Digital Skilling Workshops

Spark supports entrepreneurship and employability among youth (HES) Program – Program Overview

Higher Education Services Programme (HES) is a multi-donated programme designed to support Refugees and host community students through placing them at the universities, providing them with build-up skills in economic empowerment and languages, and social cohesion activities. Through the economic empowerment component, students are receiving training related to skills of marketing, business planning and modeling, and coaching under support for startups, SMEs, and internships.

Work Package 1. Internships and Employment Opportunities

Internships are an area almost entirely uncovered by other youth employment initiatives. It also a very important segment of SPARK’s work, and therefore to strength the skills of SPARK students and preparing its graduates to the labour market, SPARK propose the introduction of an internship component to our HES programme. Towards the end of their scholarships, traineeship and job placement services will be offered. Special effort will be made to place students at companies doing business in the target countries and planning to do business in post-conflict Syria.

SPARK will map potential internship and job opportunities to our students, based on their academic knowledge and the market needs. The next very important phase is matching the pre-selected students with companies. After the matching process and prior to starting the internship or job in the company, students are offered training. The training offers soft skills training that include time management, how to deal in a working place and overcome difficulties and communication skills training.

Students will retain their stipend during the internship/traineeship period and firms will be requested to contribute to any additional (travel) costs and retain a percentage of the best trainees as regular employees.

Work Package 2. Digital Skills Trainings

Additional to the soft skills training, SPARK is looking for a partner to deliver specialised trainings to our students.  The goal of the trainings is to equip students for professional success after they graduate. Employers want to attract and retain well-qualified, ambitious professionals who not only work hard, but also help them win new projects and gain industry recognition. Therefore, the trainings should offer:

• Industry-recognized credential that helps prove students skill level and can get them hired.
• Develop student skills with sample projects and exercises that emphasize real-world applications.
• Accelerate students’ professional development and help enhance their credibility and career success.

SPARK will map students’ interests and partners will deliver trainings focusing on digital skills such as Microsoft Office, Social Media, Python, SAP, SPSS, Digital Marketing, Photoshop, Coding, and others.