From potential to pathway.

Youth Talent Assessment Association

YTAA helps young people turn demonstrated strengths into informed education and career choices — connecting schools, universities and employers in one trusted ecosystem.

International association for youth talent assessment and development. The Hague, Netherlands.

Partner with us For schools & families

Pilot: assessment sessions
5+: schools engaged
3+: university partners
12: competencies
3: assessment perspectives
1: personal career map

Five ways into YTAA

For Corporations

Early access to proven talent, measurable CSR and skills intelligence — before the market sees them.

For corporations

For Universities

Meet informed, motivated applicants through verified programme representation and talent-to-pathway orientation.

For universities

For Schools & Families

Give a teenager a real experience of their strengths — plus a personal report and career map.

For schools & families

For Funders & EU Programmes

An evidence-based theory of change for early talent, ready for Erasmus+ consortia.

For funders

For Young People

Play, build a city, and discover what you are actually good at.

For young people

The YTAA Way

The YTAA Way turns potential into visible, verifiable and actionable opportunity. It is not a one-time test, and not a promise of admission or employment. It is a cycle: a young person gains language for their strengths, tests them in practice, explores real options and builds evidence of growth.

Discover
Through Nova Polis and guided reflection, participants notice patterns in how they think, collaborate, decide and lead.
“I can name what I am already good at.”
Interpret
Insights become a clear personal summary, a skill profile and a map of possible professional fields.
“I understand what this may mean for my future.”
Explore
Participants see relevant bachelor programmes, universities, cases, mentors and career directions.
“I can compare real pathways instead of choosing blindly.”
Experience
Projects, cases, learning tracks, mentoring and entrepreneurial challenges.
“I can test my potential in the real world.”
Connect
Universities, employers and peers meet young people through transparent, skills-based opportunities.
“I can access people and possibilities that move me forward.”
Recognise
YTAA records demonstrated development through evidence-based feedback and, where justified, recommendations.
“I can show credible evidence of my readiness and growth.”

4 principles

From test to action
Every assessment result leads to a next step — a programme, a project, a mentor, a pathway.
From profile to evidence
Recommendations rest on observed experience and progress, not on flattering wording.
From choosing alone to an ecosystem
Families, schools, universities and employers share one ethical language about skills.
From early assessment to freedom of choice
YTAA does not “assign a profession”; it expands awareness and the number of real options.

Explore the YTAA Way

Not a test — an observation

We don’t ask young people what they are like. We watch what they do.

In a four-hour Nova Polis city-building simulation, participants negotiate, trade, cooperate and make decisions under time pressure. Three independent perspectives — self-assessment, peer assessment and facilitator observation — produce a 12-competency profile and a personal career map.

The gap between how a person sees themselves and how others see them is not a problem. It is the starting point of development.

See the methodology

Three perspectives

Self

Peers

Facilitator

→ 12 competencies → personal career map

Students exchanging documents on a university campus

Research

Youth Talent Outlook — YTAA’s annual report on the competencies young people actually demonstrate: self-perception gaps, professional vectors, demand for future professions. First edition: coming soon.

Get the report