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Barcelona connects young people without experience with training and real jobs
Finding a first job can be particularly difficult when experience, contacts or specific vocational training are lacking. Barcelona Activa seeks to reduce that barrier with (Re)activa tu futuro, a programme that combines individual guidance, mentoring, accredited training and company placements for young people who are still trying to define their career path.
The initiative is primarily aimed at people aged between 16 and 25 who live in Barcelona. It is designed especially for those with ESO-level studies or lower, Baccalaureate or even an intermediate vocational-training course, but who want to change profession or explore a different career path.
The starting point is not to choose a course immediately. Each participant has support from a guidance counsellor who helps identify interests, abilities and objectives and, from there, builds a personalised action plan. The programme also includes workshops, company visits and activities to get to know professions from the inside.
This guidance is supplemented by a network of young mentors who work in different sectors. Their role is to bring participants closer to the everyday reality of each profession, answer questions and show routes that often fall outside the best-known options after finishing studies.
Training is currently concentrated in four specialities. Auxiliary warehouse activities offer 210 hours; retail assistant, 270; basic restaurant and bar operations, 290; and auxiliary administrative and general-services operations reaches 430 hours.
The pathways include work placements in companies and make it possible to obtain accredited vocational training. The intention is that participants finish not only with theoretical knowledge, but also with a first experience in a working environment and an accreditation they can add to their CV.
The programme is especially relevant for young people who are unsure what to study or have tried an educational route without finding a fit. Rather than demanding an immediate career decision, it proposes getting to know different jobs, talking to people who already do them and trying out skills before choosing a direction.
Registrations for the 2026 edition remain available through Barcelona Activa. For someone who has spent months sending CVs without a response or simply does not know what profession might suit them, the proposal offers something difficult to obtain at the start of working life: support, experience and a direct door to companies that need new profiles.