Problem statement
Addressed problem: Helping young people prepare for working life
The development of employability skills, combined with opportunities to experience the workplace, helps young people prepare for working life and supports their transition from education to employment.
Employability skills enable learners to develop the behaviours, attitudes, and competences that employers expect from day one, including:
- Basic skills: literacy, numeracy, digital and IT skills (including AI literacy where relevant);
- Life skills: time management, problem-solving, effective communication, and understanding workplace culture and expectations;
- Workplace behaviours and attitudes: flexibility, adaptability, proactivity, motivation, and a positive approach to learning and work.
Without these foundational skills, behaviours, and attitudes, young people may struggle to integrate successfully into the workplace. They may face disengagement, early leaving from education or training, or even contract termination in the case of apprenticeships.
Beneficiaries
All young people can benefit from activities designed to develop basic employability skills, workplace behaviours, and attitudes in preparation for future employment. These activities are particularly valuable for learners who are at risk of early leaving due to performance challenges, or who are uncertain about their career aspirations, helping them build confidence, competence, and clarity about their professional pathways.
Addressing the problem
Tips: What makes work-readiness measures effective?
Developing employability skills at the stage of IVET is crucial for facilitating the successful transition of learners from education and training to employment. Beyond simply securing a first job, equipping young people with strong employability skills lays the foundation for longer-term career adaptability and resilience in an ever-changing labour market. Work-readiness measures, including practical experience, work-based training, and workplace simulations among others, can help hone a wide range of transversal and technical skills that prepare young people for their entry into the labour market. Additionally, such measures can make VET more attractive, adding a more practical and tangible element to the learning programmes, and making it more distinctive compared to traditionally theoretical learning pathways. Crucially, the effectiveness of work-readiness measures depends not only on their design and delivery, but also on the degree of collaboration between VET providers, employers, and social partners; ensuring that the skills being developed genuinely reflect labour market needs.
The following tips are offered to policy makers and practitioners involved in designing and delivering work-readiness measures. The information is based on Cedefop research into successful measures.
A variety of activities can be designed to help young people prepare for working life and support their transition from education to employment. In practice, this involves creating opportunities for learners to gain direct experience of the workplace. Initiatives can be organised in multiple ways and settings, such as:
- Taster sessions: Short experiences allowing learners to explore different career paths based on their interests and abilities.
- Practical training or work placements: Opportunities to engage with employers and experience real workplace environments.
- Business and enterprise studies: Integrating entrepreneurship into the curriculum to develop practical business skills.
- School-based VET programmes: Providing learners with hands-on experience and support for starting their own business initiatives.
These measures can be incorporated into existing programmes or offered as a standalone initiatives of varying durations, such as a full year, one term, or after school sessions).
Work-readiness measures should combine basic skills development with activities that foster the behaviours and attitudes employers expect in the workplace.
It is essential to tailor these measures to individual needs. For some, this may mean focusing first on emotional skills before addressing social skills (behaviours and attitudes) and employability competences. Other measures might target motivation, study techniques, or sharing learning experiences.
Diversified support may be necessary for certain learners, involving specialist professionals or outreach services. Case management and individualised learning pathways can help ensure that interventions are adapted to each learner’s specific requirements.
All initiatives aimed at developing work-readiness should explicitly include employability skills as a core objective. Equally important is fostering motivation, confidence, and self-esteem to support learners in developing a broad set of skills and personal qualities for successful workplace integration. Such interventions can focus on areas including:
- Job search strategies, CV preparation, and interview techniques
- Understanding workplace culture and routines
- Building and maintaining professional relationships
- Conflict resolution and problem-solving
- Leadership and communication skills
- Citizenship and social responsibility
- Health, well-being, and resilience
- Self-regulation and independent learning
Work-readiness initiatives should be adaptable to different learner profiles. Some measures may be tailored to individuals, while others are designed for small groups or cohorts, such as young people with disabilities, unemployed youth, or those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Delivery can occur on a one-to-one basis or in small groups and may involve input from specialist support staff or community-based agencies and stakeholders. Flexibility ensures that interventions are responsive to the unique needs of each learner.
Digital and artificial intelligence (AI) skills are essential for successful workplace integration. Work-readiness programmes should go beyond basic IT literacy to include responsible and effective use of AI, strengthen digital literacy, and prepare learners for evolving labour market demands.
Training should:
- Focus on human potential: Show how digital tools can augment problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity rather than simply replacing tasks.
- Promote ethical and safe usage: Teach data privacy, critical evaluation of AI-generated content (including bias and misinformation), and the ethical implications of technology in the workplace.
- Integrate practical digital tools: Include professional digital skills such as collaborative online platforms, digital project management tools, and basic data literacy.
- Partner with industry: Work with local employers to ensure training covers the specific digital tools and AI applications used in real-world job contexts.
Mentorship and personalised career guidance help learners navigate the transition from education to employment more effectively. Connecting young people with mentors - whether teachers, industry professionals, or peer mentors - can provide insight, motivation, and practical advice on workplace expectations.
Key elements of this approach include:
- Individualised guidance: Offer career counselling tailored to the learner’s interests, strengths, and aspirations.
- Mentor support: Pair learners with mentors who can share workplace experience, provide feedback, and model professional behaviours.
- Networking opportunities: Facilitate connections with industry professionals, alumni, and community stakeholders to broaden learners’ perspectives and career possibilities.
- Ongoing reflection: Encourage learners to set career goals, track progress, and adapt plans based on evolving skills and interests.
Mentorship and guidance programmes can be integrated into school curricula, after-school initiatives, or workplace experiences, and should complement existing work-readiness measures to strengthen employability outcomes.
To maximise impact, work-readiness initiatives should include regular monitoring, evaluation, and feedback mechanisms. This ensures that measures remain relevant, effective, and responsive to learners’ needs.
Key components include:
- Tracking progress: Measure learners’ skill development, motivation, and confidence over time using surveys, self-assessments, or mentor feedback.
- Evaluating outcomes: Assess both short-term outcomes (e.g., improved employability skills, workplace experience) and long-term results (e.g., successful transition to employment or further education).
- Learner feedback: Actively involve learners in providing feedback on the activities, content, and delivery methods to inform improvements.
- Continuous adaptation: Use evaluation results to refine content, delivery, and support measures, ensuring interventions remain tailored to evolving learner and labour market needs.
Regular evaluation helps programmes remain evidence-based, learner-centred, and aligned with real-world workplace expectations. Find more about evaluation and monitoring here.
Expected outcomes
Activities designed to develop work-readiness support learners in their integration into the workplace. They help young people build positive attitudes and behaviours toward work, develop professional relationships, understand workplace expectations, and make informed decisions about their future careers.
The expected outcomes can be grouped across three levels:
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