(01 March 2013) – Young people without a job will be guaranteed the offer of employment, training or further education under a new decision agreed yesterday by EU national ministers.
The new scheme, to be introduced by each EU country according to its individual need, will apply to young people who are out of work for more than four months. It aims to give them a real chance to further their education, or get a job, apprenticeship or traineeship. A €6 billion pot in the EU budget for 2014-2020 has already been set aside to tackle youth employment in regions with high levels of unemployment.
According to a Eurofound report presented yesterday, the yearly cost of young NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Training) has reached €153 billion in 2011. European enterprises currently offer training positions for a total of about 9.4 million students. Apprenticeship-type students represent approximately 40.5% of total secondary education students in the 27 member states.
During its January plenary session, the European Parliament approved a resolution calling on EU employment ministers to agree that all member states introduce these schemes. MEPs have also asked for the Youth Guarantee schemes to be eligible for EU funding, in particular from the European Social Fund, which they said should get at least 25% of EU structural and cohesion funds. (With EurActiv)