Reducing early school leaving and expanding opportunities: how we are approaching the new academic year

Choosing what to study, discovering what we are good at, and understanding the opportunities offered by the labour market can shape a young person’s future. For those facing greater vulnerability, having access to guidance, role models and opportunities to explore these options can be particularly decisive.

That is why, at Fundación Exit, we are starting a new academic year with a clear objective: to continue contributing to the reduction of early school leaving and to expand the future opportunities of young people experiencing social vulnerability, supporting them throughout the different stages of their journey and connecting education and employment.

Our Annual Plan sets out the main priorities and areas of work for making progress towards this goal over the coming months, in continuity with our 2025–2029 Strategic Plan.

Our aim is to continue moving towards a guidance model that supports young people throughout their entire journey: from self-awareness and exploring educational and career options to gaining experience in work environments and making decisions about their future.

Our challenge: reducing early school leaving

We know that early school leaving remains one of the main challenges facing many young people, particularly those experiencing greater vulnerability.

That is why, during this academic year, we want to continue strengthening our work so that young people can find role models, learn about different educational and career options, and access experiences that allow them to discover their interests and abilities.

To achieve this, we believe it is essential to connect education with the world of work and work in a coordinated way with the different stakeholders involved in each young person’s journey.

Three pillars guiding our work

Our Annual Plan is structured around the three main pillars defined in the 2025–2029 Strategic Plan, which guide our work and help us move towards our goal.

• Work-based learning experiences

We will continue promoting training and learning experiences in companies as an opportunity for young people to gain first-hand insight into different professional environments and complement their education with learning linked to the realities of the workplace.

Through these experiences, we aim to help young people discover new possibilities, develop skills and gain exposure to professional sectors that could become part of their future.

• Focus on strategic sectors

We also want to continue focusing on strategic sectors and professional areas that offer opportunities for development and employment.

Bringing this reality closer to young people allows us to broaden their understanding of the labour market and help them make more informed educational choices, connected both to their interests and to the opportunities available.

• Triangular collaboration model

Another of our key pillars is to continue strengthening the collaboration model between educational centres, companies and Fundación Exit. We believe that working in a coordinated way across these three stakeholders enables us to provide more connected support and create pathways in which guidance, education and professional experience are closely linked.

• Innovation and impact to keep improving

Alongside these three pillars, throughout the academic year we will continue to focus on innovation and impact measurement as cross-cutting elements of our work.

We want to evaluate what we do, understand what works and identify what we can improve. Measuring our impact helps us make evidence-based decisions and adapt our programmes to the real needs of young people.

Innovation, in turn, allows us to explore new ways of supporting, guiding and creating opportunities, always with the aim of improving our response to educational and social challenges.

A new academic year to keep moving forward

We are starting this academic year aware that reducing early school leaving is a challenge that requires the involvement of many stakeholders. That is why we will continue working alongside educational centres, companies, social organisations and other stakeholders to create opportunities and support young people at decisive moments in their journeys.

Our Annual Plan sets out our priorities for this academic year, while the 2025–2029 Strategic Plan provides the framework for continuing to make progress over the coming years.

We continue working to complete the guidance journey, connect education and employment, and ensure that more young people can continue along their educational pathways and build their own future plans.