About

The aim of the Blue Generation Project is to ATTRACT and ENGAGE young people between 15 and 29 years and CONVERT them to pursue a sustainable career in Blue Economy in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria and Poland. 

The Blue Generation project organizes info days about blue career prospects and offers free mentoring programs for those among the young who wish to pursue a career in Blue Economy and mobility exchanges through study visits for gaining first-hand experience in coastal tourism, aquaculture, ocean energy, marine biotechnology, shipbuilding, maritime transport and fisheries. 

To succeed in this, the Blue Generation Project brings together experts from the Blue Economy and Youth organisations to share knowledge about skills needs, career paths, open job positions and existing training.

The project lasts from 2018 to 2022. In the first year the Blue Career Job Platform will be developed, offering free of charge information on blue job positions as well as training opportunites across EU countries. Through the BGP, it is envisaged to reach up to 39,000 young people through promotional activities and convert at least 2,000 to employment or training in the Blue Economy. 

The Blue Generation Project is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment. The project is coordinated by Militos Consulting SA in Greece and Sea Teach in Spain, and is implemented by an international consortium in Bulgaria, Greece, Poland, Portugal, and Spain with support from Blue Economy Experts from Belgium, Germany, Iceland and Norway.

See the full Blue Generation project partners profiles in the menu Partnership.

The challenge

The European Blue Economy, currently representing around 5.4 million jobs, is set to double its employment by 2030. Its problem is that young people are not being attracted to maritime careers, while businesses cannot find the required workforce, skills and profiles (European Commission SWD, 2017).

At the same time, the EU has up to 14 million young people between 15 and 29 years who are NEETs (Not in Education Employment or Training) and millions more who are at risk of becoming NEETs due to early school dropout, difficulties in entering the labour market, or other personal problems. The Blue Generation Project is set to fill this gap by re-introducing Blue Economy carreers as an attractive, modern and prosperous professional pathway and way out of unemployment for the young. 

We look into the following results

• Improved employment situation for young people and especially NEETs
• Increased participation in education and training of former NEETs
• Provision of innovative approaches on lowering youth unemployment 
• Increased transnational cooperation on labour market issues

See more under activities.

The Blue Generation Project main activities

• Organizing info-days and activities in high schools, adult education centres, NGOs, unemployment services and local associations to promote Blue Career opportunities
• Training youth to increase awareness in the Blue Economy career opportunities and prospect mentors to become knowledgeable promoters via the Blue Career MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) Platform
• Guiding young people through skills validation, personal mentoring and short exchanges to suitable employment and training in Blue Economy job sectors.
• Offering, at no charge, a Blue Career Guide, and a Blue Career Job Platform.

Target Groups: Who will benefit?

• Young people from 15 to 19 who are NEETs or at risk of becoming NEETs after finishing their current education - approached via high schools, VET centres and youth centres.
• NEETs from 15 to 29 who are currently registered as unemployed - approached via public and private unemployment centres, adult education centres, NGOs and associations.
• Young people from 20 to 29 at risk of becoming NEETs after finishing current education and Hard-to-reach NEETs, inactive youth living with parents, young mothers and young people with drug or alcohol abuse - approached via VET centres, Adult education centres, NGOs and associations.

If you belong to one of those target groups and would like to get involved in the project activities, follow Blue Generation project to receive our news and contact us!