This area of practice brings together reflection, experience and action by combining a podcast that explores employability through real perspectives from practice, an approach that frames how employability appears in everyday work with young people, and a set of methods and workshops that translate ideas into concrete activities. The materials can be used independently or combined, depending on your context and learning goals.
This podcast explores how employability is understood and developed across different contexts of working with young people. It reflects on skills gained through participation, responsibility and informal learning, and on the gap between what young people learn in practice and how these experiences are recognised. The conversation brings together perspectives from youth work and other sectors, highlighting how employability is supported implicitly and explicitly in different environments. The edited podcast transcript based on recorded discussion is available for download below.
Employability in practice is closely connected to experience, reflection and recognition. Young people often develop valuable skills through youth work, volunteering and community engagement, without clearly identifying them as employability-related. This approach focuses on supporting young people in recognising their competences, reflecting on learning experiences and connecting them to future opportunities, while avoiding narrow or purely market-driven definitions of employability.
The following methods and workshops support practical engagement with employability. They are designed to encourage reflection on skills, learning experiences and future pathways, and can be adapted to different groups, ages and contexts. The methods and workshops related to this area of practice are available as printable cards and can be downloaded below.
This area of practice can be combined with the Navigation Cards to deepen reflection and discussion. The cards can help explore personal positions on work and learning, challenge assumptions about success and skills, and reflect on the consequences of different choices and opportunities.
They can be used before, during or after activities to support orientation and meaningful dialogue.