Self-branding training - personal development, teamwork, leadership, and professional capacity building skills

The project Self-branding training - personal development, teamwork, leadership, and professional capacity building skills was successfully held from 08 - 10 April 2022 in Shtip, North Macedonia where former or future Erasmus+ student in the high educational process at the age from 18 to 27 years participated in an interactive training session about Self- development. 34 members of WBAA (students and unemployed young graduates) were selected for the training sessions. They consisted of WBAA members and young students from Shtip, Bitola and Skopje.

The main goal of the project was to brand 34 youth (WBAA members and future WBAA members) in the way that their personal branding will help them to tell their story most effectively, thus attracting all the right people (partners, employees, customers, investors) and opportunities (a new job, a new project, etc.). Most important, having upgraded their soft skills will allow them to win the trust of those with whom they want to work within any capacity. The aim to motivate unemployed young people to learn how to build their skills, to acquire new knowledge to be more competitive in the labour market, and to take the initiative and responsibility to find their place in society was successfully accomplished. Special tools were used by the trainers for creating soft skills which will turn the young person into a brand that will creatively use the gained skills and contacts for branding itself.

The team made the training more interesting for the young people who followed it, for them to have in their memories all the modules which are envisaged in the programme in one other way. “A different and more interesting” was the motto of the team that guided them through the training. The two trainers successfully accomplished the task to present the modules and the training was conducted interactively. The participants had an active role during the training. It was provided performing different exercises depending on the topic that were presented-young people/participants which had to develop different abilities and skills –through organising workshops they acted in, different roles were assigned, “a firm, office, classroom” were created, where interviews were made, motivational letters, written CV, etc. Each proposal of the participants was accepted by the trainer without exceptions and the best was rewarded which further motivated them to work and do their best.

As a result of this workshop, improvement in students’ self performances for those who were or who will study abroad was achieved. They can direct their energy to gain new contacts and building their own network, as well as reviving good practices and skills, and to use them in right place and at right time, thus making themselves unique brand recognizable by employers.