Three countries, three organisations, one ocean

The EU Blue Economy generates over €623.6 billion in annual turnover and employs 3.59 million people — yet 41% of young people in coastal EU regions cannot name a single career opportunity in the sector. Demand for professionals in marine renewable energy alone is expected to rise by 25% by 2030. The first major output of the NextGen Blue project tackles exactly this awareness gap.

Developed under VERDE's lead together with our partners SPORTIVE (Latvia) and MindSpin (Cyprus), the Blue Economy and Career Opportunities for Youth Handbook is a comprehensive, practical resource for youth workers, NGOs, and young people aged 14–19 — the generation that will staff, manage, and protect Europe's ocean industries.

What's inside

• An accessible introduction to the Blue Economy: what it is, why it matters for Europe's climate goals, and where it is heading.
• Career paths in sustainable fisheries, marine conservation, eco-tourism, and marine renewable energy — with the skills each one requires.
• A capacity-building framework and a practical workshop toolkit that youth workers can run with no specialist background.
• Dedicated chapters on inclusion and accessibility, partnerships and stakeholders, and conservation strategies for youth.

From handbook to hands-on

The handbook is deliberately the foundation, not the finish line. It is now being converted into training material for local sessions in Latvia, Greece, and Cyprus, a series of six non-formal education videos, an international youth workshop in Greece, and the pilot NextGen Blue Workshop that will be shared with educational and environmental organisations across Europe. Special attention goes to NEETs, rural youth, and young people in coastal communities who most often lack access to career guidance.

NextGen Blue runs through January 2027 and is co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union, coordinated by SPORTIVE (Latvia).