Aim-Learn-Master-Achieve (ALMA) tool - European Commission’s active inclusion initiative for integrating disadvantaged young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs) through mobility

Description

ALMA (Aim-Learn-Master-Achieve) is an active inclusion initiative to empower the most vulnerable young people (18- to 29-year-olds) who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs). It offers a tailor-made approach to support young people in finding a job and integrating into society. ALMA offers young people counselling in their home country followed by a supervised, work-related learning experience in another EU Member State, with the aim of supporting their integration into the labour market and society in their home country.

Beneficiaries

NEETs in recent search

NEETs in long-term search

Discouraged and disengaged young people

Countries

EU level

Date of creation of toolkit and periodicity of updates

ALMA is built on a social inclusion initiative originally from Germany first implemented in 2008 (Integration durch Austausch). This initiative was taken over in 2012 by an ESF-supported transnational network of 15 EU Member States and from 2015 on-wards integrated in a transnational call for proposals under the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). In 2022, a pilot call was launched by the European Commission, in order for all EU Member States to integrate this tool in their ESF+ programmes.

ALMA was one of the European Commission initiatives for the European Year of Youth 2022 as well as a key instrument in implementing the Reinforced Youth Guarantee adopted in 2020.

Purpose of the toolkit

This initiative offers participants:

An intensive tailored training in their home country during the preparatory phase;
A supervised work-related experience with accompanying mentoring services for a period of 2 to 6 months in another EU country during the mobility phase; and,
On their return, continued support will guide them in using the newly acquired skills to gain employment or further education in their home country during the follow-up phase.

ALMA covers the costs for participating youth, such as for travel, insurance, social security, basic needs including food and accommodation, coaching and counselling before, during and after the stay abroad.

Description of each of the tools

Preparatory phase

During the preparatory phase, project operators identify:

people who will benefit from participating in this programme in terms of their future integration into employment, education or training;
people who, despite finding an experience abroad challenging, with appropriate support will be able to profit from this.

Target groups are likely to lack formal qualifications, therefore non-traditional selection may need to be employed. This outreach can be supported through various methods, for example the use of web-based tools (targeted emails, webinars, social media), open days, informative sessions or the involvement of previous participants of this initiative.

Once recruited, participants are engaged in an intensive and structured preparation for their stay abroad which may range from language training to arrangements for living abroad. An individualised learning and development plan will be designed which includes the objectives and envisaged outcomes of the placement abroad, activities to be planned as well as the assessment methods to be used.

Mobility phase

One of the key elements of ALMA is that the mobility abroad lasts from 2 to 6 months, typically accounting for 30% of the overall programme. Moreover, the programme foresees that participants go abroad in groups of around 8 to 12 participants in order to support each other during the mobility phase. Cultural and social activities with the opportunity to socialise with local people are offered, accommodation is offered and mentoring forms an integral part of the experience. Both mentors form the host and the home country are typically employed, ideally accompanying young people and helping them to settle in their host country. Mentors regularly provide feedback to project operators and track progress of the young people involved.

Follow-up phase

Following the experience abroad, the follow-up phase focuses on preparing participants for a smooth transition into education, training, or employment, utilising their newly gained knowledge, skills, and competences. The support offered to participants during this phase typically includes:

support and guidance to reflect on newly gained competences and how these can be used to access employment, education or training;
an individualised implementation plan for re-integrating into employment, education or training;
tailored support and guidance in view of job applications or applications to other pathways; and,
In case no re-integration into employment, education or training is reached, that young people are referred to appropriate support structures.

All phases of ALMA are interconnected and interdependent and tailored to the target group. Continuity between the different project phases should be ensured for participants to experience a smooth transition from the preparatory phase until their integration into education, training or employment. The tool acknowledges that many of the young people participating in ALMA will need intensive support over a long period.

Source of information of the different tools

A manual of guidance published by the European Commission in 2022 can be found here. A handbook on ALMA published by the European Commission in 2024 can be found here.