Career Tomorrow — What fits me?

About the programme

“Career Tomorrow” is our mentoring and career-orientation programme, run in collaboration with SOS Satele Copiilor România. It is aimed at young people in difficult circumstances — lack of financial resources, lack of family support, disadvantaged backgrounds. Most of them grow up without having seen, in real life, a chef, a graphic designer, a make-up artist, a software developer or an architect. You cannot choose something you do not know exists.

The programme brings professionals from very different trades — from chefs and make-up artists to people in IT, medicine or law — into a series of one-to-one or small-group meetings. The conversations are not polished career talks. They are honest exchanges: what the real journey looked like, including the detours, bad decisions, recoveries, and what an ordinary working day in that trade looks like.

How it works

• Monthly themed meetings with an invited professional — prepared together with the children, so they come with their own questions.
• Visits to the workplace where possible — a restaurant kitchen, a photo studio, a newsroom, a workshop.
• Follow-up sessions in a group, where children process what they discovered and what they want to explore next.
• Personal notebooks — one-on-one work with the mentor around each child’s interests and aspirations.

Who it serves

Teenagers between 12 and 18 in the communities we support — children who are orphans, raised by grandparents or in family placement, for whom choosing a high school or a trade does not come with a network of adults to guide them.

What it has meant so far

Professionals who have already accepted our invitation include Alexandru Abagiu (make-up artist, over 30 years of experience) and Chef Orlando Zaharia — meetings that left, beyond practical knowledge, very concrete examples of “how a path is built”. Honest conversations about school, moments of doubt, decisions made without guarantees, and how much it matters to stay close to what feels right to you.

The monthly meetings have brought professionals from very different fields — gastronomy, beauty, IT, entrepreneurship, marketing and the arts — into open discussions about what university means, what the start of a career looks like, and what challenges appear in reality. The teenagers were able to ask direct questions about salaries, schedules, responsibilities and the steps needed for different professions.

• 80+ children and teenagers took part in orientation and mentoring activities
• 12+ meetings with professionals, mentors and role models from different fields
• 36+ hours of direct mentoring and conversations about the future
• 200+ hours of consistent involvement and volunteering
• 120+ hours dedicated to preparing workshops, meetings and educational materials

“I want to become a pastry chef, but I don’t know if there will be money for school… but when I come to the workshops, something lights up in me and I remember that maybe there is a chance.”

— Roxana, programme beneficiary

In the press. The programme has been featured in the media:

• A1.ro — a charitable career-orientation project with Chef Orlando Zaharia
• Jurnalul.ro — mentoring and career guidance for vulnerable young people
• MediaNova.ro — “the recipe for solidarity”: Chef Orlando Zaharia, a mentor for young people

How you can get involved

• As an invited mentor — if you work in a trade a teenager rarely sees and you can spare a 90-minute meeting, write to us.
• As a company partner — we can build a series of sessions together with your team’s professionals. Details on the Partners page.
• As a donor — each session has real costs: travel, materials, lunch when a meeting runs longer. Support the programme.