Youth employment
Back Ground ❓
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.
The EU youth unemployment rate is more than double the overall unemployment rate (around 19% compared with 9% in 2016) and masks big differences between countries: there is a gap of more than 30 percentage points between the Member State with the lowest rate of youth unemployment (Germany at 7%) and the Member States with the highest rates, Greece (47%) and Spain (44%).
In 2016, the overall employment rate for young people (34%) were still four percentage points lower than they were in 2008.
High youth unemployment co-exists sometimes with increased difficulties in filling vacancies. This points to the existence of labour market mismatches, due to inadequate skills, limited geographic mobility or inadequate wage conditions.
Key Actions 🔑
A new initiative is the European Solidarity Corps, which is aimed at creating opportunities for young people to volunteer or work in solidarity related-projects that benefit communities and people around Europe.
The Youth Guarantee is a commitment by all Member States to ensure that all young people under the age of 25 years receive a good-quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education.
A Quality Framework for Traineeships that proposes guidelines for traineeships outside formal education to provide high quality learning content and fair working conditions.
The European Alliance for Apprenticeships and ways to reduce obstacles to mobility for young people.
Help in employing✅
Apprenticeships
Traineeships
The total budget of the Youth Employment Initiative (for all eligible EU Member States) is €8.8 billion for the period 2014-2020. The initial budget of 2014-2015 was €6.4 billion; however, in September 2016, given the still high levels of youth unemployment, the Commission proposed to increase this budget . In June 2017, the Council and the Parliament agreed to an increase of the YEI by €2.4 billion for eligible Member States for the period 2017-2020
The Youth Employment Initiative exclusively supports young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs), including the long-term unemployed or those not registered as job-seekers. It ensures that in parts of Europe where the challenges are most acute, young people can receive targeted support. Typically, the YEI funds the provision of
What are
Apprenticeships ?
In an apprenticeship, you share your time between learning in school and training in a company. Normally you will have a contract with the company and get paid for your work. When you finish your apprenticeship, you receive a fully recognised diploma and qualification.
What are the benefits?
You get valuable work experience that you can put on your CV, and good contacts in the industry or sector that can help you start your career. 2 in 3 get hired immediately after they finish their apprenticeship.
Where can I find an apprenticeship?
Europe needs more workers with practical skills and qualifications. In an apprenticeship you develop the skills that employers are looking for, which will boost your employability.
The EU has established the Drop'pin platform for sharing for apprenticeship and other work-based learning opportunities. Most opportunities are still provided nationally through the vocational education and training system. You can contact the career adviser in your school to find out more information about apprenticeships.
Quality Framework for Traineeships
Traineeships are becoming increasingly common for young people during or after their studies, as they can help them to gain relevant experience and find a foothold in the labour market. A Eurobarometer survey on traineeships in 2013 showed that almost every second young person in the age group 18-35 had at least one traineeship experience. 7 out of 10 ex-trainees stated that their traineeship experience was useful in finding a regular job.
Increasingly, however, a range of stakeholders have voiced concerns about the quality of traineeships. In particular, some traineeships tend to misuse young people as a cheap or free labour force, without helping the trainee to get a foothold on the labour market.
European response
As a European response to these concerns, the Commission proposed a Council Recommendation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships (QFT) in December 2013, after a two-stage social partner consultation that did not result in a social partner agreement. The Council adopted in March 2014 its final Recommendation, based on the Commission's proposal.
The QFT proposes guidelines for traineeships outside formal education to provide a high quality learning content and fair working conditions so that traineeships support education-to-work transitions and increase the employability of trainees.
The 22 quality elements that are part of the QFT are directly transposable into national legislation or social partner agreements. The QFT is particularly relevant as a reference for quality offers of traineeships under the Youth Guarantee, since many national Youth Guarantee schemes foresee traineeships as one of the four types of offers for young people.
Lost generations ⁉
Five and a half million people, roughly the population size of Denmark – that is the number of Europe’s unemployed youth, desperately struggling to find work. “Generation Baby Losers” is only one of the many names given to the generation of people aged 16-25 who are among those hit worst by Europe’s debt crisis and the resulting austerity measures. With over 50% of youth unemployed in both Spain and Greece, 41 percent in Italy, and 36 percent in Portugal, many young Southern Europeans, especially well-educated ones, are left with a tough choice: facing a jobless future at home, or leaving everything behind to find work abroad.
Berlin has witnessed a real influx of crisis migrants over the past years. German language schools in Madrid or Athens are packed with young people, mostly highly qualified, willing to learn the language to increase their chances of finding a job in Germany. A survey showed that 58% of Greece’s engineering students are deeply worried about their future, while forecasts reveal that, by 2020, 120,000 engineering jobs may remain vacant in Germany due to retirement. The same goes for other sectors. So it makes ample sense to young Southern Europeans to seek jobs in thriving economies abroad.
Long-term unemployment
Szimplifiad access to support
Half of the unemployed people are currently long-term unemployed, that is, unemployed for more than 12 months. Long-term unemployment has implications for society as a whole, with dire social consequences for the persons concerned and a negative impact on growth and public finances. Long-term unemployment is one of the causes of persistent poverty
This will lead to simplified and better access to support for those out of work for long periods.
The job integration agreement should consist of a tailor-made plan to bring the long-term unemployed back to work. It can include, depending on the existing services in each Member State:
mentoring,
help with the job search,
further education and training,
support for housing, transport, child and care services or rehabilitation.
Each long-term unemployed will have a single point of contact for accessing this support.
Member States have committed to an active involvement and partnership with employers, who should be more involved in finding a pathway back to work for the long-term unemployed