Young People in the Post Crisis Period: Today’s reality and YOUTHShare’s response

Author: Anna Michael, annamichael.cardet@gmail.com
Key Account Manager at YOUTHShare COOP Training Placement Centre, Cyprus.

The economy of Cyprus seems to improve since 2013. Specifically, the youth unemployment rate reached 6.8% in 2018 compared to 13.9% in 2013. This development makes people feel a bit more confident and positive. However, there is one group that does not seem to be moving with the same speed towards prosperity and these are the young people not in education, employment, or training (NEETs). The employment rate, after 2013, started rising, nonetheless the number of NEETs between the ages of 25- 29 increased by 2014 and its reduction the following years happens only in slow pace.

When one talks to a young person in the last quarter of their twenties, they are expected to live the happiest time of their lives. According to the career theories this is the period of independence in which one can earn their own money and spend them as they wish. After the recent financial crisis, the most affected group has been the relatively older NEETs and specifically the ones at the ages of 20- 24 and 25- 29. In the case of Cyprus, women were more affected presenting a slightly higher percentage compared to men. What is more, Cypriot youth between 25- 29 seems to be available for job in contrast with other peers in Europe who may not even be looking for employment (Gialis, Papageorgiou, Poulimas, & Emanouil, 2019).

This trend was similar in other coastal and island regions of the Mediterranean European Economic Area (EEA). The main statistical results demonstrate that in specific regions the youth were profoundly affected and among them the largest group was between the ages of 25 and 29. Furthermore, women and migrants were the ones who faced the biggest barriers in entering the labor market. According to Eurostat the growing number of female NEETs can be attributed to family responsibilities such as childcare whereas men do not interrupt their career to share this role (Eurostat, 2019).

How is this also your problem? According to research conducted by the University of Aegean (Avagianou, Emmanouil, & Gialis, 2019), young people who are unemployed for a long period tend to face employment struggles in the future too; also called the “scar effect”. This phenomenon replicates and creates chain effects in the general economy; as it is more probable for the young people to lose their trust in the system, develop other psychological problems and be depended on the system or their family (Alfieri, 2015). Ultimately, this leads to higher costs for the public finance and generally for the society.

Policy makers responded to this situation by introducing one of the most expanded strategies to tackle youth unemployment. Through the so-called “Youth Guarantee” (YG) scheme the EU member state governments would subsidize the salary of the young unemployed to facilitate their employment and get the relevant experience. However, 84% of people who left YG could not be tracked, leading the policy makers only to estimations of what could have happened to those candidates (Gialis, Papageorgiou, Poulimas, & Emanouil, 2019).

The YOUTHShare Project which is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment aims to reduce youth unemployment in coastal and island regions of the Mediterranean. Most specifically, the project focuses on young women and migrants at the ages of 25- 29, who, as indicated above, are two of the most affected groups when it comes to youth unemployment. The project is implemented in four key locations of the Mediterranean; Cyprus, Italy, Greece and Spain (www.youthshare-project.org) while, at the same time, FAFO institute from Norway acts as expert partner to the project in order to assist the consortium in adopting and developing good and effective practices.

Using innovative research-based methodologies and approaches, YOUTHShare promotes the enhancement of employability by training and involving young NEETs to long-lasting relationships with the Labor Market by using local employment centers, personalised support and specific training programs. The project, which is ongoing since 2018, will focus, during 2020, on the application of the research proceedings and the engagement of the young NEETs.

If you think that you or someone you know can benefit from this action, feel free to visit the project’s website(www.youthshare-project.org) or contact the YOUTHShare Project Key Account Manager at your local Branch of the Transnational Placement Centre:

Cyprus:
YOUTHShare COOP Training Placement Centre Web: www.youthshare-project.org/cypriot-branch
FB: www.facebook.com/youthsharecyprus

Greece:
YOUTHShare Transnational Employment Centre Web: www.youthshare-project.org/greek-branch
FB: www.facebook.com/YOUTHShareNESCGreece

Italy:
YOUTHShare Centro Transnazionale per l’Impiego Web: www.youthshare-project.org/italian-branch
FB: www.facebook.com/YOUTHShareItaly

Spain:
YOUTHShare Transnational Employment Centre Web: www.youthshare-project.org/spanish-branch
FB: www.facebook.com/YOUTHShareAeiiSpain

Works Cited

Alfieri, S. R. (2015). Who are Italian” Neets”? Trust in institutions, political engagement, willingness to beactivated and attitudes toward the future in a group at risk for social exclusion. Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali.

Avagianou, A., Emmanouil, E., & Gialis, S. (2019). Sharing the burden of unemployment: a critical theorization of the NEET phenomenon in the Mediterranean EU regions. Urban Inequalities: Ethnographic Insights. Corinth, Greece.

Eurostat. (2019). Eurostat Studistics Explained. March https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php/Statistics_on_young_people_neither_in_employment_nor_in_education_or_t raining#NEETs:_analysis_by_sex_and_age, 2020 da Statistics on young people neither in employment nor in education or training.

Gialis, S., Papageorgiou, I., Poulimas, M., & Emanouil, E. (2019). NEETs in Mediterranean EEA 2008-2018: A Baseline Study. Mytilene: YOUTHShare.

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