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The future belongs to today’s young people – but they need the skills to seize it. In a rapidly changing world, where technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace, equipping the next generation with the skills they need to succeed has never been more important.
World Youth Skills Day is a reminder of the importance of investing in young people, whose talent and potential will shape the future. Yet youth unemployment remains a major social and economic challenge, with one in five young people globally being NEET (not in employment, education or training) as of 20241.
At UniCredit we are addressing this challenge by putting the next generation at the heart of our social strategy through hands-on opportunities, education and training programmes that align with the evolving job market. Find out how we are putting this commitment into action below.
Expanding access to education for all
At the forefront of this effort is the UniCredit Foundation, which works to combat educational poverty, reduce school drop-out rates and promote equal educational opportunities.
The Foundation has deployed €80 million over the past three years to empower the next generation through international partnerships with organisations like Junior Achievement Europe and Teach for All, grassroots initiatives and research projects. These efforts have reached more than 750,000 students, 10,000 schools and 18,000 teachers across our countries, while more than 300 scholarships and grants have been awarded to students and researchers.
One of the Foundation’s flagship initiatives is the UCF Edu Fund Platform, which supports high-impact programmes across Europe that expand access to education for vulnerable young people aged 11 to 19. The first edition allocated €14 million to 30 programmes, and the second edition launched in November 2025 awarded approximately €4.2 million to nine initiatives led by non-profits operating across Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. You can find out more about this year’s winners and the positive impact they are having for young people across Europe here.
Equipping the next generation for a changing world
Alongside education, we are helping young people develop the practical skills they need to adapt and thrive in a world being reshaped by new technology and the net-zero transition.
With this in mind, we launched the Skills for Transition programme in 2024 to deliver strategic training to workers and young people – including students and those not in education, employment or training (NEETs) – expected to be impacted by the green transition. In 2025, it delivered 60,000 hours of training: of which 12,000 for workers, 15,000 hours for NEETs and 33,000 hours for students, and through dedicated courses, specialized paths and Master’s programmes.
Below, graduates of the Master’s programme in March 2026, developed with the POLIMI Graduate School of Management, share in their own words how the experience has helped prepare them for the sustainable transition.
Following the success of the first edition, Skills for Transition returned in 2026, expanding its reach from six to 12 countries for students across Europe, while continuing to support NEETs through dedicated training opportunities. You can find out more about the 2026 programme, which is well underway here.
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Our 2026 graduates reflect on their experience of the Skills for Transition Master's Programme
Learning through people: our commitment to volunteering
Volunteering helps young people develop the skills, confidence and financial awareness they need to thrive. Through one paid volunteering day per year, colleagues across our markets share their time and expertise to support the next generation.
As a bank, we recognise that financial literacy is a vital life skill and an important foundation for young people’s future success, which is why it is central to our skills-based volunteering. In Italy, UniCredit's Banking Academy plays a central role in these efforts and over the past two years alone, more than 233,000 young people have benefited from financial education, training on digitalisation and fraud prevention, entrepreneurship and sustainability, programmes including Start-Up Your Life, ITS Start-Up Your Life, Save4Young and Conta per Me. With many sessions delivered by our own volunteers and external experts, young people receive practical skills and knowledge to navigate the changing financial world. Alongside sessions with volunteers, educational initiatives are delivered through a variety of formats, including, online learning platforms, gamification experiences and competition, helping participants develop future-ready skills through engaging and accessible learning journeys.
In Germany, financial education is also rooted in volunteering. Since 2019, HVB Financial Workshops have helped disadvantaged young people build financial awareness and confidence through volunteer-led sessions. Around 100 workshops are delivered each year, reaching more than 5,000 beneficiaries.
Investing in our future talent
At UniCredit, we know that developing skills does not end when education does. Creating opportunities for young people at our bank to learn, grow and build successful careers is an important part of how we invest in the next generation.
We are committed to hiring ambitious young talent and last year welcomed 2,313 new colleagues under the age of 30, which helped doubled the share of employees under 35 in Italy.
If you are ready to take the next step in your career and join our team at UniCredit, you can explore our “Follow Your Talent. It Will Lead You to Us” campaign here and discover opportunities in our Italian Commercial Network.
Our next strategic phase, UniCredit Unlimited, is also challenging us to invest even further in our employees’ skills and development to ensure they can succeed in a world being rapidly changed by AI. At the heart of this journey is UniCredit Corporate University, which provides a comprehensive, 360-degree approach to development, combining structured learning pathways, future-focused skills, hands-on experience and opportunities for self-directed growth.
In 2025 alone, we dedicated 38 training hours per employee, totaling approximately 2.7 million training hours across the Group. Built in partnership with leading academic institutions, renowned experts and industry practitioners, our tailored learning journeys support development from day one through to leadership roles, helping people build meaningful careers across UniCredit.
Last but not least, alongside direct recruitment, we continue to invest in internships and graduate programmes, giving young people the opportunity to build skills, gain international exposure and launch meaningful careers.