European policies towards employability and professional activation of young people

15:04, 22 June 2013

WARSAW. June 22. KAZINFORM According to International Labour Organization, 73 million young people (aged 15 - 24) are estimated to be unemployed in 2013, which makes the global youth unemployment rate of 12,6 %. Youth unemployment and it'is negative effects are particularly prevalent in three regions: developed economies and EU, the Middle East and the North Africa. Concerning the region of Central Asia, in 2012 8,2 % of young people remained unemployed.

In the European Union more than 23 % of young people is unemployed1. However, such statistics looks very serious, many young people as students are not classified as the labour force. For this reason, EU policymakers started to use the concept of NEET - to describe a young person in particularly difficult situation -‘not in employment, education or training'. In 2012 the EU average of NEETs was already about 13,2 %.

At the EU level, NEETs are considered to be one of the most problematic groups in the context of youth unemployment. The European Commission has responded through the special initiative Youth on the Move, which aims to unleash the potential of all young people and call for concerted action from Member State authorities, businesses, social partners and the EU to tackle this challenge.

EU POLICY TOWARDS YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

Youth on the Move

"Youth on the Move" launched in 2010 is a package of policy initiatives on education and employment for young people in Europe. They should be highly skilled, knowledgeable and innovative, to keep EU economy competitive and reach the goals set by the Europe 2020 strategy.

However, at present, many young people are not achieving their full potential in training and education, which then limits their prospects on the labour market. European education and training systems differ from country to country, but they are all facing similar problems. Youth unemployment is also very high in most countries. "Youth on the Move" is supposed to help countries tackle problems relating to education, training and employment by offering concrete support - and helping them learn from each other which policies work and which don't.

What are concrete "moving" actions planned for young people? The EU initiative contains two types:
Learning mobility - studying or training abroad to gain new skills and experience;
Employment mobility - moving abroad for work, on a short or longer-term basis.

"Youth on the Move" aims to raise wider awareness of the grants available through the following programmes: Erasmus, Erasmus Mundus and Marie Curie in higher education, Leonardo da Vinci in vocational education and Comenius in school education.

Other important elements of „Youth on the Move" are:

"Your ﬁrst EURES job," providing advice, a job search engine and financial support to young jobseekers who want to work abroad, as well as to companies;
Creation of a European student lending facility to support students who wish to study or train abroad;
European Progress Micro-ﬁnance Facility to provide financial support to help young entrepreneurs set up or develop their businesses;
Want to more? http://ec.europa.eu/youthonthemove/

EU Youth guarantee - new concept of combating unemployment among young Europeans
The Youth Guarantee's main objective is to ensure smoother transitions from school to work. Similar solutions exist already in some Member States (Finland, Austria, Sweden) ensuring that young people receive a good quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within a certain time after having left school or become unemployed. The European Commission's proposal is to apply youth guarantee scheme in all Member States by offering such support to young people within 4 months since their registration in the labour office.

For the proper functioning of such system, there is a strong need of cooperation between employers, trade unions and advisory centers, which serve no increase in the level of employment, dissemination practices and training. The role of youth sector and the non-formal education offer should be also taken into account.

For the period 2014-2020 European Union wants to allocate for this purpose six billion euros. This will help the regions with high unemployment, (more than 25 %). Half of this amount will put the European Social Fund, and the rest will be the means of a special budget line for the fight against youth unemployment. The final shape of this new instrument depends upon the negotiations between the Commission and Member States about the future Operational Programmes.

You can read EC press release on: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-152_en.htm

WHAT IS THE YOUTH VOICE IN THE DEBATE ?

European Youth Forum (EYF) - is un umbrella organization representing youth associations and organizations from around 40 countries - and is actively involved also in the current debate on the high unemployment rate among young people. EYF is advocating for inclusive and supportive youth policy in Europe trough different channels of communication, and cooperates continuously with representatives of European Commission. The most important messages addressed to European policy makers in the are of youth employment are the following:

Have a look at all European Youth Forum activities at www.youthforum.org

To survive the current crisis as well as to avoid creating a "lost generation," the EU needs to make youth a priority, and allocate adequate resources. The budget of the future Education, Training and Youth Programme for the upcoming 7 years (2014-2020) should reach at least 20 billion euros.

Non-formal education increases the attractiveness of young people on the labor market; many studies clearly shows that prolonged and intense involvement in youth organizations contributing to the development of soft skills, such as communication, teamwork, decision making, organizational skills and self-confidence. Thanks to non-formal education young people develop the knowledge of foreign languages, intercultural skills and leadership skills.

transition from education to the labor market should be faster, more quality-driven and should lead to longer-lasting work placements. Young people should not be over-represented among workers with temporary contracts and should not be caught in the cycle of unpaid internships.

Internships and apprenticeships can be a valuable step in the transition from education to professional life if they give practical skills to young people. Therefore, a European Quality Charter on Internships has been proposed.

You can read more what it is about on: http://qualityinternships.eu

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