COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Working together for Europe's young people A call to action on youth unemployment
Date: 2013-06-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EURES, European Social Fund, job creation, school-working life relations, small and medium-sized enterprises, student mobility, traineeship, young person, young worker, youth unemployment

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 19.6.2013  
COM(2013) 447 final 

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

Working together for Europe's young people 

A call to action on youth unemployment 

EN 

   EN 

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

WORKING TOGETHER FOR EUROPE'S YOUNG PEOPLE 

A CALL TO ACTION ON YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT 

Young people hold the key to Europe's future dynamism and prosperity. Their talents, energy 
and creativity will help Europe to grow and become more competitive as we move beyond the 
economic and financial crisis. Yet young people have been hit particularly hard by the crisis. 
At present, nearly 6 million people in Europe under the age of 25 are unemployed and a total 
of  7.5  million  are  not  in  employment,  education  or  training.  Youth  unemployment  rates  in 
Europe stood at 23.5% in the first quarter of 2013, more than twice the - already very high - 
rate for the population at large. In some countries, more than half of the young people who 
want to work are unemployed. 

This  represents  both  a  huge  untapped  resource  that  Europe  cannot  afford  to  squander  and  a 
social crisis that Europe cannot allow to persist. Youth unemployment has a profound impact 
on  individuals  as  well  as  on  society  and  the  economy.  Unless  current  trends  are  reversed 
quickly,  today's  levels  of  youth  unemployment  risk  damaging  the  longer-term  employment 
prospects for young people, with serious implications for future growth and social cohesion. 
Within Europe's broader strategy to create growth and jobs, helping young people to enter and 
remain in the labour market and to acquire and develop the skills that will pave the way for 
future employment is therefore a top priority for the European Union. 

Throughout  the  financial  crisis,  the  Commission  has  been  working  with  Member  States  to 
address the economic and social consequences of high and rising unemployment. Some of this 
work  will  take  time  to  bear  fruit:  Europe  needs  deep  structural  reform  to  become  more 
competitive  and  this  cannot  be  delivered  overnight.  Essential  reforms  must  therefore  be 
flanked  by  fast-acting  measures  to  boost  growth  and  to  help  young  people  find  jobs  and 
acquire  essential  skills.  These  measures  will  boost  confidence  and  show  young  people  that 
they have a bright future. 

The Commission has proposed a number of practical and achievable measures that have the 
potential  to  make  an  immediate  impact,  most  recently  in  the  December  2012  Youth 
Employment  Package  and  the  March  2013  proposals  for  the  EUR  6  billion  Youth 
Employment Initiative. Some of these proposals have been agreed at EU level and must now 
be translated urgently into opportunities for young people. Others are yet to be agreed at EU 
level, in particular those linked to the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2014-2020. 

Against this backdrop, this report sets out steps to be taken without delay to get young people 
back into work, education or training. These steps cover: 

−  the implementation of the Youth Guarantee;  

2 

 
 
 
 
−  investment in young people through the European Social Fund;  

−  the front-loading of the Youth Employment Initiative;  

−  support for intra-EU labour mobility with EURES;  

−  steps  to  ease  the  transition  from  education  to  work  by  boosting  the  supply  of  high-

quality apprenticeships and traineeships and addressing skills shortages;  

−  an  acceleration  of  reforms  to  deliver  a  genuine  EU  labour  market  in  the  longer  run; 

and 

−  measures  to  support  job  creation  in  the  immediate  term,  especially  by  SMEs,  and  to 

incentivise the hiring of young people. 

In many of these areas, the groundwork has been done. The priority now is to accelerate and 
front-load  implementation.  Success  will  depend  both  on  the  political  will  of  the  Member 
States and the capacity of the private sector to create opportunities for young people. The EU 
cannot substitute for the work that is required at national level.  But it can help to make things 
happen,  by  pinpointing 
the  Country-Specific 
Recommendations, disseminating best practice, channelling investment from the EU budget, 
and helping young people to take full advantage of the European single market.   

the  most  critical 

through 

reforms 

The  European  Commission  calls  upon  the  European  institutions,  Member  States,  the 
social  partners  and  civil  society  to  work  in  partnership  to  implement  the  measures  in 
this  report;  and  on  the  June  European  Council  to  give  its  strong  political  backing  to 
these steps. 

1.  Making the Youth Guarantee a reality  

As  part  of  the  Youth  Employment  Package  presented  in  December  2012,  the  Commission 
called on Member States to ensure that all young Europeans receive a good quality offer of 
employment,  continued  education,  an  apprenticeship  or  a  traineeship  within  four  months  of 
leaving school or becoming unemployed. This is the Youth Guarantee.  

The  Commission's  proposal  was  adopted  by  the  Council  in  April  2013.  The  priority  now  is 
implementation.  This  is  reflected  in  the  Commission's  Country-Specific  Recommendations 
for 2013. The Commission has identified urgent steps needed in 19 Member States to combat 
youth unemployment through inter alia active labour market policies, reinforcement of public 
employment services and support for training and apprenticeship schemes. These steps will all 
contribute  to  the  delivery  of  the  Youth  Guarantee  (see  Annex  I  for  a  summary  of  related 
recommendations). 

Implementing  the  Youth  Guarantee  will  require  sustained  investment  at  national  level. 
However,  experience  has  shown,  for  example  in  Austria  and  Finland,  that  this  investment 
pays  off  and  that  the  economic  and  social  costs  of  inaction  are  far  higher  than  the  costs  of 
3 

 
 
 
implementation. It will take time for the Youth Guarantee to become fully operational, so it is 
essential  that  the  process  begin  now  with  a  clear  country-by-country  implementation  plan 
explaining  exactly  how  the  Youth  Guarantee  is  going  to  be  put  into  practice,  taking  due 
account of variations in the scale and nature of the challenges in different national contexts. 

The Commission therefore calls upon: 

(cid:190)  The  Council  to  adopt  the  proposed  Country  Specific  Recommendations  on  the  Youth 
Guarantee  and  on  youth  employment  more  generally  and  Member  States  to  implement 
these recommendations swiftly. 

(cid:190)  Member States with regions experiencing youth unemployment rates above 25% to submit 
a Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan by October 2013. These plans should set out 
how  the  Youth  Guarantee  will  be  implemented  at  national  level,  the  respective  roles  of 
public authorities and other organisations, how it will be financed, how progress will be 
monitored and the timetable. Other Member States are encouraged to submit similar plans 
by spring 2014. 

2.  Putting the European Social Fund to work for young people  

The  EU  structural  funds  have  proven  over  many  decades  to  be  a  powerful  driver  of  job 
creation and social cohesion in Europe. The European Social Fund (ESF) amounts to almost 
EUR  80  billion  for  the  2007-13  period.  This  has  provided  extensive  support  for  activities 
throughout  Europe  designed  to  help  integrate  young  people  into  the  labour  market  and  to 
develop human capital.   

Looking ahead to the 2014-2020 period, the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) 
will  have  a  crucial  role  to  play  in  supporting  young  people  and  implementing  the  Youth 
Guarantee. An agreement on the next MFF and the programmes implementing it is urgently 
required to ensure that the ESF and other ESIF can be mobilised immediately in January 2014. 
This agreement must reflect the priority that the EU attaches to fighting and preventing youth 
unemployment:  a minimum share of 25% of cohesion policy funding for the ESF would help 
to  ensure  that  at  least  EUR  80  billion  remains  available  for  investment  in  Europe's  human 
capital. 

In  parallel,  Member  States  are  working  intensively  with  the  Commission  to  design  the  next 
generation of Operational Programmes that will govern how this funding is put to use. This is 
a golden opportunity to gear the new programmes to the most pressing reform priorities for 
growth  and  jobs,  as  set  out  in  the  Country-Specific  Recommendations,  and  in  particular  to 
delivering the Youth Guarantee. 

4 

 
 
 
The Commission therefore calls upon:   

(cid:190)  The  European  Parliament  and  Council  to  agree  swiftly  on  the  Multiannual  Financial 
Framework and new ESIF regulations, which should ensure that a 25% minimum share 
of cohesion policy funding (at least EUR 80 billion) is allocated to the European Social 
Fund.  Member  States  with  particularly  high  levels  of  youth  unemployment  should 
earmark a fixed share for priorities linked to combating youth unemployment. 

(cid:190)  Member States to accelerate work with the Commission on the Partnership Agreements 
and Operational Programmes for the ESIF and to maintain a very sharp focus on youth 
employment,  investment  in  human  capital  and  the  adaptation  of  education  and  training 
systems to labour market realities. 

3.  Kick-starting the Youth Employment Initiative  

To  focus  financial  support  still  further  on  the  regions  and  individuals  struggling  most  with 
youth  employment  and  inactivity,  the  European  Council  agreed  in  February  to  create  a 
dedicated Youth  Employment  Initiative  (YEI) to be supported by EUR 6 billion from the 
EU budget. This will target individual young people aged 15-24 not in employment, education 
or training (NEETs) and complement the support provided by the ESF for the implementation 
of the Youth Guarantee.  

The  Commission  has  fast-tracked  the  necessary  legal  proposals  and  presented  them  to  the 
European  Parliament  and  Council  in  March  2013.1 The  priority  now  is  for  the  European 
Parliament and Council to agree these proposals and to make this funding available as soon as 
possible. 

3.1 Focusing and front-loading the YEI   

The Commission has proposed to concentrate support from the YEI in regions experiencing 
youth  unemployment  rates  above  25%,  and  within  these  regions  on  young  people  (NEETs) 
aged between 15 and 24. These criteria should be maintained: any reduction in the threshold 
would  spread  funds  too  thinly  to  the  detriment  of  those  regions  in  greatest  need.2 It  is  also 
vital that the YEI be  used  above all to support the  implementation of  the Youth Guarantee. 
Other  target  groups  will  be  supported  by  other  sources  of  funding  from  the  ESIF  and  in 
particular from the ESF. 

1 COM(2013) 144 final 
2 Lowering the threshold to regions with youth unemployment rates above 20% and extending support to the 25-
29 age group would more than halve the level of support per NEET from EUR 1360 to EUR 560, with a severely 
detrimental effect on the effectiveness of these interventions. 

5 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
To ensure that the money from the YEI starts flowing quickly once the legal framework has 
been agreed, the Commission proposes to adjust the profile of the next MFF to make available 
the entire amount of EUR 6 billion in commitments within the first two years of the next MFF. 
This will be achieved by changing the implementation profile of other programmes so as to 
leave the overall annual levels of commitments unchanged. 

Member  States  will  need  to  be  ready  to  hit  the  ground  running  with  their  Operational 
Programmes  and  a  pipeline  of  projects  to  help  get  young  people  into  good  quality  jobs, 
apprenticeships  or  education.  Implementation  should  begin  without  delay,  even  before  the 
Partnership  Agreements  are  in  place  and  before  the  legal  framework  has  entered  into  force. 
This depends on Member States being ready with their programmes in time: the Commission 
will process them rapidly. 

The Commission therefore calls upon: 

(cid:190)  The  European  Parliament  and  Council  to  agree  the  Youth  Employment  Initiative  to 
target support to regions experiencing youth unemployment rates above 25% and to young 
people (NEETs) aged between 15 and 24, and with a strong focus on actions to support 
the Youth Guarantee. 

(cid:190)  The European Parliament and Council to agree to commit all EUR 6 billion of the YEI 
in 2014 and 2015 by adjusting the commitment profile of the next MFF and to adapt the 
ESIF regulations to allow expenditure under the YEI to be deemed eligible as of the date 
of  submission  of  the  YEI  operational  programmes,  even  before  the  Partnership 
Agreements are in place and before the legal framework has entered into force. 

(cid:190)  Member States to accelerate  the  preparation  of  the  specific  YEI  programmes and to 

submit these programmes during 2013 for immediate implementation. 

3.2  Relaunching the Youth Employment Action Teams  

In  2012,  the  Commission  established  joint  Youth  Employment  Action  Teams  with  the 
Member  States  experiencing  particularly  high  levels  of  youth  unemployment.  These  teams 
worked  to  help  ensure  that  the  EU  structural  funds  are  being  used  to  maximum  effect  to 
support young people. Through this work, about EUR 16 billion of EU funding has already 
been targeted for accelerated delivery or reallocation. This will eventually help more than one 
million  young  people  and  the  results  are  already  being  felt  on  the  ground  (see  below  and 
Annex II). 

Examples of results of the work of the Youth Employment Action Teams 

− 

In Portugal, the 'Impulso Jovem' initiative has entailed a comprehensive reprogramming of EU structural funds and will 
benefit 90 000 young people and support 4 500 SMEs by the end of 2015. For example, EUR 143 million of EU funding 
has been reallocated to finance measures that include traineeships in key economic sectors, as well as support for the 
contracting of people aged 18-30 years old via reimbursement of employers' social security contributions.  

6 

 
 
 
− 

− 

In Spain, over EUR 286 million in ESF funding has been reallocated to actions related to youth. Actions implemented 
so far include workshop schools and employment workshops, with about 9 500 young participants. Subsidies in the form 
of reductions in social security contributions for companies recruiting young people have been implemented for 142 000 
young  people.  The  new  Entrepreneurship  and  Youth  Employment  Strategy  sets  out  100  further  measures  to  combat 
youth unemployment. EUR 3.485 billion has been earmarked for these actions, some of which will be co-funded by the 
ESF.  Several  specific  measures  are  being  funded  by  the  ERDF  in  regions  where  the  youth  unemployment  rates  are 
highest. 

In  Italy,  as  part  of  the  Cohesion  Action  Plan,  EUR  1.4  billion  has  been  allocated  to  actions  aimed  at  young  people, 
including  a  Youth  Employment  Plan  in  Sicily  worth  EUR  452  million,  education  activities  for  65  300  students  from 
Southern  regions  and  13  000  new  mobility  opportunities.  In  a  second  phase,  a  further  EUR  620  million  has  been 
dedicated to new actions supporting young people and NEETs, including child care, support for entrepreneurship and 
combating  early  school  leaving.  The  ESF  will  also  co-finance  actions  to  support  apprenticeship  schemes  (EUR  100 
million) and to provide guidance and placement for pupils and young graduates (EUR 36 million). 

Building  on  this  positive  experience,  the  Commission  is  ready  to  relaunch  and  expand  the 
Action Teams to work with the Member States eligible for financial support under the Youth 
Employment Initiative.  At the initiative of the Member States in question, teams will be set 
up to support and accelerate work on the preparation of the Operational Programmes and to 
advise on how EU funding from the ESF and YEI can best be used to implement the Youth 
Guarantee. 

The Commission therefore calls upon: 

(cid:190)  Member States eligible for the Youth Employment Initiative, at their request, to work with 
Commission experts through dedicated Youth Employment Action Teams to assist with 
the implementation of the Youth Guarantee scheme and the mobilisation of the ESF and 
YEI  to  this  end.  To  support  this  process  and  upon  request  by  a  Member  State,  the 
Commission  will  coordinate  technical  assistance,  for  example  through  Member  State 
twinning. 

4.  Boosting mobility with EURES and the ESF  

The  single  market  offers  a  wealth  of  job,  apprenticeship  and  training  opportunities  for 
Europe's young people. All the evidence indicates that young people are eager to seize these 
opportunities.  However, identifying and taking advantage of opportunities in other Member 
States in real time can be daunting. The Commission has therefore long been working to make 
mobility easier both for the benefit of the individuals, employers and the European economy 
at large.  

The  EURES  portal  gives  access  to  over  1.4  million  job  vacancies  and  nearly  31  000 
registered employers. However, the EURES network is not yet operating to its full potential. 
The Commission has begun a major reform to make the EURES system more responsive to 
labour  market  realities  and  to  strengthen  the  focus  on  the  mobility  of  young  people  by 
offering jobs as well as opportunities to combine work with learning, such as apprenticeships. 
The  EURES  portal  is  also  being  revamped  to  make  it  more  user-friendly  and  a  EURES 
Charter providing commonly agreed EU guidance for national EURES delivery measures will 

7 

 
 
 
be  tabled  before  the  end  of  this  year.  In  addition,  the  Commission  is  working  on  new 
legislation to strengthen EURES services for both employers and job-seekers. The objective is 
to  supply  more  job  vacancies  and  improve  the  matching  of  job  vacancies  with  applications 
while deepening the integration of EURES within national Public Employment Services. 

For  a  young  person,  identifying  opportunities  to  work  or  learn  abroad  is  one  thing;  taking 
advantage  of  them  is  another.  The  Commission  is  currently  piloting  a  new  system  to  help 
young people seize the job opportunities advertised on EURES, while helping SMEs to recruit 
young job-seekers from across Europe. 'Your first EURES Job' helps young people to find 
jobs  in  other  Member  States  by  providing  financial  support  for  language  courses  and  other 
training needs, travel expenses and integration programmes in the case of recruitment by an 
SME.  The  'Your  First  EURES  Job'  pilot  will  help  to  place  around  5  000  people  in  the  six 
participating  Member  States  and  will  be  extended  in  2013  to  cover  apprenticeship  and 
traineeship placements. Initial results have been very encouraging and some Member States, 
for example Germany, have based their own mobility schemes on this model.  

Under the next MFF, the European Programme for Social Change and Innovation will provide 
additional  direct  funding  of  around  EUR  5  million  annually  to  support  this  type  of  targeted 
scheme.  However, in view of the scale of the challenge the onus will be on Member States – 
working through their Public Employment Services – and employers to step up their financial 
support for employment through intra-EU mobility, drawing on the experience of Your First 
EURES  Job.  The  ESF  is  there  to  help:    from  2014,  financial  support  will  be  available  for 
language and career-orientation training, travel costs and integration in the host country. 

The Commission therefore calls upon: 

(cid:190)  Member States to make use of ESF funding opportunities and national funding sources to 
promote  intra-EU  labour  mobility,  including  using  EURES,  and  to  reinforce  the 
capacity of national Public Employment Services in this regard.  

(cid:190)  The  European  Parliament  and  Council  to  consider  rapidly  the  forthcoming  legislative 
proposal from the Commission to strengthen EURES, which will be tabled by the end of 
2013.  

5.  Easing the transition from education to work  

Helping young people to integrate into the job market after leaving school or university is an 
indispensable  part  of  delivering  the  Youth  Guarantee.  In  this  year's  Country-Specific 
Recommendations,  the  Commission  has  recommended  to  16  Member  States  to  focus  on 
reforming vocational and educational training (VET) programmes by increasing their labour 
market  relevance  through  a  stronger  work-based  learning  component  and  accelerating  the 
reform of apprenticeships. The EU budget can support this process: Member States can use 
the ESF, the YEI and the 'Erasmus +' programme to help improve the quality and efficiency 
of education and training systems. 

8 

 
 
 
The transition from education to work was a central theme of the Youth Employment Package, 
which launched two specific initiatives to facilitate this transition:  the European Alliance for 
Apprenticeships and the Quality Framework for Traineeships.  

5.1  Implementing the European Alliance for Apprenticeships  

Experience has shown that countries with strong, attractive VET systems and especially those 
with well-established apprenticeship systems and strong work-based learning tend to perform 
better  in  terms  of  facilitating  the  transition  from  school  to  work  and  keeping  youth 
unemployment  down.  Improving  the  supply  and  quality  of  apprenticeships  is  therefore  an 
important part of the youth employment strategy. 

As announced in the Youth Employment Package, the Commission is launching a European 
Alliance for Apprenticeships to help improve the quality and supply of apprenticeships and to 
change  mind-sets  towards  work-based  learning.  The  Alliance  will  bring  together  Member 
States, social partners, businesses, the Commission and other relevant actors to develop high 
quality  apprenticeship-type  training  and  excellence  in  work-based  learning  in  VET,  and  to 
promote national partnerships for dual learning. 

The launch of the Alliance on 2 July 2013 is an opportunity to galvanise the private sector and 
to give new impetus to the supply of and demand for high-quality apprenticeships and work-
based  learning.  Businesses  have  everything  to  gain  from  access  to  a  huge  pool  of  potential 
candidates  for  apprenticeships  and  from  investing  now  to  create  a  highly-skilled  workforce 
for the future. 

The Commission therefore calls upon: 

(cid:190)  The Member States to implement the proposed Country Specific Recommendations on 

apprenticeships and on vocational education and training. 

(cid:190)  Member  States  to  include  apprenticeship  reform  within  their  Youth  Guarantee 
Implementation Plans and to mobilise EU funding to support this objective; and to set up 
strong  partnerships  at  national  level  for  dual  learning  bringing  together  authorities 
responsible  for  education  and  employment,  social  partners,  chambers,  VET  providers, 
youth  and  student  organisations,  employment  services  and  agencies  managing  EU 
funding. 

(cid:190)  The private sector to support fully the Alliance and to commit to increasing the supply 

of high quality apprenticeships, building on recent industry-driven initiatives. 

9 

 
 
 
 
5.2  Delivering high-quality traineeships 

Traineeships also have an important role to play in smoothing the transition from education to 
work,  particularly  in  the  context  of  the  crisis.  High-quality  traineeships  help  boost  the 
employability of young people and are important stepping stones in the progression to regular 
employment.  

However,  despite  the  broad  consensus  on  the  importance  of  traineeships,  there  are  serious 
concerns  about  the  quality  of  traineeships  on  offer  and  their  added-value.    These  concerns 
relate  to  insufficient  learning  content,  inadequate  working  conditions  and  repeated 
traineeships that in reality are used as substitutes for real jobs. To address these concerns, the 
Commission announced as part of the Youth Employment Package a new European initiative 
for  a  European  Quality  Framework  for  Traineeships.  The  Commission  has  consulted  the 
social  partners  and  work  on  this  framework  will  now  be  accelerated  in  order  to  present  a 
proposal by the end of 2013. 

The Commission therefore calls upon: 

(cid:190)  The  Council  to  work  quickly  on  the  forthcoming  Commission  proposal  on  a  Quality 
Framework for Traineeships with a view to having the new Framework in place in early 
2014. 

5.3 'Erasmus +': opening up cross-border education and training opportunities 

Dedicated EU programmes also make an important contribution to the development of VET 
and to helping young people take full advantage of the single market. Increased mobility of 
students increases labour mobility and contributes to the creation of a more integrated labour 
market.  For  example,  the  current  Lifelong  Learning  Programme  -  and  in  particular  the 
'Leonardo  Da  Vinci'  sub-programme  for  VET  -  has  already  allowed  500  000  VET  learners 
and  225  000  higher  education  students  to  take  advantage  of  work-based  training  in  another 
Member  State,  enabling  them  to  develop  both  the  job-relevant  and  cross-cutting  skills  that 
employers are seeking.  

Examples of how European VET mobility programmes have helped young people 

− 

− 

In 2012, Lili from Romania participated in a 'Leonardo da Vinci' mobility project entitled 'Applying modern healthcare 
systems'. She spent four weeks developing nursing skills during a training course at the Barmherzige Bruder Hospital in 
Vienna in Austria. This gave her the opportunity to acquire new knowledge regarding nursing techniques and modern 
research techniques and to develop her German language skills. This experience and the Europass Mobility Certificate 
obtained at the end of the placement helped her to find a new job abroad. 

Joanna,  from  Poland,  took  part  in  2008  in  a  one-month  vocational  placement  in  Germany  through  the  'Leonardo  da 
Vinci' programme, working for a local seed company, Appels Wilde Samen. The placement allowed her to acquire skills 
in the cultivation of many species of plants as well as to work in a different language and cultural environment. This 
experience  paved  the  way  for  her  to  open  her  own  farm  in  Poland,  where  she  maintains  strong  links  with  the  host 
company in Germany. 

10 

 
 
 
−  Matthias,  from  Germany,  undertook  initial  vocational  traineeship  at  Munich  International  Airport  to  become  a 
mechatronics  specialist  and  then  went  for  three  weeks  to  Vienna  Airport  to  gain  experience  abroad  through  the 
'Leonardo  da  Vinci'  programme.  A  placement  abroad  allowed  him  to  gain  new  insights  into  differences  in  working 
practices and culture and gave him a new perspective concerning working processes in his home company. 

Under  the  next  MFF,  as  part  of  the  'Erasmus  +'  programme  proposed  by  the  Commission, 
support for mobility will be scaled up significantly to help almost 5 million young people in 
total, including over 700 000 VET placements. Cooperation between employers and education 
providers will be deepened through strategic partnerships and sector skills alliances to support 
higher quality education programmes and cross-border mobility.  

The impact of this cooperation can be increased by the injection of national and EU funds - in 
particular the ESF – to provide opportunities for an even larger number of young people. It is 
clear  that  the  demand  for  cross-border  mobility  is  high  and  that  the  number  of  placement 
opportunities abroad therefore has significant growth potential. To help exploit this potential, 
the Commission will accelerate the implementation of this part of the 'Erasmus +' programme 
and Member States should use their ESF allocations for this purpose. 

The Commission therefore calls upon: 

(cid:190)  European  Parliament  and  Council to agree rapidly on the new 'Erasmus  +' programme. 
The  Commission  will  accelerate  the  implementation  of  the  VET  component  of  this 
programme once it launches in 2014.  

(cid:190)  Member States to use the ESF to develop and support mobility in VET to help young 

people acquire the skills necessary to find their place in the labour market. 

5.4  Investing in skills and addressing skills mismatch 

Europe's  competitiveness,  innovative  capacity  and  productivity  depend  critically  on  the 
availability  of  highly-educated  and  well-trained  workers.  The  long-standing  trend  towards 
ever  higher  skill  requirements  means  that  young  people  without  the  skills  that  the  economy 
requires will find it increasingly difficult to find employment. Tackling youth unemployment 
therefore requires action to tackle skills shortages and mismatches. 

The process of acquiring skills begins at school and continues through higher education and 
work-based  learning.  However,  today  the  performance  of  many  education  systems  is 
inadequate  as  they  display  unacceptably  high  drop-out  rates  and  may  fail  to  provide  young 
people with essential skills. There is therefore an urgent need to make education systems more 
responsive to current and future skills needs so as to avoid skills mismatches and bottlenecks. 

Addressing  skills  mismatch  in  sectors  with  recognised  job  creation  potential,  such  as  ICT, 
healthcare and the green economy is a particular priority. The Commission launched in March 
2013  an  EU-wide  multi-stakeholder  partnership  –  the  Grand  Coalition  for  Digital  Jobs  -  to 
tackle the shortage of ICT skills in the EU and to fill the projected several hundred thousand 

11 

 
 
 
vacancies  requiring  these  skills.  As  part  of  its  action  plan  for  the  EU  health  workforce,  the 
Commission  launched  in  April  2013  a  Joint  Action  to  help  improve  health  workforce 
forecasting and planning, bringing together the Member States and shareholders to exchange 
best  practice.  The  Commission  is  also  carrying  out  a  cross-country  mapping  study  on 
innovative  recruitment  strategies  such  as  the  use  of  social  media  to  attract  young  people  to 
take  up  a  career  in  healthcare.  The  Commission  will  launch  similar  coalitions  or  broader 
action plans to unleash the job creation potential of the "green economy". 

Entrepreneurial  skills  are  also  key  for  young  people  seeking  employment  and  starting  their 
own businesses. Practical entrepreneurial experiences for all young people help to make the 
link between education and the real world, turning creative ideas into entrepreneurial action. 
To support change across the education system, the Commission will provide more detailed 
policy guidance on entrepreneurship in education. A collaboration action with the OECD on 
Guiding  Frameworks  for  Entrepreneurial  Education  at  the  levels  of  schools,  VET  and 
universities, will encourage entrepreneurial teaching and learning.   

To  further  help  young  people  taking  up  jobs  abroad,  the  Commission  is  working  in  close 
cooperation with Member States and stakeholders towards the creation of a European Area for 
Skills  and  Qualifications.  This  will  ensure  that  skills  and  qualifications  can  be  easily 
recognised across borders and facilitate labour mobility. 

The Commission therefore calls upon: 

(cid:190)  Member  States  to  modernise  and  improve  their  education  systems  by  addressing  the 
gaps  in  basic  skills,  stepping  up  efforts  to  tackle  early-school  leaving,  improve  the 
provision  of  transversal  skills  such  as  digital,  entrepreneurial  and  language  skills  and 
scaling up the use of ICT-supported learning. 

(cid:190)  All stakeholders to step up their support for the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs with a 
view  to  addressing  the  projected  shortfall  of  900,000  ICT  professionals  in  Europe  by 
2015.  

6.  Building a European labour market for the longer term  

Most  of  the  actions  described  above,  if  implemented  now,  will  have  an  immediate  effect.  
However, there is much more to be done in the medium term to reform the economy so as to 
build a genuine European labour market in which all citizens, young and old, are able to move 
freely  to  work,  study  and  train.  This  will  make  the  European  economy  more  dynamic  and 
flexible  while  ensuring  that  the  necessary  protections  are  in  place  for  those  exercising  their 
rights to live, work and study abroad.  

There are already many proposals on the table that will help to make the single market work 
more  efficiently,  including  the  proposed  amendments  to  the  Professional  Qualifications 
Directive and to the Directive on portability of supplementary pension rights and the Directive 

12 

 
 
 
on the enforcement of the rights of mobile workers. There is also a pressing need to improve 
enforcement of existing EU law, in particular with regard to jobs and working conditions. In 
addition,  the  Commission  is  working  on  more  citizen-friendly  rules  on  social  security 
coordination  concerning  unemployment  benefits  and  is  analysing  the  possibility  of  enabling 
unemployment benefits to be  paid for a period longer than the current 3 months to workers 
seeking employment in another Member State. 

The  recent  Commission  proposal  to  modernise  and  enhance  cooperation  between  Public 
Employment Services will also contribute to improving the operational functioning of labour 
markets and the delivery of labour market programmes and therefore to helping young people 
into  the  labour  market.  The  Commission  will  propose  to  establish  a  network  of  Public 
Employment  Services  in  order  to  start  a  benchmarking  system  and  corresponding  mutual 
learning  activities  will  contribute  to  the  construction  of  a  European  labour  market  and 
ultimately  provide  jobseekers  and  employers  with  better  and  more  effective  employment 
services. 

The Commission therefore calls upon: 

(cid:190)  The  European  Parliament  and  Council  to  step  up  work  on  all  proposals  designed  to 
promote the development of a genuine European labour market accessible to all young 
people. 

7.  Creating jobs: helping firms to recruit young people  

Youth unemployment will only fall in a sustainable manner if the economy creates more jobs. 
All the work underway in Europe to rekindle growth and job creation will therefore contribute 
to addressing the youth unemployment problem. The priorities highlighted at European level 
in  the  context  of  the  Annual  Growth  Survey  and  at  national  level  in  the  framework  of  the 
Country-Specific  Recommendations  set  out  the  way  forward.  In  this  context,  a  particular 
effort  is  needed  to  create  the  right  incentives  for  firms,  notably  SMEs,  to  recruit  and  retain 
young people. 

Young  people  are  disproportionately  hit  by  unemployment.  This  is  a  reflection  of  broader, 
deep-rooted  problems  in  the  functioning  of  labour  markets.  Moreover,  in  many  countries, 
young people are over-represented among workers on temporary contracts. Reducing the gap 
between  employment  protection  legislation  for  temporary  and  permanent  contracts  will 
contribute to facilitating the transition of newcomers, including young people, from entry jobs 
with short duration to more stable jobs that offer good career prospects. Moreover, reducing 
the cost of employing young people in their first job, for example through targeted subsidies 
and reductions in social security contributions in the case of low-skilled positions, can make 
an important contribution in the right circumstances. 

SMEs and in particular micro-enterprises are an especially important motor of job creation for 
young people and as such every effort should be made to help them access the finance they 
13 

 
 
 
need to thrive. Here EU instruments, in particular the European Regional Development Fund, 
play an important role, both in providing direct support to SMEs and co-funding a wide range 
of financial instruments. The European Investment Bank (EIB) also has a crucial role to play 
with regard to access to finance for SMEs. The recent capital increase of EUR 10 billion is 
expected  to  allow  EUR  12.5  billion  to  be  released  annually  in  direct  financial  support  for 
SMEs  in  2013-15  and  may  mobilise  in  total  around  EUR  37.5  billion  in  SME  loans  when 
other types of lending indirectly benefiting SMEs and co-financing are taken into account. In 
addition, the  Commission  is currently  working with the EIB to develop joint instruments to 
support lending to SMEs.  

The Commission therefore calls upon: 

(cid:190)  Member  States  to  implement  the  Country-Specific  Recommendations  addressed  to 
them,  including  by  limiting  the  tax  burden  on  labour,  reducing  the  gaps  in  employment 
protection between  different types of work  contracts  and exploring  targeted measures to 
incentivise the hiring of young people. 

(cid:190)  The  EIB  to  step  up  support  for  SMEs  creating  jobs  and  offering  apprenticeships  for 
under-25s and to accelerate work with the Commission to implement new mechanisms to 
support SMEs. 

***

14 

 
 
 
BE 

BG 

DK 

EE 

ES 

FI 

FR 

Annex 1 : Youth employment-related Country-Specific Recommendations 

Simplify and reinforce coherence between employment incentives, activation 
policies, labour matching, education, lifelong learning and vocational training 
policies for older people and youth. 

Accelerate the national Youth Employment Initiative, for example through a 
Youth Guarantee. 

Adopt the School Education Act and pursue the reform of higher education, in 
particular through better aligning outcomes to labour-market needs and 
strengthening cooperation between education, research and business. 

Improve the quality of vocational training to reduce drop-out rates and increase the 
number of apprenticeships. 

Continue efforts to improve the labour-market relevance of education and training 
systems, including by further involving social partners and implementing targeted 
measures to address youth unemployment. 

Implement and monitor closely the effectiveness of the measures to fight youth 
unemployment set out in the Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment Strategy 
2013-2016, for example through a Youth Guarantee. 

Continue with efforts to increase the labour market relevance of education and 
training, to reduce early school leaving and to enhance life-long learning, namely 
by expanding the application of dual vocational training beyond the current pilot 
phase and by introducing a comprehensive monitoring system of pupils' 
performance by the end of 2013.  

Implement and monitor closely the impact of on-going measures to improve the 
labour-market position of young people and the long-term unemployed, with a 
particular focus on the development of job-relevant skills.  

Take further measures to improve the transition from school to work through, for 
example, a Youth Guarantee and promotion of apprenticeship. 

HU 

Address youth unemployment, for example through a Youth Guarantee.   

Implement a national strategy on early school-leaving and ensure that the 
education system provides all young people with labour-market-relevant skills, 
competences and qualifications. … Support the transition between different stages 
of education and towards the labour market. Implement a higher-education reform 
that enables greater tertiary attainment, particularly by disadvantaged students. 

IT 

Take further action to foster labour market participation, especially of women and 

15 

 
 
young people, for example through a Youth Guarantee. 

Strengthen vocational education and training, ensure more efficient public 
employment services, and improve counselling services for tertiary students. … 
Step up efforts to prevent early school leaving and improve school quality and 
outcomes, also by reforming teachers' professional and career development.  

Improve the employability of young people, for example through a Youth 
Guarantee, enhance the implementation and effectiveness of apprenticeship 
schemes, and address persistent skill mismatches. 

Step up efforts to reduce youth unemployment by improving the design and 
monitoring of active labour market policies. Strengthen general and vocational 
education to better match young people’s skills with labour demand, in particular 
for people with migrant background. 

Tackle long-term and youth unemployment by increasing coverage and 
effectiveness of active labour market policies and targeted social services. 
Improve the employability of young people, for example through a Youth 
Guarantee, establish comprehensive career guidance, implement reforms in the 
field of vocational education and training, and improve the quality and 
accessibility of apprenticeships. 

Continue to pursue policy efforts to reduce early school leaving, notably by setting 
up a comprehensive monitoring system, and increase the labour market relevance 
of education and training to address skills gaps, including through the announced 
reform of the apprenticeship system. 

Strengthen efforts to reduce youth unemployment, for example through a Youth 
Guarantee, increase the availability of apprenticeships and work-based learning, 
strengthen cooperation between schools and employers and improve the quality of 
teaching. 

LT 

LU 

LV 

MT 

PL 

RO 

To fight youth unemployment, implement without delay the National Plan for 
Youth Employment, including for example through a Youth Guarantee. 

Step up reforms in vocational education and training. Further align tertiary 
education with the needs of the labour market and improve access for 
disadvantaged people. Implement a national strategy on early school leaving 
focusing on better access to quality early childhood education, including for Roma 
children. 

SE 

Reinforce efforts to improve the labour-market integration of low-skilled young 
people and people with a migrant background by stronger and better targeted 
measures to improve their employability and the labour demand for these groups. 
Step up efforts to facilitate the transition from school to work, including via a 

16 

 
 
wider use of work-based learning, apprenticeships and other forms of contracts 
combining employment and education. Complete the Youth Guarantee to better 
cover young people not in education or training. 

SI 

Take further measures to increase employment of the young tertiary graduates, 
older persons and the low-skilled by focusing resources on tailor-made active 
labour market policy measures while improving their effectiveness. 

Address the skills mismatch by improving the attractiveness of the relevant 
vocational education and training programmes and by further developing 
cooperation with the relevant stakeholders in assessing labour market needs.   

SK 

UK 

Step up efforts to address high youth unemployment, for example through a Youth 
Guarantee. Take steps to attract young people to the teaching profession and raise 
educational outcomes. In vocational education and training, reinforce the 
provision of work-based learning in companies. In higher education, create more 
job-oriented bachelor programmes. 

Building on the Youth Contract, step up measures to address youth 
unemployment, for example through a Youth Guarantee.  Increase the quality and 
duration of apprenticeships, simplify the system of qualifications and strengthen 
the engagement of employers, particularly in the provision of advanced and 
intermediate technical skills. 

Reduce the number of young people aged 18-24 who have very poor basic skills, 
including through effectively implementing the Traineeships programme. 

17 

 
 
 
 
Annex 2 – How the Youth Employment Action Teams have helped young people 

Ireland 

Slovakia 

−  A Labour Market Education & Training Fund, known as Momentum and part 
of Ireland's Action Plan for Jobs, was launched in December 2012 to provide 
skills  training  for  up  to  6  500  long-term  unemployed.  The  ESF  will 
contribute EUR 10 million to this Fund, which has an overall budget of EUR 
20 million. One of the four strands of this Fund is specifically designed for 
young people under 25. Currently, 816 young people are supported under this 
specific strand. But since young people can also participate in the other three 
strands, the total number of young participants in Momentum is 1 353.  

−  EUR 25 million has been redirected to the integrated Youthreach programme 
which provides education, training and work experience to young people who 
have left school early without qualifications or vocational training. This will 
allow 3 700 training places to be maintained until the end of 2013. 

−  Following  the  ESF  re-allocation,  two  national  projects  (worth  EUR  70 
million) were launched in November 2012 supporting job creation for young 
people under 29 in private and self-governing sectors in the regions with the 
highest 
jobs).  The 
implementation  of 
to  date  has  been  successful,  with 
microenterprises  and  SMEs  showing  the  greatest  interest  in  offering  work 
opportunities for young people. By mid-May 2013, more than 6 200 new jobs 
had been created (EUR 33.1 million contracted). 

levels  of  unemployment 

(target:  13  000  new 

the  projects 

Lithuania  − 

In Lithuania, all planned ESF actions are being implemented. A project was 
refocused  to  offer  vocational  training  programmes  to  about  6  000  young 
people.  The  budget  is  about  EUR  6  million.  The project  started on August 
2012 and will end in August 2013.  The number of participants is 4 851. 

−  A  project  providing  first-job  skills  for  young  people  was  extended  with  an 
additional budget of EUR 6 million, which will support around 6 000 young 
people. The project started on July 2011 and will end on November 2013.  4 
382 young unemployed people have already participated in this project. 

−  The  Entrepreneurship  Promotion  Fund  (ESF  EUR  14.5  million),  currently 
provides loans and training services for start-ups and self-employment, with 
young people among the prioritised focus groups under this measure. A new 
measure (worth EUR 3 million) was approved to increase the attractiveness 
of this loan scheme for start-ups and self-employment.   

−  Another new ESF measure (EUR 9.3 million) “Support for the first job” has 
been  recently  approved,  replacing  the  existing  social  security  reduction 
scheme  for  the  first  job  by  wage  subsidies.  The  project  started  on  August 
2012 and will end in September 2015.  The planned number of participants is 
about 20 000. The number of applications received by 18 April 2013 is 4 858.

18 

 
 
Latvia 

Portugal 

−  A new measure worth EUR 2.3 million ''Promotion of youth employment and 
motivation'' was approved on 17 April 2013.  Two of the projects will focus 
on volunteering and individual support for vulnerable young people. 

−  EUR  11  million  has  been  allocated  to  several  measures  supporting  young 
people  without  vocational  qualifications  and  seeking  new,  labour  market 
oriented,  qualifications.  As  a  result  of  these  measures,  the  proportion  of 
young unemployed receiving EU support will jump from 24% to 40%, while 
the number of persons in vocational training would double. 

−  The  5-year  project  "Acquiring  Vocational  Education  Programmes,  Basic 
Skills and Competences for Sustaining Education and Career Development” 
is aimed at preparing secondary VET level professionals in order to promote 
the  acquisition  of  vocational  competences  and  skills  for  occupational 
activities and further education as well as facilitating integration in the labour 
market. It is being implemented in partnership with VET schools to provide 
12-18  month  programmes  for  2nd  and  3rd  level  professional  qualifications 
for  at  least  4  000  under-25s.  By  the  end  of  May  2013,  1  372  students  have 
received the 2nd and 3rd level of professional qualification. 

− 

In 2013, the measure “Youth workshops”, co-financed by the ESF, is being 
implemented with the objective of helping up to 500 young people aged 15-
24  without  previous  vocational  education  to  experience  3  professions  and 
make a well-informed career choice. 

−  A  national  initiative  called  'Impulso  Jovem'  entailed  a  comprehensive  re-
programming of structural funds which will benefit 90 000 young people by 
the end of 2015 in mainland Portugal. EUR 143 million of ESF funding was 
reallocated  to  finance  measures  including  traineeships  in  key  economic 
sectors, as well as support for the contracting of people aged 18-30 years old 
via reimbursement of employer's social security contributions.  

− 

In February 2013, the scope of the programme was broadened, enlarging the 
eligibility criteria as well as expanding it to additional regions. By the end of 
May,  9  676  young  people  have  been  covered  by  the  programme  so  far.  A 
transfer of EUR 10 million from the Madeira ERDF Operational Programme 
to  the  corresponding  ESF  Operational  Programme  was  made  in  order  to 
support  youth  employment  measures  such  as  traineeships  and  hiring 
incentives.  By  the  end  of  May,  1  497  additional  young  people  had  been 
covered. 

Spain 

− 

In Spain, during 2012, over EUR 286 million in ESF funding was reallocated 
to actions related to youth. From this, EUR 135 million was directed to the 
public  employment  service  to  help  young  people  find  work.  The  youth 
actions 
implemented  so  far  are  workshop  schools  and  employment 
workshops,  with  about  9  500  young  participants.  These  are  mixed 

19 

 
 
programmes of employment and training. Furthermore, subsidies in the form 
of reductions in social security contributions for companies recruiting young 
people have been implemented for a total of about 142 000 young people.  

−  With regard to the EUR 50 million ESF reallocated in 2012 in the Fighting 
Against Discrimination programme, measures to tackle youth unemployment 
consist  mainly  of  activities  related  to  integrated  pathways  to  employment 
adapted  to  the  specific  needs  of  different  groups,  such  as  young  with 
disabilities,  young  Roma,  young  with  special  difficulties  and  unemployed 
young with a medium level of employability.  

−  The Spanish Government presented on 12 March 2013 the Entrepreneurship 
and  Youth  Employment  Strategy  2013-2016.  This  initiative  provides  100 
individual  measures  to  combat  youth  unemployment.  The  actions  address 
young  people  in  general  under  the  age  of  30,  and  especially  those  who  are 
unemployed.  To  achieve  the  Strategy’s  objectives  and  implement  the  new 
measures,  new  resources  amounting  to  EUR  3.485  billion  have  been 
earmarked.  Some  of  the  actions  will  be  partially  funded  by  the  ESF  during 
the current and future programming periods. 

−  As part of the first phase of the Cohesion Action Plan, EUR 1.4 billion has 
been  allocated  to  actions  aimed  at  boosting  education  and  employment, 
including  a  Youth  Employment  Plan  in  Sicily  worth  EUR  452  million  and 
expected to benefit around 50 000 young people, new education activities for 
65 300 students from Southern regions or 13 000 new mobility opportunities. 
In a second phase, a further EUR 620 million has been dedicated to actions 
supporting young people and NEETs, including support for entrepreneurship 
and combating early school leaving. 

−  The  ESF  is  also  co-financing  the  “AMVA  programme”  worth  EUR  118 
million  to  support  apprenticeship  schemes  and  the  “FIXO  programme” 
(promotion  of  guidance  and  placement  of  young  pupils)  worth  EUR  36 
million. 

−  Following  extensive  re-programming  at  the  end  of  2012,  a  national  youth 
action  plan  was  endorsed  in  January  2013  with  EU  funding  of  EUR  517 
million.  The  plan  is  intended  to  promote  youth  employment,  training  and 
entrepreneurship  and  targets  nearly  350  000  young  people.  Additional 
support  of  EUR  1.2  billion  to  address  the  liquidity  needs  of  SMEs  is  being 
allocated  under  the  latest  re-programming  exercise.  According  to  the  latest 
information coming from the Greek authorities, the new initiatives included 
in the adopted youth action  plan  that have already started (approx. EUR 47 
million)  include  the  temporary  hiring  of  the  young  unemployed  (up  to  35 
years  old)  in  community-based  work  programmes  in  the  cultural  sector  as 
well as the provision of support to social structures, which aim at combating 

20 

Italy 

Greece  

 
 
poverty and social exclusion, for the recruitment of the young unemployed.  

− 

In  addition,  the  implementation  of  the  following  schemes  from  the  action 
plan (approx. EUR 146 million) is being launched: a) "voucher for entrance 
in the labour market" which combines training with a 5-month job placement 
in  businesses  and  targets  45  000  young  unemployed  up  to  29  years  old;  b) 
blended  theoretical  and  on-the-job  training  for  1000  young  unemployed 
seamen up to the same age limit.  

21