Association of Estonian Open Youth Centers

Entrepreneurial Youth Center
Quality Label

The quality label and its accompanying evaluation model help youth centers create an environment that supports entrepreneurship by implementing conscious and purposeful methods in youth work.

What is a quality label?

The Entrepreneurial Youth Center quality label is a tool that structures the development of youth centers, helping to plan, implement, and evaluate activities methodically and consistently.
As a result of the Entrepreneurial Youth Center quality label process, a comprehensive and sustainable environment that supports entrepreneurship is created, where young people have the opportunity to develop their skills, initiative, and future potential when entering the labor market.

The value-based thinking tool is based on three pillars.

The entrepreneurship competencies model

Self-management, social skills, value-creating thinking, and implementation of business ideas.

National curricula

Lifelong learning, environmental sustainability, civic initiative, and entrepreneurship.

Youth worker competence standard

Professional and systematic youth engagement, a safe environment, and effective networking.

Why is the Entrepreneurial Youth Center Quality Label important?

In today’s rapidly changing world, youth entrepreneurship and independence are critical for both their own future and that of society. The role of youth work is to create an environment that supports the development of young people’s skills, attitudes, and values, so they are prepared to meet the demands of the labor market, changing circumstances, and societal needs.

A study conducted by ICF, Praxis, Tallinn University, and Civitta Estonia (2022) shows that youth initiative and entrepreneurship are low, and the potential of non-formal learning remains underutilized, which in turn hinders young people’s effective entry into the workforce and their economic competitiveness.This is where the Entrepreneurial Youth Center Quality Label comes in – it is a model that provides a framework for the systematic development of youth center activities, to offer young people opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge in the context of entrepreneurship.

Having the quality label indicates that the youth center applies conscious and evidence-based methods to support youth self-management, problem-solving skills, and value-based thinking. This means that the activities offered by the center are aimed at increasing young people’s experience, whether through voluntary work, project implementation, or career and entrepreneurship education.

Additionally, the quality label helps youth centers continuously assess and develop their activities, aligning with national curriculum guidelines and youth work quality standards. It assures youth, parents, and partner organizations that the activities of the youth center are of high quality, forward-looking, and systematic.

Low youth entrepreneurship and its impact

Studies show that youth initiative and entrepreneurship in Estonia are low, and the potential of non-formal learning remains underutilized. This leads to several issues:

✔ Young people are less prepared to enter the labor market and face difficulties in finding employment.

✔ A lack of self-confidence and independence prevents them from taking initiative.

✔ Young people have little practical experience in how to implement their ideas and take on responsibility.

The Entrepreneurial Youth Center Quality Label helps address these issues by providing youth centers with methodological support to create an environment where young people can learn entrepreneurship through practical activities.

What does the quality label change?

The Entrepreneurial Youth Center quality label is not just a formality – it is a tool that makes youth work more impactful and creates long-term value for both young people and society as a whole.

HOW TO APPLY?

If your youth center’s team has the desire and readiness to improve the quality of youth work and contribute to the development of young people’s entrepreneurship, then:

✔ Start the (application) process – conduct a self-assessment based on the criteria of the evaluation model and create an action plan that reflects the goals and planned activities for developing young people’s entrepreneurship.

✔ Prepare for the evaluation process – the expert committee will meet with the representatives of the youth center and, if necessary, conduct an on-site visit to assess the practical implementation of activities.

✔ Achieve the quality label – if the decision is positive, the youth center will be awarded the Entrepreneurial Youth Center quality label, which is valid for 3 years.

In the case of a positive decision, the label is valid for 3 years.

Based on the self-assessment model, each youth center can evaluate its activities according to the specific characteristics and needs of the region and establish a necessary development plan.

Evaluation criteria

The self-assessment model for the youth center consists of five levels, which help evaluate the systematic nature and goal-oriented approach of activities. Higher levels indicate advanced practices that involve strategic planning, long-term impact, and systematic development activities. Below are the key criteria for self-assessment.

In addition, the self-assessment model defines six accompanying indicators that complement and support the quality and impact of the youth center’s core activities. These include the development of youth career competencies, promotion of volunteer activities, creation of initial work experience, participation in entrepreneurship-supporting programs, enhancing the professional qualifications of youth workers, and communication that highlights entrepreneurial and initiative-driven activities.