Youth unemployment is one of the main burning issues in the national policies of each country and Europe as a whole. The consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak hit the GDP indicators of most EU Member States and affected the life of the population. In this regard, the problem of youth employment, or rather its absence, has to stand in the center of attention of the public and political institutions. In fact, it is exactly young people who become the first "victim" of the economic recession. A high percentage of young unemployed is a logical consequence of the current situation. Losing control over which is extremely dangerous for the European Union and neighboring countries. Despite the fact that the youth unemployment rate has slightly decreased in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic caused its enormous leap. Nowadays, in order to get a job, young people need not only a diploma, experience, and professional skills but also the so called emotional intelligence (EI). Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize one’s own and other people's emotions and manage them appropriately. Leadership, cultural awareness, positive self-perception, communication, and motivational skills are some of the skills which directly depend on the level of a person’s emotional intelligence and which are fundamental competences for successful employment. Emotional intelligence can be especially beneficial during a time of crisis as it can help you avoid panic and think rationally. It can also help to connect with people on an emotional level and thus improve both professional and personal life. Unfortunately, we are not taught these skills at school or university. We acquire and develop them by ourselves, mostly through non-formal and informal education. These competences also make us more attractive for employers. Many of them admit that teaching an employee, for example, how to use software is much easier than changing their emotional intelligence. It means that non-professional skills play an important role in the employment process as well. According to Devex’s recent publication (https://www.devex.com/news/what-does-the-global-development-job-market-look-like-for-2020-96796 ), “professional and emotional intelligence skills are both in high demand, with 50% of employers saying that technical skills — including data-driven, evidence-based programming and delivery — are in short supply. The other 50% said that a lack of soft skills — leadership, empathy, and cross-cultural sensitivity — is the biggest challenge. Political, environmental, and health emergencies, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, mean professionals need to be agile to quickly adapt to rapidly evolving circumstances.” Based on this, the youth exchange “Skills for Future” was developed to address the following problems of young people: - absence of education on emotional management in the formal education context; - lack of awareness about the skills covered by EI and how they affect their employability and personal life; - poor understanding of the labor market realities and recruitment process; - lack of information on non-formal education as an effective teaching method; - low awareness of Erasmus + projects as opportunities for training, development. and increasing their employment potential. “Skills for Future” youth exchange gathered 35 young people from different countries (Italy, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Ukraine, and Armenia) in Zelezna Ruda, the Czech Republic. This youth exchange was aimed at enhancing the youngsters’ potential for employment through increasing the level of their emotional intelligence. To achieve the aim, the youth exchange focused on the following objectives: - discover the concept of emotions and emotional intelligence; - find out the role of emotional intelligence in the context of youth employability; - raise the participants’ awareness about the European labor market; - empower young people via developing empathy, tolerance, and active listening skills; - learn to reflect on our own emotions and emotions of others; - promote tolerance, diversity, democracy, equality, and other European values; - experience methods of non-formal education and opportunities of Erasmus+ program.