Junior Job Coach – Supporting the first steps at working life

Image: Project logo

The Junior Job Coach project was created to help young vulnerable students who may lack social experience and skills when taking their first steps into the workplace. The project carefully matches them with a well-trained junior coach who at a distance from the workplace can offer immediate support and advice.

The project was set up to prevent disadvantaged students who enter the workforce from leaving their work placement early by providing a student at risk with a well-trained junior coach. A student can call on their coach for support at the workplace by using messaging tools such as WhatsApp and text messages, so that any problems or difficulties become manageable and the student at risk always has a ‘friend’ at hand to fall back on.

The project website offers several free materials in English, Dutch, Spanish, German and Romanian, including an implementation guide; the Competence Framework for peer coaches; a flexible and modular training programme for junior job coaches; and a toolkit for employers to complement and strengthen their own support structures for new employees.

The project was given award as an Erasmus+ Good Practice.