JA Europe leads the EMPASS project, an Erasmus+ initiative that aims to develop and validate an employability micro-credential addressing the growing gap in soft skills among young people entering the labour market. The project supports the ()objectives of the European Education Area (EEA) by fostering youth employability, work readiness, and lifelong learning.
In close collaboration with industry partners and TVET institutions, EMPASS has developed EmPas micro-credential, a digital assessment and certification tool that validates 11 essential soft skills identified as critical for entry-level employability. The micro credential enables young people to measure and showcase their transversal skills, while helping employers and educators better understand and recognise these competences.
EmPass has been designed and validated with guidance from the project’s Advisory Council, which includes representatives from the OECD, ILO, EVTA, WorldSkills Romania, the Global Alliance for Youth, and the European Round Table for Industry (ERT), World Employment Confederation, and Camino SD.
The micro-credential is being piloted with 1,500 students across Greece, Spain, and Romania, integrating existing national learning pathways and mentoring programmes. Upon completion, it will be scaled for Europe-wide implementation, supporting both employability and recognition of soft skills across education and labour markets.
Financed under the Erasmus+ Programme.
EmPass Community
EmPass Community:
Aim:
The EmPass pledge aims to create a community of Vocational Schools and employers for long -term collaboration in designing, evaluating and recognizing the employability micro-credential making it more future oriented and industry ready.
Objectives:
– To collectively contribute to the success of the EMPASS project, which aims to improve the employability skills and capabilities of the future workforce in Europe.
– To enhance the impact and each of the project, by pooling our expertise, resources and networks, ultimately benefiting both the education sector and labour market as a whole.
Commitments:
- Active Participation and Expertise Sharing: Our organisation will actively engage in mutual exchanges and collaboration with the education and industry sectors to ensure relevance of the curricula.
- Collaboration on EmPass Micro-Credential Development: We will collaborate on the design and development of the EmPass microcredential by providing feedback and insights gathered through survey outreach and targeted workshops.
- Endorse and Support for EmPass Recognition: Our organization will actively endorse and support the recognition of the EmPass microcredential and will commit to its implementation.
The EmPass Community brings together employers, educators, and youth organisations committed to recognizing and valuing soft skills.
By joining the Community partners endorse EmPass as a credible, transparent, and practical tool to assess transversal competences.
Through this community:
- Employers gain access to young talent equipped with verified soft skills.
- Educators align learning programmes with real-world employability needs.
- Young people earn a trusted digital micro-credential that strengthens their employability profile.
Project Partners
EMPASS Community
Educational institutions
Companies
JA Europe contact for EMPASS
Effie Papazisi( effie@jaeurope.org )