From Career Guidance to Inclusion
In a journey that began in February 2025, a group of children living in Shelters for Unaccompanied Minors took their first steps toward career orientation and social inclusion.
Following a request from the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons & Institutional Protection, a targeted career guidance intervention was designed for children who share a common experience: a life marked by displacement, challenges, and the need for stability.
The initiative began with individual sessions and the creation of personal Work Portfolios. Ten children initially participated in the pilot phase, working both remotely and through in-person group workshops. Through this process, they started developing a clearer understanding of themselves, their skills, and their professional aspirations.
The initiative was later expanded through vocational terminology workshops involving children from six different shelters in Epirus, Patras, and Kalavryta. This approach emerged as good practice, as it successfully combined language empowerment with career guidance.
In December 2025, the initiative took on a more specific direction: preparing the children for employment in the dairy and cheesemaking sector. Specialized educational material was developed, bringing the participants closer to a real and dynamic sector of the Greek economy.
The idea found fertile ground in Ioannina, a region with a strong presence of dairy businesses and genuine employment opportunities. Local shelters, as well as the children themselves, responded positively and expressed strong interest in participating.
A key milestone was the collaboration with the Dairy Vocational School of Ioannina. Through educational visits, the children were introduced to a professional pathway that goes beyond theory, leading to concrete skills and employment prospects. The school’s two-year training program leads to a recognized profession while also connecting graduates with the labor market through internships in cooperation with local companies.
The initiative concluded with a visit to a local production facility of “Dodoni”, where the beneficiaries had the opportunity to observe the operation of a modern cheese production unit in real working conditions. During the visit, they interacted with industry professionals, observed the organization of the production process, the use of machinery, and hygiene and safety procedures, while also recognizing in practice much of the professional terminology they had learned during the workshop.
This initiative is not only about vocational training. It is about building bridges: between education and employment, between shelter and inclusion, between the children’s past experiences and their future opportunities.
For the children participating in the program, the question is no longer only “What can I do?”, but also “Where can I belong?”
And perhaps the answer lies exactly there: in a real opportunity, in a skill that can be acquired, in a community that makes space for them.
*SolidarityNow participates as a partner in the implementation of the project “COMPASS-Complementary Support Mechanism to the National Strategy for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors in Greece.” The project is funded by the European Union through the “Program Greece – Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund 2021-2027″.
