The reinforced Youth Guarantee · Council Recommendation
Every young person under 30 receives an offer of employment, education or training within four months.
Read the document ↗Green Innovation Hub ·
NEET young people and retraining
A second chance.
It’s never too late to learn. We guide young people who have left school and work, as well as adults who want a new trade, towards in-demand digital and green skills.
- NEET young people
- Adults 25–64
- Reskilling
- Green skills
The European model we are bringing to Vrancea
The production school.
Model: Denmark’s production schools (since the 1980s), also adopted in France
Young people who have dropped out of school learn by making real things — repaired equipment, furniture from reclaimed materials, sensor kits — in workshops with working hours, not at desks.
We found no Danish-style production schools for NEET young people in Romania.
✓What it has shown in Europe
- For young people under 25 without a completed secondary education or a qualification
- Learning through hands-on work in workshops, combined with counselling
- The goal: a return to education or a stable job
The cause · why we are starting this programme
1 in 5 young people in Romania is waiting for a second chance.
Romania has the highest rate of NEET young people in the EU and one of the lowest rates of adult participation in training.
19,2%
of young people aged 15–29 in Romania are neither in education nor in work — the highest rate in the EU
Eurostat, 2025 · [1]NEET young people (aged 15–29)
19.1%of Romanian adults took part in some form of learning in the past year (EU average: 39.5%)European Commission, Education and Training Monitor 2025, 2022 · [4]
European alignment
What Europe asks. What we do in Vrancea.
The programme responds directly to the policies the European Union asks of Member States — applied at the level of Vrancea County, for all ages.
“Union of Skills”
Basic skills for all, lifelong learning, more girls in STEM.
Read the document ↗European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan
By 2030: 60% of adults in training every year and 15 million fewer people in poverty.
Read the document ↗Launch readiness
How ready we are before day one.
We are not waiting for funding to start thinking about the programme. Here, openly, is what is ready and what comes next.
69%
Readiness indexCalculated from 8 launch criteria- ✓European model analysed and documentedReady
- ✓Alignment with EU policies checkedReady
- ✓Context data from official sourcesReady
- ✓Expert profiles definedReady
- ✓Activities and objectives plannedReady
- ◐Own resources identified: space and equipmentPartial
- ○Implementation partners confirmedIn progress
- ○Funding securedIn progress
- Sept. 2026Analysis & European model
- Q4 2026Partners & funding applications
- 2027Pilot in Vrancea
- 2028+Expansion, under the new 2028–2034 EU financial framework
What we will do
One main activity and three that support it.
The production school
Young people who have left school learn by making real things — repaired equipment, furniture from reclaimed materials, sensor kits — in workshops with working hours, not at school desks.
Career compass
Counselling for young people who no longer know where to start.
Certified digital skills
Basic digital skills and youth solidarity projects, free.
A bridge to employers
Placements and meetings with companies in Vrancea and the wider region.
Project status
In preparation · launch 2027- 1ConceptAnalysis & partners
- 2PilotFirst activities
- 3OngoingActive in the community
- 4ExpansionRegional scale-up
✓What we already have
- Youth solidarity projects with Asociația Grupul Verde as coach (since 2026)
- TechWomen Empowerment Hub — digital training for women (2024–2025)
- Proposal for NEET youth centres sent to AJOFM Vrancea (2026)
→Programme objectives
- The first production school workshop (2027)
- The first cohort of NEET young people (2027)
- Digital certifications for adult participants
- Partnerships with local employers for placements
How it connects
How it connects to what we already do.
No programme stands alone: each one uses the equipment, people and data of the others.
Connected programmeYoung Innovators IncubatorProducts from the workshops can become businesses.See →Connected programmeR&D HubThe workshops use the hub’s equipment.See →Connected programmeDigital education & AIYouthpass for participants.See →Connected programmeYouth, gender & activismGirls and young women in the jobs of the future.See →
Our role · how we work
The programme starts with experts, not improvisation.
The same five steps as in all our programmes: data, experts, equipment, community, public results.
- Local diagnosisWe start from data: the schools, the villages and the real needs of young people in Vrancea.
- A programme built with expertsCurriculum and activities designed together with specialists and teachers.
- Training & equipmentWe bring kits, laptops and mentors wherever they are missing.
- Working in the communityFree, hands-on activities at school, in the village or out in the field.
- Measurement & public reportingWe count the results and publish them — verifiable figures, not promises.
Who we work with
The experts beside the children.
The specialist profiles we start and run the activities with. Their names appear in the project reports.
Career counsellorsHelp every young person find their path.Involved from the start
AI literacy and robotics trainersDigital training with recognised certification.Involved from the start
Youth workersBuild trust with young people who have given up.Involved from the start
Local employersOffer placements and first jobs.Involved from the start
What we hope for · how you can help
Be among those who launch the programme.
The programme is ready. You choose how to help, and your support goes to this programme. This page shows what is ready and what comes next, and we will publish the first results after the 2027 launch.
Support a young person in the programme
Materials, transport and certification for one participant.
Donate →Employers in Vrancea
Offer placements and jobs for graduates.
Offer a placement →Career mentors
Professionals who guide a young person, once a month.
Become a mentor →Laptops for learners
Equipment for those who do not have one at home.
Donate equipment →Sources and methodology
Where the figures come from.
Our own figures (young people trained, schools, localities) come from the association’s records and are published in the impact report. Context statistics come from official sources, with the year of the latest available edition.
- NEET young people (aged 15–29), Romania — the highest rate in the EUEurostat · edat_lfse_20 · 2025. See source ↗
- NEET young people (aged 15–29), EU averageEurostat · edat_lfse_20 · 2025. See source ↗
- EU 2030 target for NEET young peopleEurostat / European Commission · 2030. See source ↗
- Adults (aged 25–64) who took part in some form of learning in the past 12 months, RomaniaEuropean Commission, Education and Training Monitor 2025 · 2022. See source ↗
Portfolio 2026–2027
Projects written by young people, with us as coach.
Second Chance is part of the 2026–2027 portfolio of Asociația Grupul Verde: 43 programme lines in which young people build technology for nature, protected species, climate and democracy, with partners from Romania and the EU through Horizon Europe, LIFE, Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps and CERV.
Erasmus+ and mobility
DiscoverEU travel for young people with fewer opportunities
We help 18-year-olds from villages apply and travel; when they return, they tell the story of their trip on a digital map.
Target programme: Erasmus+
Linked to: Inclusion for Every Child, Rural communities
European Solidarity Corps
Youth solidarity projects (Asociația Grupul Verde as coach)
Young people write their own project and Asociația Grupul Verde supports them as coach: from idea to application, delivery and report.
Target programme: European Solidarity Corps
Linked to: Youth, gender & activism, Young Innovators Incubator
European Solidarity Corps
Volunteering projects (Quality Label required)
European volunteers in our technology and nature programmes, as soon as we obtain the Quality Label.
Target programme: European Solidarity Corps
Linked to: Contact, Environment & biodiversity
Erasmus+ and mobility
Youth exchanges, youth worker mobility and youth participation
Young people from Vrancea travel and host peers from across Europe; youth workers learn new ways of working with technology.
Target programme: Erasmus+
Linked to: Youth, gender & activism, Inclusion for Every Child
Democracy, memory and citizenship
Pupils and families in civic education
Pupils attend workshops with their parents on rights, voting and public services and build a small digital guide for the community together.
Target programme: Horizon Europe
Linked to: Civic and legal education, Citizenship & Rights
European Solidarity Corps
Solidarity projects — spring round
Youth groups that start a project for their village in spring, with a technical prototype at the end.
Target programme: European Solidarity Corps
Linked to: Rural communities, Young Innovators Incubator
Support Second Chance
Help this pilot get started.
Your donation goes straight into the activities of Second Chance in Vrancea — materials, kits, trainers and transport for children and young people. Every amount counts.
Bank transfer with no fees · 3.5% of your tax · sponsorship with a contract