The model programme “First Threshold” aims to offer eastern German young people a perspective during the orientation phase. The target group of the project are young people who, after leaving school, cannot immediately find or start an apprenticeship, a place at university, a job, military service, civilian service or a voluntary year. In other words, those who have had and continue to have difficulties jumping the “first threshold” from school to work. Young people in this situation need support to motivate them to further activities and to prevent them from “slipping” into problematic passivity. Through the path of a socio-educationally accompanied, individual project in the non-profit sector, young people are given the opportunity to acquire or deepen key competences, to further orient themselves professionally and to gain experience with voluntary work. The model programme “First Threshold” was carried out from 2008 to 2010 in twelve eastern German regions by independent youth work organisations, most of which are also responsible for competence agencies.

Since the beginning of 2011, it has been continued as a “first threshold” programme by the coordination office “Perspectives for Young People” in the Democratic Youth Foundation of six of the twelve organisations. nexus comprehensively evaluated the model programme from 2008 to 2010. On the one hand, the participating young people and, on the other hand, actors such as local organisations and placement centres were surveyed quantitatively and qualitatively. The focus was on the question of whether the format of the programme is suitable for promoting key competences and leading from disorientation to orientation. The activating evaluation, in the process of which the evaluation team continuously communicated interim results to the actors and participated in the regularly held workshops, also included a survey of regionally based companies and ARGEs as well as a comparison of the “first threshold” offer with volunteer programmes.

Duration: 07/2008 – 12/2010
Client: Stiftung Demokratische Jugend
Team: Dr. Birgit Böhm, Ansgar Düben

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