GENTe -GENTe – Green Entrepreneurship Skills for NEET Persons

In the past few years, there has been a growing interest in the development of a ‘green’ or ‘low carbon’ economy in the Eu context, as a means of reconciling economic development and the environment. According to the European Commission (2020), eco-design, eco-innovation, waste prevention and the reuse of raw materials can bring net savings for EU businesses of up to EUR 600 billion. Additional measures to increase resource productivity by 30 % by 2030 could boost GDP by nearly 1 %, while creating 2 million additional jobs. It also benefits the environment and reduces Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, green economy is a means of financial and social growth, through the provision of employability and entrepreneurship opportunities to all EU citizens, especially those with fewer opportunities.
In 2019, the average rate of NEET young people in Europe was 16,4%, with 9 Member States reporting rates higher than the average. Among these, by far the highest rates were recorded in Italy and Greece, where a quarter or more of all young people aged 20–34 were neither in employment nor in education and training (27.8 % and 25.1 % respectively). In the same year, more than one fifth (20.8 %) of young women (aged 20–34) in the EU were NEETs, while the corresponding share among young men was 8.6 percentage points lower, at 12.2 %. In this context, the project Green Entrepreneurship for NEET Persons – GENTe aims to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) take advantage of the opportunities offered by the transition to a green economy. The project will bring together young adults, especially women, who fall in the category of NEET and representatives of SMEs who are interested in making their business greener and give them the chance to explore the possibilities for cooperation. In parallel, the project will offer NEET people the opportunity to participate in educational activities that will allow them to develop their skills, boost their employability and consider the possibility of starting their own green business.

The project aims to provide alternative ways of learning to a broad range of young adults and help them develop their knowledge, skills and capabilities in order to be benefited from opportunities for employability and entrepreneurship in the framework of existing or new SMEs. In particular, it is estimated that the participation of NEET adult learners in the educational activities of GENTe will offer them the opportunity to explore new forms of employability and motivate them to either join existing small and medium-sized enterprises or, ideally, put their own ideas into practice and start their own small, green, business. Furthermore, it is expected that all participants involved in the project (NEET adult learners,= partner organisations and relevant stakeholders, such as representatives of SMEs) will become more aware in terms of environmental issues and put green entrepreneurship into practice, growing a green mentality of learning and working in the EU. What is more, it is expected that the participants will benefit from the project by improving their digital literacy and creating eco-friendly, green and sustainable businesses. In summary, the main objectives of the project are the following:

• Contributing to the EU’s strategies for green entrepreneurship by offering the opportunity to a broad range of people,especially women, to be involved and utilize their potential.
• Promoting green growth and becoming part of developing a resource-efficient, circular economy where nothing is wasted.
• Developing innovative educational tools that will the development of new and innovative digital skills among NEET people in Europe.

• EUFRAK-EUROCONSULTS BERLIN GMBH Germany
• HIGHER INCUBATOR GIVING GROWTH AND SUSTAINABILITY Greece
• DEKAPLUS BUSINESS SERVICES LTD Cyprus
• CE.S.CO.T. VENETO – Centro Sviluppo Commercio Turismo e Terziario Italy
• OESTERREICHISCHE JUNGARBEITERBEWEGUNG, OEJAB Austria
• CSI CENTER FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION LTD Cyprus
• S.C. PREDICT CSD CONSULTING S.R.L. Romania