The purpose of this paper is to identify the contribution of non-formal education a tool used in EU youth programmes to the development of Romania. To this end, Human Resource Development and Constructivism are employed as theoretical framework, and non-formal education is discussed as a leading learning principle in the European knowledge-based society. Both non-monetary and monetary non-formal education returns are highlighted, at the individual’s and at societal level. The findings of the study suggest that non-formal education contributes to the development of Romania through the cognitive constructs of its youth, who generate an improved socio-cultural reality, and through the formation and investment of human capital.