Joker in the labour market

The "European Environment Scout" is a certificate, which can be acquired by participants of this innovative international programme. Young people of various EU member states gather themselves basic knowledge on environmental protection and at the same time train job relevant soft skills, such as project management, communication and presentation techniques as well as intercultural collaboration. Thus, the graduates acquire a considerable advantage in the labour market. The participants carry out research in the fields of waste management, city & nature, water and air management, new energy technologies and energy saving. Using their own sharpened 5 senses, they analyze relevant points of interest in the cities involved. The structure can be described as follows:

Preparation phase (4 weeks):

In the 1-month preparation phase, the participants get familiar with the scouting method and learn to use their 5 senses. General environmental data will be worked out and discussed by the participants by media research, outdoor missions and expert talks. Special focus is drawn to the fact that this knowledge can be perfectly applied in the following research and scouting phase.
The strengthening of personal competences is a further major element of this phase: The young people have to deal with job-relevant skills, such as Project Management, Communication and Presentation Skills, Self Marketing, Teamworking and Conflict Management, which they will need throughout the programme. They also have the chance to pass the tests for the European Communication Certificate (Eco-C^©).

Scouting phase (4 weeks per city involved):

In the following scouting phase, the participants can chose between different environmental topics. The Scouts find relevant points of interest, collect interesting data, analyze it and draw conclusions.
In addition to Vienna, from 2011 (after the pilot phase 2010), other European cities, such as Amsterdam, Bratislava, Budapest, Köln or Prag can be "scouted". On-the-job, the participants train
and further increase their personal competences: Internationality, Project Management, Teamwork,
Self Marketing, etc., which will be decisive for their future career.

Follow-up phase (2 weeks):

In the last 2 weeks, the data collected will be reflected, analyzed and described in a project report. Of course, not only the final findings will be summarized, but suggestions for authorities or institutions concerned will be integrated in the report, as well. A final presentation including questions and discussions in front of an international commission will complete the project. The follow-up phase will also empower the participants to reconsider job possibilities, reinforce the individual application process and integrate their new competences in their personal job application files.

For general information on the European Environment Scout click here. (Please note that the information sheet is only available in German language).