Our Strategic Programmes

Early Transitions is where people begin to understand the world they are stepping into. Some are still in school. Some are leaving. Some left earlier and are trying to reconnect.

And the world they are stepping into is not simple. A nursing graduate in Romania enters a labour market that trained her but cannot absorb her whilst hospitals two countries away cannot find enough staff to open wards. A construction apprentice in Greece finishes his training into regional unemployment whilst the Netherlands is building at a pace it cannot staff. 

These are not personal failures. They are structural realities that young people deserve to understand before they make their first choices.

In the hub, they work through elective subjects that make sense of things young people are rarely taught - how education systems work, why opportunities differ so sharply between regions, what mobility actually looks like from the inside, and why some sectors are desperate for workers while others have long queues of applicants.

This programme gives people a foundation - not by telling them what to do, but by helping them understand the systems they will eventually have to navigate. It is the first time many of them see how their choices connect to real labour market conditions, fairness, and the transitions ahead.

Because understanding the landscape is not a luxury. For young people standing at the edge of it - it is the difference between a confident first step and a costly wrong turn.

Taking your first steps into work is rarely straightforward - and the landscape you are stepping into is rarely explained honestly. Some sectors are desperate for people. Others have queues of applicants that stretch for years. Most young people find out which is which only after they have already committed.

This programme supports people at exactly that moment - whether coming from upper‑secondary, VET, apprenticeships, or a break in learning.

Here, the hub becomes a place where they can test ideas, understand expectations, and see how the labour market actually behaves. They explore what it means to enter a sector facing a shortage - care, logistics, construction, digital, green jobs - versus a sector with a surplus of applicants. A care worker entering the Belgian or German market steps into genuine demand and real opportunity. A law graduate in Greece or a humanities student in Italy may face a very different reality. Both deserve to know this before they commit - not after.

They learn how contracts work, what rights they have from day one, and how mobility - moving within or across borders - can expand or limit their options depending on how well they understand it.

Working with public employment services, schools, and employers across the EU27, ESTRI ASBL helps people understand the landscape they are walking into - not to push them into shortage sectors, but to help them make informed, fair, and confident decisions about their first steps into work.

Because a good first step is not just about finding a job. It is about understanding what you are walking into - and knowing you have the right to walk in on fair terms.

Early‑career mobility is a critical moment in the transition from education to work. ESTRI ASBL supports young adults as they navigate their first steps into the labour market, helping them build confidence, skills, and pathways into meaningful employment.  

We work with schools, universities, employers, and public employment services to design mobility experiences that strengthen readiness, broaden horizons, and open access to emerging sectors.

Our work focuses on career exploration and guidance that helps young people understand labour‑market opportunities and make informed choices; mobility pathways that connect learners to internships, traineeships, and early‑career placements across Europe; transition support for young adults entering the workforce, including coaching, mentoring, and skills development; employer engagement to create inclusive entry routes into high‑growth sectors; and equity and access, ensuring mobility opportunities reach learners who are often excluded.

We collaborate with schools, universities, youth organisations, employers, and European mobility networks.

Our goal is to make early‑career mobility a structured, supported, and equitable pathway into the future of wo.

Adults face increasing pressure to adapt to technological, economic, and demographic change. ESTRI ASBL supports workers and jobseekers to build new skills, transition into emerging sectors, and remain active participants in the labour market.  

We design practical, accessible learning pathways that respond to real workforce needs and support adults at every stage of their reskilling journey.

Our work focuses on skills assessment and guidance to help adults understand their strengths and identify new opportunities; reskilling pathways aligned with sectoral needs in mobility, digital, green, and care economies; modular and flexible learning that fits around work, family, and life commitments; collaboration with employers to ensure training leads to real job opportunities; and support for vulnerable groups, including low‑skilled adults and those returning to the labour market.

We collaborate with training providers, employers, public employment services, and adult‑learning organisations.

Our goal is to make reskilling accessible, relevant, and connected to real labour‑market transitions.

Transforming skills and learning systems requires cooperation across institutions, sectors, and countries. ESTRI ASBL works at system level to strengthen governance, build partnerships, and support alignment with European priorities.  

We help organisations collaborate more effectively, share knowledge, and design coordinated approaches to skills and workforce transformation.

Our work focuses on: European cooperation frameworks that connect education, training, and labour‑market actors; cross‑sector partnerships linking employers, providers, and public institutions; policy alignment with EU strategies on skills, mobility, and digital and green transitions; capacity building for organisations implementing system‑level reforms; and knowledge exchange through networks, events, and collaborative initiatives.

We collaborate with ministries, agencies, European networks, social partners, and cross‑border partnerships.

Our goal is to strengthen cooperation across systems so that skills, learning, and workforce transitions become more coherent, coordinated, and future‑ready.