Back in 2013, the Youth Guarantee scheme was being established with the intention to offer to young people, under the age of 25, a quality inclusion in the labour market. As stated in the Journal of the European Commission, “The term ‘Youth Guarantee’ refers to a situation in which young people 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. An offer of continued education could also encompass quality training programmes leading to a recognised vocational qualification”. In 2020 the Reinforced Youth Guarantee was introduced, where people up to 30 years of age were included in the initiative.
But, how successful were those Active Labour Market Policy initiatives in real life? The YOUTHShare practitioners provide a mixed image.
Mari Badenes Galiana, Key Account Manager at the Spanish branch of the Transnational Employment Centre, underlines the need of Youth Guarantee and other similar plans to allow more young people to benefit from them. “The European Youth Guarantee initiative has been a key help for youth facilitating their access to the labour market, whereas the reinforced Youth Guarantee plan will involve 15000 companies on the one hand and on the other plans for a stable job or training for young people within 4 months after signing up with the facilitating organisations. Spain is in great need of this initiative, since, according to latest research, the country still has higher unemployment rates compared to Italy, Greece or Cyprus. Youth Guarantee remains one of the more popular plans that keeps young people motivated and hopeful in getting employed soon”.
The Key Account Manager of the Cypriot branch of the Transnational Employment Centre, Anna Michael, stresses the significance of the Youth Guarantee to the success of the YOUTHShare project. “Youth Guarantee” was one of the biggest investments for youth employment in the last 10 years. After its implementation, it can undoubtedly be said that it created a bridge to the labor market for youth, especially during the years of the economic recession. The Youth Guarantee initiative has been a reinforcing agent for YOUTHShare in delivering impact through practice and research: In the Transnational Employment Centre, each individual receives a more personalised career plan. It has been noticed that the involved young people, along with their willingness to take part in the activities, they also expand their career choices in order to get a stable job. Through Youth Guarantee and YOUTHShare, youth have the opportunity to develop 3 of the most important employability factors: upskilling, experience and networking”.
But not all national implementation schemes are deemed successful. The Key Account Manager of the Italian branch of the YOUTHShare Employment Centre, Claudia Caggiano, is much more reserved in reference to the impact of the Youth Guarantee in Italy. “Even though the measures were developed with the best of intentions, the idea of the Youth Guarantee has failed in terms of increasing youth employment across the country. According to experts, there are several reasons for this. The problems are to be found in the measures themselves and in the various contradictions of the labour market in Italy. In fact, it is commonly thought that, despite considerable participation in the program, the rates of young people that managed to remain employed are low. Some also claim that this system does nothing but favour the exploitation of the younger generation with promises of jobs that will never come true”.
Those difficulties are recognised by Anna Goudi, the Key Account Manager of the Greek branch of the Transnational Employment Centre. She notes that Youth Guarantee has given a light boost on youth employment, but the road is long, and synergies need to be developed in order to act quickly, especially now that the pandemic has hit hard. “The Youth Guarantee and Youth Employment Initiative had a positive impact on youth employability in Greece. During the third quarter of 2019, the share of young people (aged 15-24) not in Employment, Education or Training was at 13% and still 7% than the same quarter of 2013. Yet, the employment of young people remains a key challenge! In the 25-29 age group, the rate of NEETs reached 29.5% in 2018, far above the EU average of 17.1%. More than half a million people in this age group, mostly highly educated but with less or no experience moved abroad (brain drain) searching for better work opportunities since 2018.
As the unprecedented crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disproportionately affect young people, it is a common belief that we need to act quickly. “Reinforced Youth Guarantee” alongside with the NextGenerarionEU and Year of YOUTH 2022, validates the political will to act. But again, we need synergies and we need a collaborative approach with all actors!”
Turning back to Claudia Caggiano, she highlights the gain points deducted from the friction of YOUTHShare in Youth Guarantee. “It is clear that generalisations are inappropriate, but on the basis of national and regional experience, YOUTHShare intends to learn from the lessons of Youth Guarantee and build ongoing relationships and networks that ensure not only a learning experience, but also a real future possibility for NEETs. For this reason, YOUTHShare, together with all the actors working behind the scenes of the project, is committed to consultancy, support and getting to know the beneficiaries in order to give them the maximum help”.
Authors
Anna Goudi, KAM at YOUTHShare Transnational Employment Centre
Anna Michael, KAM at YOUTHShare Transnational Employment Centre
Claudia Caggiano, KAM at YOUTHShare Transnational Employment Centre
Mari Badenes Galiana, KAM at YOUTHShare Transnational Employment Centre
