HELLO, EUROPEWE’VE GOT A PROBLEM

IS ANYBODY THERE?

Unemployment

Who can I talk to?

Is anybody there?

FACTS

More than 4.5 million young people (aged 15-24 years) are unemployed today in the EU, with peaks of more than 40% in several countries, like Spain.

The Member States with the highest rates are Greece (50%) and Spain (49%).

The EU youth unemployment rate is more than double the overall unemployment rate.

Employment rates for young people fell more than four points between 2008 and 2014 (from 37.3% to 32.5%) – about eight times as much as for adults.

FACTS

More than 7 million people in the 15-24 age group

are neither in employment nor in education or

training.

11% of those aged 18-24 are early school leavers.

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.

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

The EU is working to reduce youth unemployment in line with the wider EU target of achieving a 75% employment rate for the working-age population (20-64

years).

European employment strategy. Its main aim is the creation of more and

better jobs throughout the EU, promoting close policy

coordination among EU Member States and EU Institutions

•Youth Employment Package•Youth Employment Initiative•A Call to Action on Youth Unemployment•Youth on the move•New Skills for New Jobs•Measures in the Field of Education and Culture

It envolves several key actions, the most relevant

ones are:

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

PACKAGE

Measures to help Member States tackle unacceptable levels of youth unemployment and social exclusion by giving young

people offers of jobs, education and training.

It includes a proposed Recommendation to Member States on introducing the Youth Guarantee to ensure that all young people up to age 25 receive a quality offer of a job,

continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within four months of leaving formal education or becoming

unemployed.

To facilitate school-to-work-transitions, the Package also launches a Quality Framework for Traineeships so as to enable young people to acquire high-quality work experience

under safe conditions.

It also announces a European Alliance for Apprenticeships to improve the quality and supply of

apprenticeships available across the Member States and outlines ways to reduce obstacles to mobility for young people.

•- Supporting job creation•- Restoring the dynamics of labour markets•- Improving EU gobernance

Measures are proposed in the following areas:

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

PACKAGE

• encouraging labour demand• targeting hiring subsidies to new hiring• reducing the tax on labour while ensuring fiscal sustainability• promoting and supporting self employment, social enterprises and business start-ups• transforming informal or undeclared work into regular employment• boosting 'take home' pay• modernising wage-setting systems to align wages with productivity developments• fostering job creation

SUPPORTING JOB CREATION BY

Harnessing the potential of job-rich sectors: ICT, 

green economy (analysis),healthcare

Mobilising EU funds for job creation: European Social Fund.

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

PACKAGE

• encouraging companies' internal flexibility to protect jobs in crisis times• encouraging decent and sustainable wages• making job transitions pay• reducing the labour market segmentation between those in precarious employment and those on more stable employment• anticipating economic restructuring• developing lifelong learning and active labour market policies• delivering youth opportunities and the youth employment package • reinforcing social dialogue• reinforcing public employment services 

Reforming labour markets by:

• coping with skills mismatches• ensuring better recognition of skills and qualifications and anticipating skills needs • improving synergy between the worlds of education and work

Investing in skills by:

• removing legal and practical obstacles to the free movement of workers• enhancing the matching of jobs and job-seekers across borders .

Moving towards a European

labour market by:

RESTORING THE DYNAMICS OF LABOUR MARKETS

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

PACKAGE

IMPROVING EU GOVERNANCE

Reinforcing coordination and multilateral surveillance in employment policy by:

• publishing selected employment indicators.• developing a  device to keep track of progress implementing national reform programmes

Effectively involving the social partners by monitoring and exchanging views on wage developments

Strengthening the link between employment policies and relevant financial instruments, taking into account the country specific recommendation

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

INITIATIVE

It was launched to provide extra support to young people aged below 25

and living in regions where youth unemployment was higher than 25% in

2012.

It will particularly support young people who are not in

education, employment or training, including long-term unemployed

youngsters or those not registered as job-seekers.

This will ensure that in parts of Europe where the challenges are most acute, young persons can receive targeted

support.

The YEI typically supports the provision of apprenticeships, traineeships, job

placements and further education leading to a qualification.

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

INITIATIVE

The Youth Employment Initiative is one of the main EU financial resources to support the implementation of Youth Guarantee schemes. Under the Youth Guarantee, Member States should put in place measures to ensure that young people up to the age of 25 receive a good quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within four months of leaving school or becoming unemployed.

The Youth Employment Initiative is complementary to other actions undertaken at national level, including those with European Social Fund (ESF) support, with a view to setting up or implementing the youth guarantee schemes. The ESF can reach out beyond individuals and can help reform employment, education and training institutes and services.

YOUTH GUARANTEE

The YEI typically supports the provision of• apprenticeships,• traineeships,• job placements and• further education leading to a qualification.

The Youth Employment Initiative is one of the main EU financial

resources to support the implementation of Youth Guarantee

 schemes. Under the Youth Guarantee, Member States should

put in place measures to ensure that young people up to the age of 25 receive a good quality offer of

employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a

traineeship within four months of leaving school or becoming

unemployed.

YOUTH GUARANTEE

Advice on apprenticeship and

traineeship schemes

The EU is supporting Member States to develop high quality apprenticeship and traineeship programmes to:• make the school-to-work

transition easier• equip young people with the

right skills and experience for sustainable employment.

• In this framework, it provided an advice service on apprenticeship and traineeship schemes until the end of 2014. Activities included:

YOUTH GUARANTEE

HELPDESK

A Helpdesk on apprenticeship and traineeship schemes to provide strategic, operational and policy advice for:• policy makers at national, regional and local level in the areas of youth employment, education and training policies

• ESF Managing Authorities• relevant national and regional agencies• social partners or their members• who were planning, setting up, running or evaluating apprenticeship and traineeship schemes.• A LINKEDLN GROUP

• to connect with high-level apprenticeship and traineeship stakeholders;

• to share news and activities;• to stay on top of the latest European and national developments.

• Visit http://bit.ly/esfnetwork and click ‘Join Group’.

• The LinkedIn group continues to exist, so you can still join!

A CALL TO ACTION ON

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

Working together for Europe's young people – A call to action on youth unemployment

 (2013). It was a communication from the European Commission to different institutions like

the European Parliament.

Its two main aims were:

- Accelerate the implementation of the 

Youth Guarantee

- Develop EU-level tools to help EU countries and

firms recruit young people.

YOUTH ON THE MOVE

Youth on the Move is a package of policy

initiatives on education and employment for young people in

Europe. It is part of the 

Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

GOALS

Improve young people’s education

and employability, to reduce high youth

unemployment and to increase the

youth-employment rate – by making

education and training more relevant to young

people's needs

Encourage young people to take

advantage of EU grants to study or train

in another country

Encouraging EU countries to take

measures simplifying the transition from education to work.

NEW SKILLS

FOR NEW JOBS

PURPOSE

Promote better anticipation of future skills needs

Develop better matching between skills and labour market needs

Bridge the gap between the worlds of education and work

NEW SKILLS

FOR NEW JOBS

Practical measures include

Forecasts by the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training

(CEDEFOP)

Analysis of emerging trends at sectoral

level and the development of sectoral skills

councils

European Framework for key competences for lifelong learning – which defines the

eight key competences that everyone should

have to thrive in a knowledge society;

EDUCATION AND

CULTURE

EU YOUTH STRATEGY

What is the EU's role? Agreed by EU Ministers, sets out a framework for cooperation covering the years 2010-2018.  It has two main objectives:•- To provide more and equal opportunities for young people in education and the job market

•- To encourage young people to actively participate in society.

EDUCATION AND

CULTURE

How is this being done? The objectives

are achieved through a dual approach which

includes:

- Specific youth initiatives, targeted at

young people to encourage non-formal learning, participation,

voluntary activities, youth work, mobility and

information,

- 'Mainstreaming' cross-sector

initiatives that ensure youth issues are taken

into account when formulating,

implementing and evaluating policies and actions in other fields

with a significant impact on young people, such

as education, employment or health

and well-being.

The EU Youth Strategy proposes initiatives in eight areas:• Education & training• Employment & entrepreneurshi

p• Health & well-being• Participation• Voluntary activities• Social inclusion• Youth & the world• Creativity & culture.

What's new?• The EU Youth Report 2015• External evaluation of EU Youth

Strategy.