Integrating young offenders through the blue economy

ongoing

Bringing together 9 partners from 5 EU countries, the overall aim of Turning Blue project is to create new cooperation mechanisms and training materials on sustainable blue economy to inspire and engage disadvantaged young people serving time in prison (between 16 and 30 years old) to pursue a sustainable ‘blue career’ in one of the Blue Economy sectors. The partnership will start by building a roadmap with the key blue economy sectors with a high potential to employ young people exiting the prison, creating the stepping stones for the Turning Blue network. Informed by the results of the roadmap and inspired by the young people's expectations, expert partners will develop an introductory course on Blue Economy to increase awareness and attractiveness of blue economy careers, targeting at least 84 young people in prison from 5 different EU countries. In parallel, a transition model will be created to ensure a well-articulated process between prison services, professional counsellors, blue economy sectors and civil society organisations. The model will be supported by (1) an online job platform dedicated to facilitating an individualized and customised job-placement of these young people; (2) a mentorship programme to provide on-the-job learning and support, pairing the youth with a mentor. In total, it will engage at least 30 blue economy employers and lead to a minimum of 25 job retentions. In between, the project is expected to deliver capacity-building actions to more than 88 professionals in the different targeted sectors (prison staff, career counsellors and industry professionals). Moreover, 5 national seminars, 2 EU Webinars and 1 EU Conference will be delivered, involving more than 350 participants and transferring ‘Turning Blue’ experience.