Skills4Life

Empowering Young Care-Leavers to Live Independently

Young people who have grown out of the child and youth welfare system are often confronted with unemployment and lower quality of life. The lack of educational qualifications, limited career prospects, low self-esteem, and restricted access to housing and healthcare represent significant challenges for them.

This is exactly where the Skills4Life project offers solution. The goal is to support these young adults in their transition to independent living and to efficiently improve support structures across the Danube Region.

Skills4Life project is developing an innovative educational programme that strengthens personal and professional skills, improves employability, and supports social integration. Through mentoring, counselling, internships, and tailored training, young people gain the tools they need for a self-determined and fulfilling life – and for pursuing careers that secure their future.

About Skills4Life: Project information

Project contents:

Durning the period from 04/2025 to 03/2028, we will work with twelve project partners from nine different countries to develop:

The Danube Skills4Life Strategy: A long-term strategy for the social and professional integration of young people leaving the youth welfare system.
The Danube Skills4Life Action Plan: Nine tailored action plans – one for each partner country – that will be tested within the project to support implementation of the strategy.
The Skills4Life Training Programme: A programme aimed at developing personal and professional competencies.
Skills4Life Job Fairs: Events in all partner countries to directly connect the target group with potential employers.
The Digital Skills4Life Platform: An innovative platform that provides young people with access to resources, information, and support.
The Skills4Life Mentoring and Counselling Model: An innovative, jointly developed model offering individual support for young people as they transition to independent living.

Through transnational cooperation, the project focuses on knowledge exchange and creates a more coordinated response to shared challenges in the Danube Region.

Target group

Skills4Life project primarily targets young people who can no longer access support from the child and youth welfare system due to age. Secondarily, the project also addresses youth organisations, training centres, employers, and public authorities.

Project objectives

The aim of Skills4Life project is to improve support systems for young adults transitioning out of youth welfare services. An education and mentoring programme will be developed for this target group to foster their personal skills and ease their integration into the labour market.

Achieving more together

Skills4Life is funded by the Interreg Danube Region Programme / EU. Project partners collaborating on the project are: