Helping young people prove their employability skills
A micro-credential assessment used to validate essential soft skills across Europe
EMPASS project+
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.
Employability micro-credential
In close collaboration with industry partners and TVET institutions, EMPASS has developed EmPass 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.
Employability micro-credential
What is EmPass?+
EmPass is an Erasmus+ project led by JA Europe that develops a micro-credential to assess and validate key soft skills for employability. It helps young people demonstrate the transversal skills needed to enter the labour market.
Why it matters?+
Young people often lack recognised proof of their soft skills when entering the workforce. EmPass addresses this gap by supporting work readiness, employability, and lifelong learning, in line with the objectives of the European Education Area.
How it works?+
EmPass has developed a digital micro-credential that assesses 11 essential soft skills identified as critical for entry-level employment. It allows young people to measure and showcase their competences, while helping employers and educators better understand and recognise these skills.
Who is it for?+
For employers, EmPass helps to: go beyond CVs by providing verified evidence of soft skills; compare early-career candidates fairly and consistently; reduce hiring risk and support skills-based hiring. The micro-credential is currently being piloted with 1,500 students in Greece, Spain, and Romania, and will later be scaled across Europe.
Who is involved+
The project is led by JA Europe in collaboration with industry partners and TVET institutions. It is supported by an Advisory Council including organisations such as the OECD, ILO, EVTA, WorldSkills Romania, the Global Alliance for Youth, the European Round Table for Industry (ERT), the World Employment Confederation, and Camino SD.
Europe-wide implementation
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.
EMPASS brings together students, educators, and partners to strengthen recognition of essential soft skills across Europe.
11 Soft Skills
The micro credential enables young people to measure and showcase their transversal skills, while helping employers and educators better understand and recognise these competences.
Greece, Spain, and Romania
The micro-credential is being piloted with 1,500 students across Greece, Spain, and Romania, integrating existing national learning pathways and mentoring programmes.
Europe-wide implementation
Upon completion, it will be scaled for Europe-wide implementation, supporting both employability and recognition of soft skills across education and labour markets.
Project PartnersNews
EmPass Community
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.
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.
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.
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.
Join the EmPass pledge
The EmPass Community brings together employers, educators, and youth organisations committed to recognizing and valuing soft skills.
EMPASS Advisory Council
EmPass has been designed and validated with guidance from the project’s Advisory Council.
Project Partners
Educational institutions
1st Vocational School of Didymoteicho “Evgenios Evgenidis”
Vocational High School (EPA.L.) Dramas
Model Technical Vocational High School of Neapolis
Colegiul Economic Ion Ghica Târgoviște
Colegiul Ștefan Odobleja Craiova
UFV FP
PEPAL (Model Vocational School) Rhodes
CEU FORMACIÓN PROFESIONAL MADRID
2nd Second Chance School of Trikala, GreeceModel Technical Vocational High School of NeapolisCompanies and supporters
AERTEC
HumanAI
TÜV (GR)
Raycap (GR)
DOTSOFT (GR)Join the EmPass Community
Bring together employers, educators, and youth organisations committed to recognising and valuing soft skills.