COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Youth Opportunities Initiative
Date: 2011-12-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, dropout, first job, job access, labour mobility, professional experience, traineeship, young person, youth unemployment

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 20.12.2011 
COM(2011) 933 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Youth Opportunities Initiative 

 
 
 
 
  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Youth Opportunities Initiative 

1. 

THE RISK OF A LOST GENERATION? 

More than 5 million young people in the EU are unemployed today. Between 2008 and 2010, 
this number increased by one million. 

Figure 1: Evolution of youth (15-24 years) unemployment rates since 2005 

%  

24

22

20

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

2005

2006

2007

EU

2008

US

2009

2010

2011

Japan

Euro area

Source: Eurostat monthly unemployment; Data seasonally adjusted, except for Japan 

This means that one in five young people on the labour market cannot find a job. The youth 
unemployment rate (at over 20%) is twice as high as for the whole working population and 
nearly three times as high as the rate for the adult active population. In some countries, rates 
are as high as 40%. Within the same countries situations may differ widely between regions. 
Moreover,  certain  groups  of  the  young  population  (including  women,  young  people  with 
disabilities,  youth  with  migrant  background)  are  particularly  exposed  to  the  risks  of 
unemployment, long-term unemployment, early school leaving or inactivity1. 

1 

For example, the EU average unemployment rate of migrant youths exceeds 30%.  

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Figure 2: Youth (15-24 years) unemployment rates (October 2011) 

Source: Eurostat, Eurostat monthly unemployment; Data seasonally adjusted 

Faced  with  rising  levels  of  unemployment,  it  is  becoming  harder  for  young  people  to  find 
work and many may decide to prolong or go back to studies. This could be an investment for 
the future provided the right skills are acquired. However, what we see is that a large number 
of young people are neither in the world of work nor in that of studies. 

In total, 7.5 million people in the 15-24 age group are neither in employment nor in education 
or training. This share has increased from 10.8% in 2008 to 12.8% in 2010 for the EU as a 
whole. In Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and Spain over 
14% of the young generation is not in studies (anymore) and not (yet) in employment. 

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Figure 3: Share of young people not in employment, education or training, as a percentage of the 
age group 15-24 in 2008 and 2010 

2008

2010

4
2
-
5
1

n
o
i
t
a
l

u
p
o
p
f
o
%

25

20

15

10

5

0

L
N

U
L

K
D

T
A

I

S

E
S

E
D

Z
C

I

F

T
M

L
P

E
B

T
P

Y
C

R
F

U
H

T
L

K
U

K
S

E
E

L
E

O
R

V
L

S
E

E

I

T

I

G
B

7
2
-
U
E

Source: Eurostat, EU Labour Force Survey2 

This means that these young people have left formal education and are either unemployed – 
looking  for  a  job  –  or  not  on  the  labour  market,  for  instance  being  passive  job  seekers, 
discouraged  to  enter  the  labour  market  or  deliberately  avoiding  it,  possibly  taking  up  other 
family or private activities. 

The  prolonged  effect  of  the  crisis  is  exacerbating  an  already  difficult  situation  for  many. 
Long-term youth unemployment is on the rise: on average 28% of the young unemployed 
under 25 have been unemployed for more than 12 months. Moreover, an increasing number of 
young  people  do  not  actively  seek  employment.  The  European  Foundation  for  the 
Improvement of Working and Living Conditions (Eurofound) estimates that in 2008, the cost 
of long term unemployment or inactivity among young  people in the  21 Member States  for 
which there is available data amounted to at least €2 bn per week to society, the equivalent of 
1.1% of GDP in total3. The re-integration into employment of just 10% of these people would 
create a yearly saving of more than €10bn.  

2 

3 

Data for Malta and Sweden are provisional; data for Luxembourg lack reliability due to small sample 
size. 
Eurofound (2011), "The social impact of the crisis". The estimated costs include foregone earnings and 
public  finance  costs  due  to  the  excess  of  transfer  payments  through  welfare  arrangements;  they 
represent  a  lower  bound  since  they  do  not  include  additional  costs  such  as  unpaid  taxes  on  foregone 
earnings, costs for health and criminal justice. The countries excluded in the estimation due to missing 
statistical  variables  are  DK,  EL,  FI,  FR,  MT  and  SE.  The  reference  population  are  16-29  year  olds 
unemployed or inactive (but not in education) for more than six months.  

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At the same time, the decrease in permanent jobs during the crisis has hit young people with a 
job disproportionally: they are over-represented in temporary contracts. Although temporary 
contracts can be a stepping stone towards more stable forms of employment, in those Member 
States  in  which  the  share  of  temporary  contracts  is  higher  it  is  also  more  difficult  to  move 
from  temporary  to  permanent  contracts.  This  can  lead  to  segmented  labour  markets,  with 
young  people  trapped  in  the  lower  end  of  the  labour  market,  with  less  on-the-job  training, 
lower wage levels and weaker long-term employment and career prospects4. The difficulties 
on  the  labour  market  are  also  having  a  negative  impact  on  young  people  aged  25-29  with 
higher education who find it harder to access jobs fitting their qualifications.  

In 2010 and 2011, high unemployment levels co-existed with increased difficulties in filling 
vacancies5.  Such  trends  point  to  increasing  labour  market  mismatches,  due  to  inadequate 
skills,  limited  geographic  mobility  or  inadequate  wage  conditions,  across  EU  sectors  and 
regions. Between now and 2020, it is estimated that there will be 73 million job openings due 
to retirement of workers. These will need to be filled with appropriately qualified new staff, 
thus also creating new opportunities for young people.  

However, at present, in an already shrinking age cohort, a large share of the young generation 
is  not  equipped  with  the  skills  to  enter  and  succeed  on  the  labour  market  on  a  sustainable 
basis6. The proportion of early-school leavers7 is still over 14%, the equivalent of one in six 
young people. This is well above the 10% target agreed under the Europe 2020 strategy. The 
OECD  estimates  that  about  30-40%  of  early  school  leavers  are  at  risk  of  facing  persistent 
difficulties in their access to stable employment8, with risks of marginalisation over time.  

To tackle these challenges, Europe needs to invest in its young people and propose immediate 
and  effective  actions  to  prevent  and  tackle  the  high  rates  of  youth  unemployment.  Growth 
enhancing  measures  are  necessary  to  create  new  jobs,  but  could  not  in  themselves  be 
sufficient  to  tackle  the  problem  of  youth  unemployment.  This  is  why  the  Commission  is 
proposing  a  Youth  Opportunities  Initiative  (see  box  in  section  4),  targeting  in  particular 
young people who are not in employment, education or training, to combine concrete action 
by Member States and the EU with the priorities identified in the Europe 2020 strategy, in the 
June 2011 Council conclusions on youth employment9 and in the Council Recommendation 
on  policies  to  reduce  early  school  leaving10.  The  initiative  builds  on  a  strong  partnership 
between  Member  States  and  the  Commission  and  encourages  concerted  action  between 
Member States’ authorities, businesses, social partners and the EU. 

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10 

See  the  Commission  Employment  in  Europe  Report  2010  and  EU  Employment  and  Social  Situation 
Quarterly Review, September 2011.  
See  Commission  draft  for  the  Joint  Employment  Report  2011/12,  COM(2011)815  ANNEX  III  of 
23.11.2011, p.6f. 
See  Commission  draft  for  the  Joint  Education  and  Training  2020  Report,  COM  (2011)902  of 
20.12.2011. 
Early  school  leavers  are  young  people  who  leave  education  and  training  with  only  lower  secondary 
education or less, and who are no longer in education and training. 
Scarpetta S., A. Sonnet and T. Manfredi (2010) "Rising youth unemployment during the crisis: how to 
prevent negative long-term consequences on a generation?", OECD Social, Employment and Migration 
Papers, No. 106.  
Council Conclusions 11838/11 of 20 June 2011 on Promoting youth employment. 
OJ C 191(2011) 

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2. 

THE PRIMARY ROLE OF MEMBER STATES 

The extent of challenges and root causes of youth unemployment vary from one Member 
State to another but the following factors can be identified in most: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Early school leaving without qualifications. 

Lack of relevant skills and lack of work experience. 

Precarious employment followed by spells of unemployment. 

Limited training opportunities. 

Insufficient/inappropriate active labour market programmes. 

While  the  situation  is  particularly  difficult  in  several  countries,  there  are  also  better 
performers  to  learn  from.  In  the  majority  of  Member  States  (18  out  of  27),  the  youth 
unemployment rate is above 20% (Eurostat data of October 2011). Six Member States have 
rates between 10 and 20%, in thirteen the rates range from 20 to 30 % and in five the rate is 
over 30% (EL, ES, IRL, PT, SK). In only three Member States the youth unemployment rate 
is under 10% (AT, DE, NL).  

The primary responsibility for tackling youth unemployment lies with Member  States, 
including  at  regional  and  local  levels.  Their  authorities  finance  education  and  social 
programmes and have the policy levers and the budget to support youth employment schemes. 
The  national  or  sectoral  social  partners  also  play  a  key  role,  particularly  in  areas  such  as 
apprenticeships, training and working practices.  

The  EU  level  can  play  a  supportive  role  in  helping  Member  States  to  improve  the 
employment and educational situation of young people in two ways: 

• 

• 

By reviewing national policies and performances, highlighting priorities from an 
EU perspective and suggesting lines for action based on good practices: this is done 
the  cross-examination  and  coordination  of  economic,  employment, 
through 
education and social policies in the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy, developed 
on an annual basis through the European Semester of economic governance. 

By providing financial support to national and cross-border action in line with 
agreed  priorities:  this  is  done  by  a  variety  of  programmes,  notably  the  European 
Social  Fund  and  other  EU  programmes  such  as  the  Lifelong  Learning  Programme, 
Youth  in  Action  and  PROGRESS,  the  latter  supporting  in  particular  new  policy 
approaches  through  social  policy  experimentation.  Other  EU  funds  such  as  the 
European  Regional  Development  Fund, 
the  European  Agricultural  Rural 
Development  Fund,  the  European  Fisheries  Fund  or  the  European  Fund  for  the 
Integration of third-country nationals also support measures helping to tackle youth 
unemployment. 

Following the first European semester of economic governance in 2011, the Commission, in 
the 2012 Annual Growth Survey, draws attention to first indications that Member States are 
not  reacting  effectively  enough  to  the  recommendations  made.  Given  the  gravity  of  the 

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situation  described  above  the  Commission  considers  that,  without  waiting  for  the  2012 
country-specific recommendations, Member States, in particular those with the highest youth 
unemployment rates, should take decisive measures in the following four main areas: 

- Preventing early-school leaving  

The first step in helping young people to have better future prospects is to provide them with 
adequate skills when they are in education  and preventing an early drop-out from school or 
from apprenticeship schemes11.  The Council adopted a  Recommendation  on reducing early-
school  leaving  (ESL)  in  June  2011.  It  is  a  key  tool  in  addressing  the  Europe  2020  target  to 
reduce  ESL  from  14%  to  less  than  10%.  Solutions  lie  in  a  policy  mix  of  prevention, 
intervention and compensation measures. Immediate action through reintegration into training 
is essential to limit the inflow of early school leavers into unemployment.  

- Developing skills that are relevant to the labour market 

Skills  development  should  be  a  continuing  feature  of  young  people's  career  development. 
Member States need to ensure that their education and training systems are fit to equip young 
people with relevant skills in an efficient way. In the present context of strong constraints on 
public  budgets,  the  Commission  has  encouraged  Member  States  to  prioritise  efficient 
expenditure  for  education  and  vocational  training12,  while  also  moving  towards  its  target  of 
40% of the 30-34 generation having completed tertiary or equivalent education13.  

The  Europe  2020  flagship  initiative  an  "Agenda  for  New  Skills  and  Jobs"  puts  forward  a 
proposal  to  develop  a  shared  interface  -  European  Skills,  Competences  and  Occupations 
classification  –  to  bring  together  more  closely  the  worlds  of  employment,  education  and 
training. This is particularly important in sectors facing labour shortages and with further job 
creation potential such as the health sector. The Commission also calls for reforms to ensure 
the  recognition  of  professional  qualifications14  and  proposes  to  develop  a  European  Skills 
Passport, to help citizens record their skills in a transparent and comparable way. 

Lack of foreign language skills can hinder mobility of young people on the European labour 
market. Similarly, more efforts are needed to ensure that young people have sufficient levels 
of  ICT  skills,  as  supported  for  example  through  actions  under  the  Europe  2020  flagship 
initiative "Digital Agenda". Also young people with more entrepreneurial mindsets and skills 
will  be  more  employable,  and  more  likely  to  start  successful  ventures.  In  this  context,  the 
Commission  intends  to invest  a share  of the  2013  budget  for  research  activities  in  the  ICT 
domain to support young innovators and entrepreneurs.  

- Supporting a first work experience and on-the-job training  

The  acquisition  of  skills  should  go  hand-in-hand  with  a  strong  focus  on  employment  to 
develop  work  experience.  Apprenticeships,  placements  in  enterprises  and  traineeships  are 
particularly important because, provided that they fulfil the necessary quality standards, they 

11 
12 
13 

14 

In some countries the dropout rates are 20-30%. 
Commission Communication "Annual Growth Survey 2012", COM(2011)815 of 23 November 2011. 
Commission draft for the Joint Education and Training 2020 Report, COM(2011)902 of 20 December 
2011. 
Pursuant to its commitment in the Single Market Act, the Commission has presented its proposal for a 
revision of the EU rules on the recognition of professional qualifications (COM (2011) 883 final of 20 
December 2011). 

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offer the opportunity to young people to acquire both the relevant skills and work experience. 
The social partners can help to develop schemes that bring a bigger number of young people 
into  the  world  of  work,  even  for  short  term work experience. Active labour  market  policies 
and  improved  employment  services  should  support  young  people  in  finding  such  places. 
Targeted  support  schemes  could  help  sustain  up-skilling  and  job  search,  including  in  other 
regions and possibly other Member States.  

- Access to the labour market: getting a (first) job 

Providing  young  people  with  the  relevant  skills  and  work  experience  is  a  necessary  but  not 
sufficient condition. The access of young people to the labour market should be improved. In 
particular,  in  line  with  existing  recommendations,  where  relevant,  Member  States  should 
reform  employment  protection  legislation  in  consultation  with  social  partners,  reducing  the 
excessive rigidities of permanent contracts and providing protection and easier access to the 
labour market to those left outside15. Member States should pay attention to the impact that 
excessive non-wage labour costs can have on demand for the labour input of those entering 
the labour market. 

It is also essential to implement those labour market reforms that can contribute to opening up 
labour markets to young job seekers and entrepreneurs, by eliminating unjustified restrictions 
for  business  and  professional  services,  legal  professions,  accounting  or  technical  advice, 
health and social sectors, and through the promotion of self employment, including effective 
business development support for young people. 

3. 

THE ROLE OF THE EU IN THE YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES INITIATIVE 

As part of the Youth Opportunities Initiative, it is proposed that Member States and the EU 
should  combine  their  efforts,  building  on  the  two  strands  of  EU  action  described  above.  In 
addition  to  the  strengthened  review  of  national  policies  and  performances  as  part  of  the 
Europe 2020 Strategy, efforts should be stepped up to fully mobilise EU financial support and 
instruments.  

3.1. 

Greater use of the European Social Fund for youth employment measures 

National  efforts  should  be  coupled  with  making  the  best  possible  use  of  the  EU  financial 
support that is available, either under the Structural Funds or a number of other actions that 
the Commission will undertake. 

In  the  current  period  of  the  Structural  Funds  implementation  (2007-2013),  Member  States 
have planned to allocate two thirds of the funding available in the European Social Fund to 
education and employment measures. A significant part of it will benefit young people. This 
represents a total of €79 bn if  national contributions are included. In addition, under the ERDF 
€7.2  billion  is  allocated  to 
education  infrastructure  and  €555  million  to  child-care 
infrastructure, the latter helping in particular young mothers return to the labour market.  

However,  by  the  end  of  2011  Member  States  have  still  €30  bn  in  ESF  programmes  which 
have  not  yet  been  committed  to  concrete  activities.  Furthermore,  efforts  to  tackle  youth 
unemployment,  often  do  not  match  the  severity  of  the  problem.  Apart  from  the  need  to 

15 

Annual Growth Survey 2012, COM(2011)815 of 23 November 2011. 

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accelerate  implementation,  as  this  will  make  a  difference  in  improving  youth  employment, 
there  is  a  need  to  develop  new  approaches  for  example  to  support  participation  of  young 
people  in  apprenticeship/traineeship  programmes  or  to  promote  entrepreneurship  among 
young people, including in the social economy. More than half of all Member States have a 
youth  unemployment  worse  than  EU  average16.  While  no  relation  of  causality  can  be 
demonstrated,  the  available  data  show  that  several  Member  States  with  the  highest  level  of 
youth unemployment do not sufficiently target young people with their ESF programmes. For 
example,  in  June  2010  the  youth  unemployment  rates  in  Greece,  in  Italy  and  in  Lithuania 
were 32%, 27% and 36%, while in these Member States young people represented only 11%, 
15% and 14% of the ESF beneficiaries.  

Speeding up implementation will make a difference in improving youth employment in those 
Member  States  with  worst  results  in  terms  of  execution  and  poor  performance  as  regards 
youth unemployment (BG, EL and RO). 

Member States with above average youth unemployment and average ESF execution rates17 
(CY, IT, PL, SE and SK) need to focus on their specific difficulties either in implementation 
(IT)  or  in  readapting  ESF  measures  to  respond  to  specific  needs  such  as  skills  matching  or 
employers incentives and better access to start-up loans for young people (PL).  

Among those Member States with ESF execution rates above 40% and youth unemployment 
levels  above  the  EU  average  there  is  room  to  increase  the  participation  of  young  people  in 
ESF programmes and to focus on specific youth related measures (EE, ES, LT and LV). 

Refocusing  on  youth  related  measures  and  speeding  up  implementation  could  contribute  to 
rapid  improvement  of  the  youth  unemployment  situation.  A  majority  of  the  identified 
countries (BG, EE, EL, ES, IE, LV, RO, SE, SK and UK) have identified early leavers from 
education and training as one of the main groups of unemployed young people and see this 
group as an important target to improve youth employment conditions. 

the  area  of 
The  Commission  will  support  better 
apprenticeships/traineeships and entrepreneurship, including social entrepreneurship, with the 
use of ESF technical assistance to develop and share best practice. 

implementation  of 

the  ESF 

in 

3.2. 

Innovative approaches supporting the transition from school to work 

Workplace learning is a cornerstone of facilitating the school-to-work transitions of young 
people and for building up a skilled workforce for the future. A broad consensus has emerged 
in  recent  years  between  public  authorities,  social  partners  and  the  business  sector  that 
vocational  education  and  training  should  be  provided  through  a  combination  of  theory  and 
practice (so-called "apprenticeship", "dual" or "twin-track" learning).  

Despite the general consensus, the provision of such training places is unevenly developed 
in  the  EU.  EU  cooperation  in  the  area  of  vocational  education  and  training  (VET),  the  so-
called Copenhagen Process, has set up an ambitious work programme for Member States and 
Social  Partners  for  addressing  key  issues  such  as  quality  and  funding  of  VET.  The  EU 
Leonardo  da  Vinci  Programme  already  funds  practical  VET  projects.  Initiatives  range  from 

16 
17 

BG, CY, EE, EL, ES, FR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LV, PL, PT, RO, SE, SK and UK. 
Based on data provided by the Member States about the national level ESF payments in relation to the 
total allocation at the end of Q3 2011.  

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those giving individuals work-related training abroad to large-scale transnational co-operation 
efforts.  

However, more needs to happen in Member States at national and regional level to increase 
the provision of twin-track learning geared to labour market needs. Stronger commitment of 
businesses  -  as  well  as  the  public  sector  -  is  needed  to  provide  work  and  training 
opportunities  to  young  people,  for  instance  as  part  of  Corporate  Social  Responsibility 
strategies.  Strategic  partnerships  between  the  different  stakeholders  involved  can  serve  as 
examples. 

Traineeships  can  help  students  and  young  graduates  to  acquire  a  first  work  experience. 
Increasing the offer of workplace learning opportunities needs to go hand in hand with a clear 
commitment  to  the  conditions  under  which  they  take  place.  In  2012  the  Commission  will 
present a quality framework supporting the provision and take-up of high quality traineeships, 
including  an  EU  panorama  on  traineeships  increasing  transparency  on  the  conditions  for 
trainees throughout the EU. 

More  could  be  done  by  Member  States  and  labour  market  actors  to  implement  the  Youth 
Guarantee  ensuring  that  young  people  are  either  in  a  job,  education  or  (re-)training  within 
four  months  of  leaving  school,  especially  for  early  leavers  from  education  and  training  and 
other  vulnerable  youth.  On  the  request  of  the  European  Parliament,  the  Commission  will 
launch  in  2012  a  preparatory  action  for  "Activation  measures  targeting  young  people  - 
implementing Youth on the move initiative" focussing on the Youth Guarantee, with a budget 
of €4m. The experience gathered through this  action can inspire schemes to be implemented 
with ESF Support. 

3.3. 

Supporting mobility of young people in the labour market 

Erasmus is the EU's flagship education and training programme enabling 250 000 students to 
study and work abroad each year. In addition, it funds co-operation between higher education 
institutions across Europe. The programme not only supports students, but also professors and 
business staff who want to teach abroad, as well as helping university staff to receive training. 
The  Commission  will  build  on  the  success  of  these  mobility  schemes  to  further  support 
mobility and efficiency in the labour market.  

In order to address the mismatches between vacancies and job seekers the Commission, with 
the support of the European Parliament, is setting up a targeted job mobility scheme to help 
young  people  find  a  job  in  another  EU  Member  State  and  to  help  businesses  fill  their 
bottleneck  vacancies.  Through  the  preparatory  action  "Your  first  EURES  job",  the 
Commission  will  support  young  people  and  employers  (SMEs  in  particular)  in  fostering 
transnational recruitments and job placements.  

Non-formal learning can also help tackling the youth unemployment problem. Therefore, the 
European  Voluntary  Service  will  be  stepped  up  in  the  last  two  years  of  the  current 
Youth in Action programme. The aim will be to place at least 10 000 volunteers. Such work 
experience in another Member State can provide important skills and help young people enter 
the  labour  market.  At  the  same  time,  the  Commission  is  setting-up  a  new  European 
Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps offering new opportunities for young Europeans.  

The 'Erasmus for entrepreneurs' action promotes mobility of entrepreneurs through cross-
border  exchanges  of  experience  by  giving  nascent  or  new  entrepreneurs  the  chance  to  learn 

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from  experienced  host  entrepreneurs  from  other  Member  States.  In  return,  the  host 
entrepreneurs have the possibility to get a new fresh pair of eyes on their business and new 
business  contacts  abroad.  More  than  4200  entrepreneurs  have  registered  for  participation 
since the beginning of the programme, from which around 86% of the applications have been 
accepted. Until now, 850 exchanges have been arranged. 

4. 

NEXT STEPS 

In the coming weeks the Commission will discuss the economic and social situation with each 
Member  State  as  part  of  the  preparation  of  the  2012  European  Semester  of  economic 
governance. It will work with relevant Council formations and the European Parliament to put 
rapidly  in  place  the  elements  of  the  Youth  Opportunities  Initiative  as  described  in  the  box 
below.  

The  Commission  will  liaise  with  European  social  partners  to  seek  their  active  and  concrete 
involvement in this initiative, and will seek the support and contribution of all stakeholders. 

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A new Youth Opportunities Initiative 

Mobilising the ESF to support skills development and school-to-work transitions 

• 

• 

• 

Several  Member  States  could  make  greater  use  of  available  EU  funding,  including 
through  re-programming  and  accelerating  implementation,  to  create  larger  scale 
support  schemes  for  young  people  focusing  on  fighting  early  school  leaving  and 
developing  employability.  This  is  particularly  important  for  Member  States  where 
youth  unemployment  and  disadvantage  are  very  high.  The  Commission  is  ready  to 
work  with  Member  States  using  fast-track  procedures  for  operational  programmes 
modifications,  provide  technical  assistance  from  the  EU  and  fast-track  recovery  of 
unspent money. 

The  Commission  will  use  €1.3m  of  ESF  Technical  Assistance  to  support  setting  up 
apprenticeship-type schemes through the ESF, while another €3m of ESF Technical 
Assistance  will  focus,  among  others,  on  setting  up  support  schemes  for  young 
business starters and social entrepreneurs.  

The Commission will support Member States on defining youth-related measures in 
the preparation of their programmes for the next ESF period. 

Supporting the transition from education to work 

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Member  States,  in  cooperation  with  social  partners,  should  strive  to  substantially 
increase the supply of apprenticeships in the EU and ensure that they represent real 
opportunities  for  young  people  to  gain  specific,  on-the-job  training  and  work 
experience leading to more stable forms of employment. An increase by at least 10% 
in the EU by the end of 2013 would add a total of 370 000 of new apprenticeships18. 

Social  Partners  should  examine,  where  appropriate  with  the  Member  States' 
authorities,  how  best  to  implement  the  specific  objective  of  'promoting  more  and 
better  apprenticeships  and  traineeship  contracts'  as  part  of  their  autonomous 
agreement on 'inclusive labour markets' (2010).  

The  Commission  will  substantially  reinforce  support  to  learning  mobility  of  higher 
education  and  vocational  training  students.  By  gearing  funds  as  much  as  possible 
towards placements in enterprises, an additional 30% of placements would be within 
reach, targeting at least 130 000 placements in 2012 under Erasmus and Leonardo 
da Vinci.  

The  Commission  will  launch  a  €1.5m  campaign  addressed  to  enterprises  in  early 
2012 to raise business awareness of Erasmus and Leonardo da Vinci placements and 
encourage potential host companies to host European trainees. 

Early 2012 the Commission will present a comprehensive study on the supply of apprenticeships in the 
EU. Currently, around 40% of upper secondary students in the EU are in apprenticeship type vocational 
training. However less than half of them follow a twin-track training combining theory and workplace 
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The Commission will present in 2012 a quality framework supporting the provision 
and take-up of high quality traineeships, including an EU panorama on traineeships 
increasing the transparency on the conditions for trainees throughout the EU. 

Member  States  and  labour  market  actors  need  to  step  up  efforts  to  implement  the 
Youth  Guarantee  ensuring  that  young  people  are  either  in  a  job,  education  or 
(re-)training within four months of leaving school, especially for early leavers from 
education and training and other vulnerable youth. The Commission will launch in 
2012  a  preparatory  action  for  "Activation  measures  targeting  young  people  - 
implementing the Youth on the Move initiative" focusing on Youth Guarantees with a 
budget of € 4m.  

The  Commission  will  invest  a  significant  share  of  the  €  6m  budget  for  social 
innovation  in  innovative  projects,  targeting  youth  in  disadvantaged  situations  and 
areas.  

The budget allocation for the European Voluntary Service will be reinforced in order 
to provide at least 10 000 volunteering opportunities in 2012. 

Supporting labour market mobility  

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The  EURES  European  Job  Mobility  Portal  is  currently  posting  over  1.2  million 
vacancies  and  700.000  CVs.  In  the  course  of  2012,  Member  States  should  put  in 
place  specific  EURES  recruitment  services  and  support  measures  to  ensure  that  at 
least  100.000  of  these  EURES  jobs  are  successfully  filled  by  young  people,  hence 
making an intensified use of EURES.  

Starting in 2012, the "Your first EURES job" scheme launched by the Commission in 
2011  will  financially  help  directly  around  5000  young  people  to  fill  vacancies  in 
other  Member  States  during  2012-2013.  This  will  serve  as  a  pilot  for  further 
developing the scheme and increasing the number of job placements. 

Erasmus  for  entrepreneurs  is  expected  to  finance  around  600  further  exchanges  in 
2012. 

Strengthened policy delivery as part of the European Semester 

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The  Commission  will  carry  out  further  assessment  and  analysis  of  the  measures 
taken by the Member States to fight youth unemployment and will report on this to 
the informal Council of Employment and Social Affairs Ministers in April 2012. 

The Commission invites Member States to discuss the necessary adjustments to their 
education  and  training  systems  within  the  Strategic  Framework  of  European 
Cooperation in Education and Training ("ET2020"). 

The  Commission  will  provide  specific  guidance  to  Member  States  on  measures  to 
fight  youth  unemployment  during  the  bilateral  contacts  preparing  the  National 
Reform Programmes 2012.  

The  Commission  will  address  the  youth  dimension  in  its  country  specific 
recommendations to Member States in May 2012. 

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