European Youth Forum – Youth UnEmployment Project

New publication: Quality Jobs for Young People

Florence Franks — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 22:36:35 +0000

From Youth Policy Watch Issue 92 by YFJ

Youth Summit calls for greater action to provide quality jobs

Young people across Europe gathered in Paris to discuss and propose bold solutions to tackle the on-going youth unemployment crisis. The Youth Summit on Quality Jobs was held to coincide with the intergovernmental conference that EU leaders attended to discuss the same topic area.

The full article here

Please find the new publication from the European Youth Forum about quality jobs here

Very important meetings

Florence Franks — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:59:24 +0000

There will be two importnat meetings concerning youth employment in the coming weeks.

On the 20th of June Employment and Social Affairs Ministers will meet in Luxembourg regarding youth employment and the youth guarantee, for more information on this see:

http://eu2013.ie/events/event-items/meetingofthecouncilforemploymentsocialpolicyhealthandconsumeraffairsepsco-20130620/

The most significant meeting will be that of the European Council on 27-28 June. Both Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, and Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, has called for youth employment to be top of the agenda. Earlier this week the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for the EU to invest €21 billion on the youth guarantee, and the creation of quality jobs for young people. The Parliament also committed itself to being directly involved in the monitoring the implementation of the youth guarantee.

The Youth Forum has written to President Van Rompuy, as well as the Permanent Representations in Brussels, to call for:

* An investment of €21 billion in the youth guarantee

* Support in the Council for the Commission’s work on quality internships

* Stronger European coordination on youth employment measures

Youth Forum Interview with Europarl TV

Florence Franks — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:48:39 +0000

Following the YO! Fest the Youth Forum’s Secretary General, Giuseppe Porcaro, did an in-depth interview with Europarl TV on young people and Europe.

The first part of the interview focuses on youth participation and the European elections next year, the second part focuses on youth employment. Particularly the youth guarantee and the need to invest further in the scheme

You can watch the interview at the following link:

http://europarltv.europa.eu/en/player.aspx?pid=105a6384-c466-4c0b-bcaf-a1cf00eb2779

European Youth Forum Policy Paper on Employment

George Dimitrakopoulos — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:22:08 +0000

The youth unemployment crisis has had a profound effect on young people and the societies in which they live. Youth unemployment is a global issue that threatens to undermine the very fabric of our society. More than 75 million young people are unemployed internationally and in Europe close to one in four young people are out of work.

As a result of growing youth unemployment, young people are experiencing increased levels of poverty and social exclusion, and there is a widening economic gap between older and younger generations.
In this Policy Paper, which is an update of the 2008 Policy Paper on Youth Employment, the Youth Forum identifies the main causes of youth unemployment, including: inequalities on the labour market, a lack of provision of services to young people, and the privatisation of education. It also addresses the need to eradicate discrimination against young people.

Through this Policy Paper the Youth Forum is proposing a set of actions, based on the principles of youth-rights and equality, to tackle youth unemployment head-on and reverse a trend that is threatening the very stability and future of Europe.

Read the paper

UK releases framework on new traineeship scheme

Florence Franks — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:06:46 +0000

The UK last week released a government framework detailing a new traineeship scheme. Whilst the scheme has a strong emphasis on the quality of traineeships, and their educational purpose, the remuneration of trainees is not part of the scheme’s regulations:

“Employers are not required to pay young people for the work placement under the traineeship. Traineeships fall under an exemption to the National Minimum Wage. We would encourage, but do not require, employers to consider providing trainees with support to meet their travel or meal costs.” (p.23)

As outlined in the European Quality Charter on Internships and Apprenticeships, remuneration of trainees is a core element of quality internships in order to ensure that internships are equally accessible to all young people and are not exploitative experiences. The scheme, despite its promising focus on the educational element of traineeships, is thus highly disappointing in its absence of such regulation.

For more information please see the framework doc: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/197566/Traineeships_-_Framework_for_Delivery.pdf

Read an article from the European Youth Forum here

Work on Youth Guarantee: the practice of the National Youth Council of Ireland

Florence Franks — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:16:49 +0000

The National Youth Council of Ireland has been doing a lot of work on a national level on the youth guarantee and has been working closely with the Youth Forum on youth employment in the context of Ireland’s Presidency of the EU.

NYCI have launched a Fact-sheet on the youth guarantee in Ireland and have been strongly advocating the policy to both the government and opposition parties. Currently NYCI and the Spanish Youth Council have produced materials on the youth guarantee nationally and many other youth councils have been writing to government Ministers and advocating the potential benefits of the youth guarantee in their country.

Please find an interesting infographic at the link here

Joint Event Eurofound-YouthIntergroup-European Youth Forum

Florence Franks — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:46:23 +0000

Save-the-date: 28th February 2013, European Parliament, Brussels

»Youth Disengagement – what costs and what remedies?«

A discussion with policy makers and stakeholders, jointly organised by the Eurofound and the European Youth Forum. Hosted by the European Parliament “Youth Intergroup”.

This joint Eurofound and European Youth Forum’s event will be the first broader public discussion of the Eurofound’s report on NEETs (NEETs- young people not in employment education or training) launched in October 2012).

Eurofound will provide a picture of the situation of young people in Europe and explore the characteristics of the NEETs, those young people who are disengaged from labour market and education, and to broaden the understanding of the economic and societal consequences of their disengagement from labour market and education.

The discussion will address policy responses, in particular following the release last December of the European Commission’s Youth Employment Package that included a proposal for a Council Recommendation on Youth Guarantees and the Employment and Social Affairs Ministers meeting (EPSCO) due to take place on 28th February in which Member States will discuss this Recommendation proposal.

The discussion should also touch upon the political marginalisation issues outlined in the report linking it to the initiatives that the European Youth Forum has started on League of Young Voters in the context of the upcoming European elections in 2014.

The debate following the Eurofound’s presentation should involve policy makers responsible for the areas tackled in the Eurofound’s report.