Dutch Social and Edtech enterprise, Gear Up has announced its official partnership with organisations RIC (Slovenia), Emphasys (Cyprus), and Prism (Italy), to develop an innovative and interactive education program set to empower marginalised young people of Europe with essential financial literacy skills.

Introducing GAMI.FI.RE

The GAMI.FI.RE (Fostering Financial Literacy and Career readiness through Gamification in Vocational Education) Project, is determined to simultaneously tackle the prominent issue of financial illiteracy, outdated VET programs which are not currently aligning with the needs of the European labor market and social segregation.

A game changer in education

The highlight of the project will be the Serious Game GAMI.FI.RE – a highly supportive, and innovative digital game for students to learn financial competencies in an engaging way. Serious Game GAMI.FI.RE will promote the development of key financial skills such as, but not limited to, budgeting, saving, investing and even career exploration. A key factor that will set it apart from current available VET studies is its dedication to improve the supply of high-quality learning opportunities by specifically targeting and tailoring the program to vulnerable students and their specific needs via both its educator tailored toolkit and digital game.

The vision and mission

Dutch Project Partner, Gerard Pruim said all project partners feel strongly that carefully designed programmes are essential to help those in our communities that are most vulnerable and that the Erasmus+ project also addresses digital transformation by developing digital readiness, resilience and capacity which is essential in today’s rapidly changing world.

Addressing current challenges

Outdated VET programs are failing to prepare students for the current and future labor market, specifically marginalised young people from low-income families and migrant backgrounds where high rates of unemployment continue to rise. GAMI.FI.RE is set to challenge this.

Looking at the bigger picture

“We have to start looking at the big picture in a more sustainable light. Social and economic integration is vital to the empowerment of marginalised young people. We believe through quality learning opportunities from quality educators, with innovative tools such as the GAMI.FI.RE digital game, vulnerable students’ empowerment and development of financial skills and competences will not only support their own educational and personal development, but also have the potential to influence and make a positive impact within society as a whole”.

The road ahead

The consortium has already ‘kicked-off’ the project’s first face to face meeting.

The project is set to run for 2 years and target at least 400 policy makers and stakeholders across Europe, which will include adult educators and other organisations.

The EU spends approximately 100 euro per citizen per year on regional funds, creating jobs and organising training.

About Gear Up

Gear Up is a social and HR tech enterprise that focuses on improving the professional position of individuals with limited resources to attain their dream job. For further information, please contact us here.