The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has held a public hearing on the implementation of EU policies for youth employment, as a follow-up to an impact study that the EESC Labour Market Observatory (LMO) is currently conducting on this topic. The study focuses on the views and recommendations of organised civil society on the policies currently in place to help young people find work in a selection of six Member States (Austria, Croatia, Finland, Greece, Italy and Slovakia).
The hearing involved high-level stakeholders, from EU institutions - the Commission, European Parliament - as well as from Eurofound, the EU social partners, and European and national youth organisations.
All the participants agreed that the fight against youth unemployment was today's most pressing challenge. There were extensive discussions on the implementation of the Youth Guarantee in the individual Member States, taking into account factors such as the need for growth, creating quality jobs, linking employment policies with industrial policy and support for companies (in particular SMEs) in creating jobs. "There is, however, no one size fits all solution, but we need tailor-made approaches depending on national labour market requirements and the needs of the young persons in question. Structural reforms in the education and training systems have to be carried out in order to meet labour market needs. They will show positive results, once the economy is back on the growth track.” said Christa Schweng (Austria) President of the LMO.
There are Member States such as Austria and Finland that already have a Youth Guarantee in place, in full partnership with the relevant stakeholders. In Member States where the levels of youth unemployment are more than just alarming however, implementation, use of EU funds and involvement of stakeholders is lagging behind.Heinz K. Becker, MEP (Austria, EPP) stated "I consider the mandatory inclusion of the European Youth Guarantee in the European Semester of the utmost importance, in order to step up the so-called benchlearning at European level and to support Member States with their ongoing reforms!."
The factor of mobility in the EU is another point that is politically sensitive for many Member States as it is considered, on the one hand, as one of the most positive aspects of the EU, while on the other hand, it is generating a brain drain in the long run.As Dubravka Šuica, Croatian MEP (EPP) pointed out "Over 30,000 young people who should be the vectors of economic recovery have left the country already. Mobility is a great instrument but it is a 2-sided coin ".
Since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008, Europe’s financial, social and political system has been put under continuous pressure. The economic crisis brought about an alarming rise in youth unemployment, which d rose to over 23% within the EU-28 in 2013, and in some southern Member States, to the extreme rate of over 50%."Completing their education should be an exciting day in a young person’s life. However, it is now a day that comes with great insecurity regarding the future, as entering the labour market is a challenge for young people throughout Europe and finding a job may be a lengthy process" concluded Massimiliano Mascherini, Research Manager for Eurofound.
