Youth Guarantee in Europe should be a joint effort

Last year, as part of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020, EU leaders agreed to provide an additional €6 billion to support employment of people under the age of 25. The so-called Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), or Youth Guarantee scheme, now plays a crucial role in the EU labour market, with the additional funding frontloaded for the first two years of the financial framework.

However, the YEI should not be an initiaitive to get young people employed, experts say.

Speaking at a hearing in the European Parliament on Tuesday (1 April), Polish MEP Sidonia Jędrzejewska from the European People’s Party (EPP) said the issue of youth unemployment is so urgent that it needs more policy responses.

“The Youth Employment Initiative, in my opinion, has to be seen in the wider context of all the efforts of the European Union to fight youth unemployment,” Jędrzejewska said, adding that the YEI to a large extent has to be carried by national efforts, and it’s something that should be seen as a joint effort, a strengthening of both European and national efforts.

Youth Guarantee funds are available to EU regions where the unemployment of people aged 15-24 years exceeds 25%. €6 billion from the initiative is dedicated to training apprenticeships and career counselling for young people who struggle with finding a job. Moreover, with the Youth Guarantee, member states will be able to obtain additional funding for youth employment programmes that took place in 2013.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Youth scheme will not tackle unemployment | EurActiv.

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