UniCredit launched the second edition of its program, Skills for Transition, with POLIMI Graduate School of Management, dedicated to young people in Europe

Starting this year, the Skills for Transition program is open to students from 12 countries, compared to 6 countries, as many as were enrolled in its first edition. At the same time, the initiative reaffirms UniCredit’s strong commitment to promoting a just, just transition and to continuously engage in education as a key driver of progress.

UniCredit has announced the second edition of Skills for Transition, a social program that provides strategic training to young people, students, but also to those who are not in a form of education, employment or training (NEET), preparing them for a constantly changing labor market.

The student part, developed in partnership with POLIMI Graduate School of Management – the business school of the Politecnico di Milano – offers selected students the chance to participate free of charge in two educational programs: a 1-year master’s degree for recent graduates and a four-month bootcamp, open to both high school graduates and students.

The second edition of Skills for Transition will also include a part dedicated to young people who are not in education, are not employed and are not in training (NEETs), in partnership with Glocal Factory, a social cooperative operating in Italy. This part of the programme will support the EU’s target of reducing the number of these young people below 9% by 2030 and will be open to this category of young people from Italy, Germany, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania.

Both parts of the initiative aim to increase knowledge and awareness of the green transition and the Net Zero framework, helping young people acquire skills that will enhance their future employment prospects. Participants will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in some of the companies most exposed to the green transition and address sector-specific changes shaping industries such as manufacturing, energy and urban development.

After the success of the first edition, these programs have doubled their geographical coverage, expanding from 6 countries to 12, and young people can now apply from: Italy, Germany, Austria,

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary.

Applications are now open for the program that will start in September 2026. More information about Skills for Transition and details on how to apply for this year’s edition can be found here: Skills for Transition | UniCredit Supported by POLIMI GSoM.

The first edition of Skills for Transition provided a total of 60,000 hours of training to students, employees in the sectors most affected by the transition and NEETs, providing them with the skills they need to navigate during this period. Romania was part of this first pilot edition, 2024/2025, and offered these programs to 30 NEET young people (in the NEET stream), respectively 31 graduate students of the Master’s and Bootcamp programs (enrolled in the Students stream).

The student program was appreciated in the Best Partnership Award category at the AMBA & BGA Awards, in recognition of the collaboration between UniCredit and POLIMI.

UniCredit Bank is part of the UniCredit Group, a Pan-European Commercial Bank with a unique service offering in Italy, Germany, Austria, Central and Eastern Europe. In Romania, UniCredit Bank is a leading universal bank, offering high quality services and products for all categories of customers.

UniCredit Bank aims to permanently keep the customer at the center of its activities, to be a partner with whom it is easy to work and to be an active part of the communities in which it operates. Digitalization and commitment to ESG principles are key drivers for our services and help us deliver excellence to all stakeholders for a sustainable future