The digital economy is transforming the world of work, and youth in need are at risk of being left behind. Additionally, youth in need face additional barriers to employment, such as lack of education and training, discrimination, and poverty. Studies have shown that negative trend of youth unemployment was greatly caused by the lack of digital skills. The concrete objectives were to: • Increase the digital readiness, resilience, and capacity of youth and more specifically youth in need • Strengthen the employability of youth in need by developing their digital skills and competences • Promote equal access to transition in the labor market for youth in need through digital skills development • Support youth employability, inclusion, and diversity in all fields of education, training, youth Regarding Young people the project wanted to: • Provide them with the digital skills and competences they need to succeed in the digital economy and labor market. • Help young people to overcome the barriers in the digital economy. • Promote equal access to digital skills for all • Help young people to develop the skills and competences they need to find and maintain employment. • Help young people to participate more fully in society.
We applied for this project to respond to a clear skills gap affecting young people with fewer opportunities in Cyprus, Croatia, and Romania. Studies have shown that negative trend of youth unemployment was greatly caused by the lack of digital skills. Even more,the EU Digital Education Plan (2021-2027) states that more than one in five young people across the EU do not possess basic level of digital skills.Youth NEET lack practical digital competences and struggle to enter the labour market. Many have limited access to structured training. Some also face disability, migration background, or long-term unemployment, which further restricts their options. Evidence at EU level shows uneven digital skill levels and links between ICT competences and employment outcomes. In Romania and Croatia youth unemployment remains above the EU average. In Cyprus, advanced digital skills remain below EU benchmarks. Local employers report gaps in basic and applied digital abilities. These patterns indicate a structural need rather than isolated cases. The needs the project addressed for youth NEET were: Increase the digital readiness, Strengthen the employability, Promote equal access to digital skills, Support employability and entrepreneurship.