InnoMate – Innovation for the Future

Implemented between 1 May and 30 June 2026, InnoMate – Innovation for the Future is a project dedicated to supporting young people in career guidance, self-awareness and personal development. The project started from the need to offer pupils concrete experiences that help them better understand the links between school, personal skills, the labour market and the career choices they will make in the future.

For many young people, choosing an educational or professional path is difficult, especially when direct contact with workplaces is limited and structured career-guidance activities are rare. InnoMate responds by combining two complementary experiences: direct contact with a real professional environment and a guided process of reflection, self-awareness and future planning.

The project targeted 11th-grade pupils studying tourism at Joannes Kajoni Technological High School in Miercurea Ciuc. A total of 23 young people took part in one or both of the project components. The activities gave pupils opportunities to explore their interests, better understand their own resources and meet professionals in a formal work environment.

The first activity was a job-shadowing volunteering event organised at the Miercurea Ciuc office of BRD Groupe Société Générale. Twenty-one young people participated and observed directly how a banking institution works, what the main roles within an organisation are and what a typical working day looks like in a professional environment.

The job-shadowing activity gave pupils direct contact with the world of work. BRD volunteers introduced the workplace, explained how activities are organised, presented different responsibilities and discussed the importance of collaboration. They also shared their own professional experiences, educational paths, career choices, challenges and motivations.

For the young participants, the experience reduced the distance between school and the labour market. Pupils could ask questions, receive direct answers from professionals and better understand that a career is built through skills, responsibility, communication, collaboration and deliberate decisions. The practical and inspirational format improved awareness of career options and motivation to continue their studies.

The second activity was a five-hour personal-development and career-guidance course for 18 pupils, delivered by facilitators and trainers from the Leaders For All Association at the Pro Agricultura Foundation in Miercurea Ciuc. The course provided a safe, interactive and participatory environment for reflecting on the future.

Participants worked on career orientation, decision-making, professional interests, personal values, individual resources and beliefs that can influence future choices. Activities included icebreakers, energisers, brainstorming, pair work, individual reflection and group discussion.

An important tool used in the programme was the Holland Test, which helped pupils identify professional fields aligned with their interests. Results were discussed together, including professions, aptitudes, personal preferences and possible development directions. This helped participants connect what they enjoy, what they are good at and what they may want to become.

A significant part of the course focused on imagining the future. Pupils were invited to picture their personal and professional lives ten years from now, reflect on the values that define them and write a letter to their present selves. Through the exercise, participants formulated encouragement, goals and personal recommendations for their own journeys.

The programme contributed to self-awareness and self-confidence. Pupils identified strengths, fears, limiting beliefs and personal resources that can support clearer decision-making. It emphasised a growth mindset, the idea that mistakes can become learning opportunities and the importance of courage in building a professional path step by step.

The project’s impact was visible in improved information, motivation and personal reflection. Participants gained a clearer understanding of professional environments, discovered career options, explored their own interests and became more aware of the steps required for the future. The project report notes increased self-awareness, clearer professional interests, greater confidence in personal resources and a stronger ability to make informed decisions.

An important result was that the project met and exceeded its participation target. The contract anticipated 15–20 young people in job-shadowing and personal-development activities, while the project reached 23 unique beneficiaries. This demonstrates strong interest in such experiences and the relevance of career guidance for young people at an important stage of educational and professional transition.

The project also benefited from volunteers mobilised by United Way Romania through BRD Groupe Société Générale. Seven BRD volunteers helped organise and deliver the job-shadowing visit, giving pupils access to real professional experiences and accessible career role models. Their involvement made the activity more authentic, practical and relevant to young people’s needs.

Participant feedback showed a shift in perspective. Young people left with greater clarity, more confidence and a better understanding that a professional future can be built step by step. Their reflections included discovering a more suitable career direction, realising that more options existed than they had assumed and gaining confidence that mistakes can become opportunities to learn and grow.

InnoMate is an example of a project with direct impact on young people despite its relatively short implementation period. By combining corporate volunteering, non-formal education and career guidance, the project offered a complete experience: participants saw a real workplace, spoke with professionals, examined their own interests and reflected on their future.

For the Project Bag Association, InnoMate fits within its wider work focused on young people, applied education and community development. The project demonstrates that supporting young people is not only about giving them information, but also about creating contexts in which they can experiment, ask questions, reflect and discover the resources they already possess.

InnoMate communicates an important message: young people need real contexts in order to understand their future more clearly. Through job-shadowing, dialogue with professionals, self-awareness exercises and career-guidance activities, they can build confidence in their abilities and make more informed decisions about their educational and professional paths.

InnoMate – Innovation for the Future was implemented by the Project Bag Association with support from United Way Romania, helping bring young people closer to the labour market and develop a clearer, more realistic and more optimistic perspective on the future.