The target group is school-weary, vulnerable, and socially disadvantaged young people aged 12-15, who need to be presented with the possibility of help and support in a positive and encouraging way. If the young person is to be persuaded to participate, it is important that the mentoring assistance is perceived as a winning project rather than a losing one.

When a teacher or counselor presents an opportunity to a young person, it makes a huge difference whether you say, "You need a mentor because you need help," or whether you say, "We are offering you a talent program because we know you are good at something." It's about treating young people with respect, trust, and hope – the new videos will help teachers and counselors create just that positive first contact, says Tom Pedersen, senior consultant at Talentspejderne.

A hand on the back

The National Association of Talent Scouts is a voluntary, non-profit, humanitarian organization established by three passionate individuals in 2010. Its purpose is to help young people discover their abilities and talents and put them to use in relation to future education and jobs.

– In Denmark, 15 percent of young people have not started an education program five years after leaving elementary school. At the same time, we have a labor shortage. Our focus is on convincing young people that they have abilities and talents – and in that way preparing them for education and jobs, says Tom Pedersen.

Proven effectiveness

The talent program has been developed in collaboration with leading experts in learning and youth psychology, and Talentspejderne works with volunteer mentors from the business community who want to make a difference for young people. Through 24 weekly meetings lasting approximately one and a half hours, young people learn to believe in themselves, find direction in their choice of education and career, and build self-esteem and self-confidence.

Talent scouts and the Youth Education Guidance Center in Randers have just completed an evaluation involving 36 parents of young people who participated in a talent program during the period 2019-2023. The results show that 94.4 percent of the young people are now either in education or employment, which is very encouraging and shows that the initiative is working as intended, says Tom Pedersen.

Since 2012, more than 1,500 young people have participated in the talent program.