An increase in unemployment and loss of work was one of the major impacts of COVID-19 on young people. By August 2021, 2.833 million young people under 25 in the EU were unemployed (Eurostat 2021). Since the onset of the pandemic, it was estimated that the youth unemployment rate in the EU had risen from 14.9% to 17.1% (Eurostat 2021). Youth unemployment in the rest of the European continent was no better. Globally, the ILO (2021) estimated that by January 2021, young people (15–25) had experienced an employment loss of 8.7%, compared to only 3.7% for adults.

The longer the crisis lasted, the greater the risk of unemployment taking root and creating difficult times for the millions of young people aged 15 to 19 who were enrolled in secondary schools and were about to enter the labour market. Thus, the crisis had the potential to create a "lockdown generation" and worsen the job opportunities for new entrants. As a result, the generation of young people who entered the labour market did so after the worst economic crisis in over half a century, which disproportionately affected young people. This was why it was necessary for the next generation of workers not only to be able to find suitable jobs but also to create them.

Consequently, non-formal entrepreneurship education for young people, starting already from secondary school, became essential. Entrepreneurship education was not included in many secondary school curricula, and having a formal course in entrepreneurship did not appeal to young people at such a young age. On the other hand, a non-formal entrepreneurship education program strengthened the capacity of young people to engage in entrepreneurial activity, positively impacted their entrepreneurial motivation, and contributed to the improvement of the business environment and the development of youth entrepreneurship. Additionally, established companies sought to hire employees with an entrepreneurial mindset to drive innovation, relevancy, and competitive advantage within these organizations—often referred to as intrapreneurship.

Based on these premises, NGOE aimed to develop entrepreneurial skills among young people aged 15-19, who were enrolled in secondary schools. To achieve this, the consortium of partners developed an innovative non-formal entrepreneurial pedagogical program using digital tools. As a result, NGOE:

- Fostered entrepreneurial initiatives among young people by developing their entrepreneurial skills through an innovative non-formal pedagogical methodology;
- Developed entrepreneurial skills using new ICT tools, creating new learning methods and integrating digital technologies in learning and teaching;
- Developed the necessary tools based on a human-centred design approach, considering the needs, desires, limitations, and environment of the individual.

The direct target groups of NGOE were young people aged 15-19, who were enrolled in secondary schools and had the potential to become entrepreneurs but just needed the education to learn how. Additionally, youth workers who needed to integrate new skills and tools into their entrepreneurship teaching were also targeted, to support young people before they finished their studies and contribute to their decision to become entrepreneurs.

*In the entire project, "young people" referred to young people aged 15-19 enrolled in secondary schools.

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