalise on the digital tools that were already available to them, but through these digital tools, people from different geographical areas were able to participate in their activities, transcending essential boundaries. Whether for formal or non-formal education purposes. However, in Greece it is considered necessary not to replace face-to-face activities with digital tools. In the focus group, the importance of face-to-face and close contact with people was expressed. Especially, focusing on many vulnerable groups who do not have the privilege to participate in digital activities, as they lack an internet connection, IT devices, skills, etc. In Greece, it is believed that online contact is not very appropriate in the context of a therapeutic relationship, as it has a different level of intensity. Encouraging a positive balance between traditional and new learning methods is advocated. This is the change that youth workers in Greece would like to see. The digital divide for youth workers in Greece lies in the lack of resources to carry out digital activities. Resources such as necessary human capital and infrastructure. Therefore, it highlights the importance of workers feeling motivated to use different tools they need or want to use, as general digital skills are sometimes not enough.
9 www.digital-youth.eu The level of familiarity with digital tools for working with young people with physical disabilities was also found to be low. In the focus group in Greece, many of the participants had experience working with people with mental and physical disabilities (through face-toface or online consultations) but had never used any of these tools in the past. Training Needs Analysis of Youth Workers in Ireland Due to the difficulties and challenges identified among youth workers with youth engagement since the advent of COVID-19, youth workers find it necessary to start implementing digital tools that foster personalised learning, collaboration, and communication with young people. These tools will help youth workers reach out to young people directly through social media and digital media. This would facilitate outreach and engagement and promote personal responsibility. It would also serve to break down certain barriers that may exist within youth work. In the focus group conducted in Ireland, youth workers were satisfied with the large number of existing digital platforms and resources, as many of them had used the free online resources in their youth work. However, they also expressed an interest in learning more about these advanced digital technologies/tools that could be of good use in their future practices. In the Focus Group it was highlighted that 40% of the youth workers had previously heard of MOOCs, while the remaining 60% understood the concept once the acronym was explained to them. Also, many of the youth workers had previously used QR codes within their youth work through the use of interactive infographics. It was recorded that only two youth workers had used VR in their work with young people, while none had used AR. To reinforce these digital skills, many of the youth workers, expressed in the Focus Group that they had enrolled in different courses both online and offline, such as in areas of digital skills, digital transition, digital content creation and community development. Despite the push for digital youth work across the country, it was noted that, especially in rural areas, little funding or external support promotes the use of digital technologies on a regular basis within youth centres. In Ireland, many youth workers have not received extensive prior training in the use of ICT. This is due to a lack of access to ICT equipment, which has led many of them to learn by improvising, when necessary, with the use of digital technologies in their youth work practice. However, in this focus group, youth workers indicated that they feel willing to take advantage of training in these areas in order to feel confident and competent to use them on a daily basis with young people. Currently, there is a lack of staff to support digital adaptation in youth work.
10 www.digital-youth.eu Ireland also intends to focus on more sustainable approaches in youth work, also advocating for the environment. Youth workers saw it important to prioritise this among young people. It is of great importance to mention funding in youth work, as this is also a vital priority. In Ireland there is a lack of financial support that does not offer young people the degree of support they really need. Also, there is a need to increase the employment of more youth workers in the rural areas of the country. Training Needs Analysis of Youth Workers in Spain Following the Focus Group conducted in Spain, it has been identified that it is important to first define what is really meant by youth work, as this will help to identify the type of professionals and competences that will be needed when working with young people. The best way to achieve an impact on youth groups is the presence of trainers and face-toface workshops. But, considering the importance of digital tools for a daily working life, it is important to offer young people new digital tools and to keep them up to date with digital skills and habits. There is also a need to improve digital work for youth workers, and to develop tools to reduce overstimulation and excessive hours with digital devices among young people. Digital tools are important and necessary, but tools are also needed to help them know how to switch off and stop the degree of intoxication with digital devices. In the Focus Group carried out in Spain, youth workers were asked how they would apply digital tools to a young person with a physical disability, and they all affirmed that it depends on the disability, as it is not the same to reach a blind person as a deaf person or a person with a certain degree of autism. It is of great importance to first get to know the audience we are working with better in order to address all these issues and to be able to find solutions for effective and motivating activities. Recommendations and Conclusions Many of the partner countries that conducted the Focus Group in their own countries highlighted the importance of face-to-face contact in teaching and learning for young people, as after the pandemic, all countries were affected and lost that direct connection in their activities. The research indicates that technology now offers youth workers the opportunity to reclaim more personalised education with young people. Previously, when talking about education, one immediately thought of the physical classroom, but today, when talking about education, one inevitably thinks of the Internet and social media.
11 www.digital-youth.eu Therefore, it is concluded that youth workers need support to adapt; they need digital training, to be trained in the use of social media, and support them with equipment on technological tools in order to cope with the individual learning needs of young people and to prepare them for their future in a changing world. It is also important that youth workers know how to assess the individual learning needs of young people and how to adapt their practices to respond to these needs quickly. Using digital tools for teaching will make a strong connection with young people, as they are used to using tablets, laptops, and smartphones, so it is necessary to know how to use digital tools to connect and communicate with young people. It is necessary and important to know the young people first, as there are people who may have physical disabilities, so knowing this will help them to address these issues and find solutions for effective and motivating activities, applying digital tools. It was recommended to create an online platformwhere all national and international youth workers can exchange best working practices, webinars, training sessions and other useful digital tools that they could use to improve their quality of work and better connect with young people. This analysis also concludes the importance of considering the creation of digital tools for some vulnerable groups, those who do not have the privilege to participate in digital activities, as they may lack an internet connection, computing devices, skills, etc. The need for financial support for youth work is also a vital priority to provide young people and youth workers with the level of support they need.
www.digital-youth.eu Annexes Focus Group Questionnaire Date and Time: DD/MM/YYYY Place: Venue, City, Country Facilitator: Name, Surname, Role, Organisation Note Taker: Name, Surname, Role, Organisation Number of Participants: Questions: Discussion Content Introduction – General 1. Introduction: ● Demographics ● How many years of experience in Youth Work? ● Topics of Expertise? ● Specific Teaching Methods and/or approaches? 2. Key challenges that Youth Workers face nowadays? 3. How did Covid-19 affect youth work? 4. What kind of training methods do you usually use?
www.digital-youth.eu 5. How do you envisage youth work in the next 10 years? 6. What changes would you like to see happening? 7. Digital Youth work… what comes to mind? 8. What are the digital gaps that youth workers have in their work? Tools 9. How important are digital tools to your daily work? 10. What is the importance of digital tools in youth work? 11. What kind of digital tools do you use during your work?
www.digital-youth.eu 12. What are some digital tools you are currently using for youth work? 13. How important are social media and digital media for youth work? 14. What digital tools would you use to engage with youth having physical disabilities? 15. Would you say you are satisfied with the digital tools you have access to? If not, why is that? 16. Are you familiar with tools like the DigComp, DigCompEdu, the Youth Work Portfolio of the CoE, and/or the Youth Work Competence Framework by SALTO-YOUTH? New technology and Resources 17. How are youth organisations managing digital transition? 18. What challenges do they face and how should they change?
www.digital-youth.eu 19. In your opinion, what do you think are the most important digital skills to use in youth work? 20. Have you applied for any online courses? If yes, where? If not, why? Did you encounter any obstacles? 21. Are you aware of what MOOC is? 22. Have you ever used QR codes or AR in your work? 23. What are some best practices and methods to support Digital Youth Work? 24. Which specific topics would you like to see in a training package for youth workers? Additional notes
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