Edu-Campus CONCORDIA
Edu-Campus CONCORDIA is an educational program implemented by CONCORDIA Humanitarian Organization, an international, independent non-governmental organization dedicated to supporting children, young people and families in need, towards a more independent and responsible life.
EDU-CAMPUS CONCORDIA is an innovative example, unique in Romania, that offers education and training services for children and young people from vulnerable backgrounds. The educational model we implement is based on a holistic approach that also includes the social and emotional plan, personalized interventions in accordance with the needs and wishes of students and young people.
The CONCORDIA Vocational School offers inclusive vocational training and career guidance opportunities for 40 young people annually. The aim of the project is to guarantee the access of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to quality education and professional training and to develop the skills necessary for independent living.
Our motto: Here Everyone Matters!
Our Story
The story of the place where EDU-CAMPUS is located now begins in 2001 when CONCORDIA Chidren Town (C.O.C.) was established near the city of Ploiești, and it was an welcoming place where 84 children initially lived in 7 family-type houses.
Because in time we noticed that the social and professional integration of young people leaving placement centers was difficult, the future of young people “beyond the gates” being a difficult one, in 2010 we established the Vocational School in close proximity to the houses in C.O.C. Preparing young people for 5 specializations (baker, waiter, cook, carpenter and gardener), since its beginning, this school aimed to achieve the social reintegration of children and the development of their independent life abilities. Later, in 2021, the decision was made to stop organizing the carpentry training, as it did not respond very well to the needs of young people, given the high degree of complexity and the need for longer training time.
Operating in a new building, the ABRAHAM house, the Vocational School is equipped with practical workshops, accommodation for young people coming from the social protection system and various rooms for conducting courses and activities.
Two years later, in March 2011, it was also inaugurated the CONCORDIA Bakery next to the C.O.C., which welcomed Vocational School students from the bakery workshop for practice and employment.
And, because we are always careful to the needs of our beneficiaries, after years in which we understood better and better what are the problems they face when they are on their own, in 2021 we opened the first privately managed transit center center in the area. Its purpose is to provide support to young people who complete vocational school courses and are not fully prepared to take the step towards independence
Educational Model
CONCORDIA Vocational School is not only a school where we help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to receive a professional diploma in the four specializations: baker, cook, waiter and worker in plant culture. It is much more! It is a place where young people are listened to and valued, guided with understanding and empathy to become independent and responsible. Because we are an inclusive campus, depending on needs, we are also open to receiving young people who do not come from the social protection system, but without them benefiting from accommodation services.
The educational model includes social, emotional and professional intervention in working with young people, practical learning of a job, counseling young people to find and sustain a job and housing, learning skills necessary for any independent and responsible adult. Thus, professional education is complemented by educational concepts such as the School for Life, Case Management or Job Coaching.
The courses organized by the CONCORDIA Vocational School place great emphasis on practical learning, 75% representing practical training and 25% theory, and at the end of the 9-month program, graduates receive a diploma recognized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection (former ANC) and in the European Union.
