In this piece, we travel to Slovenia to highlight the work Kroj Network is doing to help young people tailor their careers through workshops and training.
Kroj Network is one of the key initiatives of the Zavod Nefiks, a youth organization that has been working in Slovenia for more than 20 years to open the door for employment and social inclusion of young people, especially of those otherwise left behind.
Nives Felić, Project Manager at Zavod Nefiks, speaks more on how they are working to strengthen the competencies of youth workers by working closely with them and understanding their needs.
Encouraging People
Kroj Network is a key player in the career development of young people.
“It is a relevant interlocutor for decision-makers, a link between representative organizations, sets quality standards in the field, provides young people with access to quality information, and is a space for potential development.”
“We believe in the transfer of knowledge, so we organize training on the topics of career development of young people,” says Felić, who loves reading, traveling, and open-minded people.
She further explains that Kroj Network’s purpose is to encourage young people to create their own career paths by providing them with access to quality information.
“We also support youth workers so the benefit of Mreža KROJ is definitely giving youth workers opportunities to gain career-counseling competencies, so we can support the youth on their career paths,” she adds.
From several individual organizations (Zavod Nefiks, Zavod Mepi, Zavod BoB, Mladi zmaji, Mladinska postaja Moste, Zavod Volunatriat, Mreža MaMa, Zavod TiPovej) we formed the Youth Network for Career Development — Kroj Network.
They achieve their goal by connecting several organizations and the consequently greater reach of young people, which they gain through their cooperation.
“The network has expanded considerably in the last year to the digital continent, where we are present on Discord (KAM’C channel), we implement online chats and workshops. In addition to all this work, we are also developing innovative methods in youth career work.”
Their work is very well supported by the Municipality of Ljubljana, which has been financially supporting the project from the very beginning.
The Unique Contribution of the Career Week
As a successful project of the Kroj Network, we are highlighting Career Week, which is prepared by the participating organizations and associate members every year in January.
“With the start of preparations for the European Year of Youth, the Kroj Network, this year also pointed out that young people could be key co-creators in European cooperation of the European Union. The fourth Career Week took place between January 10 and 16 under the motto “Become a Change.”
The 10 members participating in the project prepared 11 activities and reached over 1,000 young people. The highlight of this year’s Career Week was to present the importance of getting involved in opportunities and activities available to young people outside the school framework.
They work to strengthen the implementation of various career activities in the coming years and reach even more young people. “Who knows, maybe in a few years, instead of a week, a Career Month will take place.”
Youth That Doesn’t Give Up on Their Dreams
Being a youth worker herself, Felić speaks about how young people can make their dreams come true, and how they can overcome struggles.
Achieving dreams is like racing with obstacles. She initially emphasizes, “So, do not be scared if you fall somewhere along the way. However, to make your career path easier and to overcome obstacles more easily, look for young people who have already succeeded. Youth workers will certainly be happy to help you on your way, so approach them with courage. Never give up dreaming.”
Nefiks’ story began with the Nefiks index, a booklet in which young people could record their informally acquired competencies. To help young people with their career development, they have also developed some of their own projects over the years, such as e-Nefiks, Colleagues, Youth Center Vič, Nefiks Career Solutions, etc.
Stay Tuned! Next, in Youth Time we will hear from Kroj Network’s youth worker, Martina Mrakovčić, and see how this project helps her enhance her skills as a young leader.
Photo courtesy of Kroj Network
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