On 18 September, at Forum Cinemas in Riga, the association “Laiks Jauniešiem”, together with its international partners, presented the digital career exploration and planning platform “Open4Skills”.
The event brought together young people, youth workers, educators, careers advisers, and representatives of non-governmental organisations, public institutions and local authorities, not only to learn about the new tool but also to discuss how to help young people navigate career choices and move from receiving information to taking real action.
The “Open4Skills” platform is not designed as just another traditional career test. It is an interactive platform in which young people take an active role themselves - analysing their interests and skills, completing practical tasks, exploring opportunities, setting goals and creating a plan for their next steps. The platform’s learning pathway consists of five consecutive modules - careers in today’s world, self-discovery, exploring career opportunities, career planning and putting careers into practice.
The platform offers more than 120 practical tasks, activities and exercises that help young people better understand their strengths, interests and skills, explore educational and professional opportunities, and work towards specific next steps. Users can work at their own pace, save their answers, track their progress and, after completing all five modules, receive confirmation that they have completed the learning pathway.
One of the platform’s features is AI-powered careers support. After completing the five main modules, users can receive personalised career insights based on their previous answers and ask additional questions about their interests, learning opportunities, professions and next career steps. At the same time, the project creators stress that AI is an aid, not a substitute for people, and that important decisions should still be discussed with a careers adviser, educator, youth worker or another trusted professional.
Two discussions on careers support for young people also took place during the event. The discussion “Careers support in Latvia - where do young people become confused and what is missing from the system?” featured Rita Burceva, Senior Expert in the Careers Development Support Unit of the Department of Broader Educational Experience at the State Education Development Agency; Undīne Todlebena, Deputy Director of the Labour Market Department and Head of the Careers and Job-Seeking Unit at the State Employment Agency; and Kate Pandere, a young person from the association “Laiks Jauniešiem”. The discussion was moderated by Elīza Elizabete Loja from the association “Laiks Jauniešiem”.
The second discussion, “From material to action by young people - the role of digital tools, non-formal education and stakeholders”, featured Līga Lejiņa, Director of the Agency for International Programmes for Youth; Vita Reinfelde, coach and supervisor and representative of the association “Mums Pieder Pasaule”; and Linda Abu Meri, Deputy Chair of Bauska Municipality Council. The discussion was moderated by Gints Jankovskis, Chair of the Board of the association “Laiks Jauniešiem”. The discussion focused on how digital tools, non-formal education and cooperation between the state, local authorities and NGOs can help young people move from self-discovery and gathering information to taking concrete action.
During the practical part of the event, participants explored non-formal education methods, the practical use of Open4Skills, the importance of team and personal support, as well as opportunities for NGOs and cooperation in four workshops. The methodological materials developed during the project are intended not only for young people but also for careers advisers, educators, youth workers and NGO representatives, for use both in individual work and in group sessions at schools, youth centres and organisations.
“Choosing a career is not a single decision for life. Today, it is much more important for young people to be able to understand themselves, critically assess information, recognise opportunities, make decisions and take the next step. With Open4Skills, we want to provide a practical and freely available tool that young people can use independently, while professionals can use it in their day-to-day work with young people,” emphasises Gints Jankovskis, Chair of the Board of the association “Laiks Jauniešiem”.
“Open4Skills” was created as part of the Erasmus+ cooperation partnership project “Open Yourself for Career Skills”, bringing together the experience of four countries. The project partners are the Society and Enterprise Development Institute from Lithuania, the association “Laiks Jauniešiem” from Latvia, Háaleitisskóli from Iceland and Amigos de Europa from Spain. Each partner organisation contributed its experience of working with young people, non-formal education, careers support and education.
The development of the platform began with research into young people’s needs in Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland and Spain. Four interconnected stages were placed at its centre - self-discovery, exploring opportunities, career planning and action. This approach has also become the basis for the project’s digital and non-formal education tools.
The Open4Skills learning platform, mobile app and the learning and methodological materials developed during the project are available free of charge to everyone at https://www.open4skills.eu
They can be used by young people themselves, as well as by educators, careers advisers, youth workers and other professionals working with young people.
The project’s most important outcome is not only a new digital tool, but also the bringing together of international experience and practical methods in one place, helping young people move from asking “What should I do in the future?” to the much more specific question: “What can I do today?”
Co-funded by the European Union.
Photo: Nauris Veiss