By Gabriela Popescu | Project Leader
In Romania’s rural and industrial towns, the transition from school to adulthood can feel like standing at the edge of a foggy road. You know there must be a path ahead, but you cannot see where it leads. For many teenagers, especially those from disadvantaged families, this uncertainty shapes their lives long before they reach their final school year.
This is where Pasi spre Viitor – Steps Toward the Future began: as an effort to bring clarity, confidence, and direction to young people who have rarely been asked the question:
“What do you dream of becoming?”
In October 2025, we launched Pasi spre Viitor at the national level—an initiative made possible through the strong partnership between Colegiul Tehnic Traian Vuia Oradea and the generous support of Teknia Oradea.
For the first time, 200 students aged 15 to 19 received the promise of structured career orientation, counselling, and vocational assessment. For forty of them, the program will go even further: in spring 2026, they will step inside Teknia Oradea for a real jobshadowing experience, seeing with their own eyes what a future workplace can look like.
It is difficult to overstate what this means for youth whose worlds have often been defined by limitations rather than possibilities.
Andrei is 17. He comes from a neighborhood where most young people leave school early or learn a trade they never truly chose. He once told us, quietly:
“I don’t know what I’m good at. I don’t know what to choose. I’m afraid to choose wrong.”
Andrei is not alone.
His fear is shared by thousands of Romanian teenagers whose futures depend more on chance than guidance.
When his class participated in the first round of vocational testing, something changed. For the first time, he saw his skills reflected back at him—not as weaknesses, but as potential. His results showed that he had strong mechanical intuition, patience, and problemsolving skills.
The counsellor looked at him and said:
“You have what it takes to build or fix things. You could become a technician, an engineer, or a specialist. Your future doesn’t have to be a guess.”
Andrei smiled—not because he suddenly knew everything, but because he was no longer in the dark.
During the first month of implementation, 72 students aged 17–18 completed vocational testing. They came from a wide range of professional fields:
Their results revealed a reality common across Romania:
This means that nearly half the students may enter careers that do not fit them—simply because they never received proper guidance.
Career counselling doesn’t just change educational outcomes;
it prevents lost years, lost earnings, and lost confidence.
The transition from school to work is no longer linear.
The labour market is shifting.
Technical fields are evolving.
And young people from disadvantaged communities are at the highest risk of being left behind.
Career guidance offers:
Every counselling session and vocational test becomes a compass—one that can redirect a young person’s life.
Our partnership with Teknia Oradea is more than financial—it is transformational.
For many students, Teknia represents the first real connection to a workplace that:
When 40 students walk into Teknia for jobshadowing in spring 2026, they will not just be observing work.
They will be stepping into their possible futures.
As we continue the Counselling for 300 Children in Romania project, our goal remains unwavering:
to ensure that every child, regardless of background, has the guidance, support, and confidence needed to shape their future intentionally—not accidentally.
For youth like Andrei, career counselling is not a luxury.
It is the bridge between who they are and who they can become.
Your support helps us keep that bridge standing.
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