Youth unemployment is one of the mayor problems Europe is facing, unemployment levels among young adults are very high. In 2016, more than 6,3 million young people (aged 15-24 years) were neither in employment nor in education or training (NEETs) in the EU. In most EU countries, youth unemployment rates doubles overall unemployment rates. The EC communication “Investing in Europe´s Youth” indicates that action is needed to provide: Better opportunities to access employment; Better opportunities through education and training and Better opportunities for solidarity, learning mobility and participation. YSM addresses all 3 areas. There is an Increased need for skills, competences and knowledge related to digitally enhanced design and manufacturing, such as 3D printing, laser cutting, design thinking and prototyping. These skills are highly demanded in the labour market and will become more relevant in the years to come. At the same time, the labour market demands versatile employees capable of working in teams and contribute to innovation. Co-creation, co-design and cooperation skills are pivotal thus for employability. All these skills are related to what is known as the “maker” culture, an environment in which different skills and competences come together, taking maximum advantage of digital tools, software and machinery to co-create, co-design and develop innovative products or services. Fablabs or living labs have been growing fast in the last years. Despite the fact that these entities can provide the connection with the demands of the labour market and with methods which are very well suited for young people, their users tend to be adults and collaboration with young people and the VET system is not developing at the same pace. YSM addresses these challenges by developing a coherent programme which reaches young people enrolled in the VET system, and provides them with the aforementioned skills and competences, through a cascaded approach in which they are reached through their teachers and schools. Integrating the programme into the school activities (either as curricular or extra-curricular activities) increase the reach of the programme, and the supervision and guidance of teachers ensures adequate take-up and acquisition of the envisaged skills and competences. A parallel development in society is the increased social awareness and consciousness at all levels of society (and especially among young people) about the social and environmental impact of their actions and decisions. In this line, there is growing social awareness for the challenges faced by those with special needs, e.g. with physical impairments, elderly, etc. Social inclusion and full integration of these groups in society is a focal point in European and national policies, especially in view of an ageing population. YSM acts at the cross roads the described challenges, by providing a programme which provides VET students with highly demanded skills and competences, allowing them to put these into practice developing a social object, artefact or prototype which contributes and alleviates the challenges faced by people with special needs in their every life. This can only be achieved with proper guidance and support and ensuring that the skills and competences are acquired properly. The programme can thus not exist without the involvement of teachers who need to transmit the knowledge and guide the learning process. As such YMS puts emphasis on their role. They will need to similar types of skills and competences as their students so as to be able to transfer this knowledge to them. Although specific teachers might have knowledge and skills on a particular component of the technical skills, e.g. 3D printing, they need a more comprehensive and wider set of skills to be able to implement the programme with their students. YOUNG SOCIAL MAKERS lays the foundations for a learning programme in the field of education for students in VET, and give them the knowledge, skills and competences to ideate, design and prototype social objects which cover the needs of people with special needs, using digitally enhanced manufacturing tools and machinery, such as 3D printing, laser cutting, rapid prototyping and design thinking. At the same time they will acquire, through working together on the social objects, co-creation, co-design and co-operation skills (horizontal skills in high demand by the labour market).