EU4Youth: more than 1,900 young people supported in Moldova over last two years

On 16 May, in Chisinau, the ‘EU4Youth Phase III: Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship programme’, held a phasing-out event highlighting the impact and results of its five grant projects implemented in Moldova over the past two years, from 2023 to 2025. 

The projects are: ‘Persp@ctive’ , ‘SKYE Net’, ‘Building Back Better Through Social Entrepreneurship’, ‘Fostering Youth Social Entrepreneurship and Practical Career Management Skills in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia Through the Innovative Social Student Companies (SSC) Approach’, and ‘Upskilling digital competences and career management skills of disadvantaged youth in Georgia, Armenia and Moldova’. These initiatives have given hundreds of young beneficiaries the chance to explore their potential, acquire relevant skills, and turn their ideas into concrete projects and successful businesses.

The event was attended by project representatives, young beneficiaries, non-governmental organisations, and representatives of public authorities.

They discussed how project initiatives could become part of an effective system of support for young people – either by mainstreaming into education policies or by expanding collaboration with the economic and social environment.

Dalia Krapavickaitė, Senior Project Manager of International Development Cooperation Projects Division, CPVA, said that the EU4Youth programme has become a platform for regional and national cooperation. 

“We managed not only to provide concrete support, but also to build bridges between organisations, institutions and communities. This kind of collaboration is the key to sustainable solutions and a future where young people are more prepared, confident and actively involved in societal development,” she said.

During its implementation, the EU4Youth programme managed to support more than 1,900 young people in Moldova, especially girls and young people from vulnerable backgrounds, through training and personalised support:

• 1,232 girls and 720 people from disadvantaged groups attended skills development sessions, 67% of which focused on entrepreneurial skills;
• 30 young entrepreneurs received financial assistance to launch their own business initiatives, and 142 received individualised technical advice;
• 1,337 young people participated in entrepreneurship related trainings;
• 20 non-formal education tools have been developed and already applied in out-of-school and youth activities;
• curricula and guidelines for social entrepreneurship are now available and tested, ready for integration in general schools and technical vocational education centres.

“With the support of the EU4Youth programme, we managed to help more than 200 young people to develop their digital competences, we supported them in getting digital career counseling. Another over 100 young people have participated in individual counseling to plan their digital careers, understand what suits them and what are the job opportunities in the field,” said Alexandra Isaicul, project coordinator at the MilleniuM Training and Development Institute. “There is a huge potential in the Republic of Moldova to help young people develop their digital skills.”

Sergiu Gurău, Executive Director of Eco-Răzeni public association, the programme beneficiary, said: “About 200 girls and boys from six districts of the country have benefited from several activities within the Persp@ctive project. These include training in skills development, entrepreneurship and basic digital literacy, as this is one of the concerns of the employment structures, as well as our own, to facilitate the integration of young people from vulnerable communities into the labor market.”

The ‘EU4Youth Phase III: Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship’ programme, funded by the European Union and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, is implemented by the Central Project Management Agency (CPVA) in Eastern Partnership countries. These include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The programme will run until the middle of 2025 and aims to provide technical assistance to governmental and non-governmental organisations to tackle youth unemployment and improve employability.

Find out more

[popular_posts columns_xl=”4″ columns_l=”4″ columns_m=”3″]