Study for the evaluation of ESF support to youth employment.
Date: 2020-07-02
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
Subjects: European Social Fund, added value, education, labour market, social integration, vocational training, youth employment

Study for the Evaluation of 
ESF Support to Youth 
Employment 

Final Report 

Written by Paul Jeffrey, Isabel Naylon, Marili Parissaki (Metis), Costanza Pagnini, Andrea Gianetto 
(FGB), Nirina Rabemiafara, Andy Fuller, Eleni Roidou (Applica), Bert-Jan Buiskool, Gert-Jan 
Lindeboom (Ockham) 
April – 2020 

Social 
Europe 

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion 
Directorate H Audit, evaluation and communication 
Unit G.4: Evaluation and Impact Assessment  

Contact: Jiří Polášek 

E-mail:  EMPL-G4-UNIT@ec.europa.eu

European Commission 
B-1049 Brussels

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Study for the Evaluation of 
ESF Support to Youth 
Employment 

Final Report 

2020 

Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion 

LEGAL NOTICE 

Manuscript completed in April 2020

Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the European Commission is responsible 
for the use that might be made of the following information. More information on the European Union is 
available on the Internet (http://www.europa.eu). 

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2020

PDF   ISBN 978-92-76-19201-5 

 doi:10.2767/681170   

KE-02-20-389-EN-N

© European Union, 2020

Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. The reuse policy of European Commission 
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Please quote this report as: Metis GmbH, Fondazione G. Brodolini, Applica, Ockham IPS (2020) 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment, for the European Commission, 
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.

The opinions expressed are those of the Contractor only and do not represent the Commission’s 
official position.

 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

List of acronyms 

ALMP 

AIR 

CIE 

CPR 

CSR  

Active Labour Market Policies 

Annual Implementation Report 

Counterfactual impact evaluations 

Common Provisions Regulation 

Country specific recommendations 

DG EMPL 

Directorate-General Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion 

DG REGIO 

Directorate-General Regional and Urban Policy 

EAFRD 

European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 

EMFF 

EQ 

ERDF 

ESF 

FEAD 

GDP 

European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 

Evaluation question 

European Regional Development Fund 

European Social Fund 

Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived 

Gross domestic product 

ISCED 

International Standard Classification of Education 

JRC 

MS 

IP 

Joint Research Centre 

Member State 

Investment Priority  

NEET 

Person not in employment, education or training 

OP 

PES 

SFC 

VET 

YEI 

YG 

Operational Programme 

Public employment service 

System for Fund Management in the European Union 

Vocational education and training 

Youth Employment Initiative 

Youth Guarantee 

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

Table of Contents 

List of acronyms ................................................................................................ 3 
Executive summary ..........................................................................................10 
Introduction .............................................................................................24 
1 
1.1  Purpose and objectives of the study ............................................................24 
1.2  Methodology and work carried out ..............................................................25 
1.3  Limitations of the research .........................................................................26 
2 
Background..............................................................................................31 
2.1  Young people not in employment, education or training (NEET)– volume and 

characteristics ..........................................................................................31 
2.1.1  Defining NEET .............................................................................................. 31 
2.1.2  Long-term impact of the 2008 economic and financial crisis on young people ....... 31 
2.1.3  Changing NEET rates from 2014 to 2018 ......................................................... 33 
2.1.4  The importance of skills and educational attainment ......................................... 34 
2.1.5  Gender variations ......................................................................................... 35 
2.1.6  Young migrants ............................................................................................ 37 
2.1.7  Young people at risk of poverty and social exclusion ......................................... 37 
2.2  The EU response to youth unemployment and the focus on NEETs ..................38 
2.3  Regional variations ...................................................................................39 
3 
Summary of the situation regarding the financial and operational implementation 
of the YEI and ESF funded youth employment operations ..............................44 
3.1  Scope of investments ................................................................................44 
3.2  Types of supported operations....................................................................47 
Implementation ........................................................................................50 
3.3 
3.3.1  Financial implementation ............................................................................... 50 
3.3.2  Operational implementation by participation (outputs) ...................................... 51 
3.3.3  Operational implementation - results achieved ................................................. 55 
Answers to the evaluation questions ...........................................................61 
4 
4.1  Effectiveness ............................................................................................61 

4.1.1  EQ 1.1 To what extent have the financial implementation and the achievement of 
the expected outputs progressed according to the targets set in the programmes? 
What were the main factors involved (delays in implementation, ESF absorption…)?
 .................................................................................................................. 63 

4.1.2  EQ 1.2 How and to what extent does YEI contribute to the achievement of the 

general objective of sustainable integration (also after the end of the operation) of 
young people into the labour market and to the specific objectives under ESF? How 
did it contribute to addressing the problems faced by NEETs? ............................ 68 
4.1.3  EQ 1.3 To what extent were the target groups reached by the operations, including 

disadvantaged persons, those from marginalised communities and those leaving 
education without qualifications? To what extent was gender balance achieved? .. 74 

4.1.4  EQ 1.4 What was the quality and timeliness of the offers received by the 

participants? ................................................................................................ 85 

4.1.5  EQ 1.5 Which types of interventions were the most effective and most sustainable, 
for which groups and in which contexts (e.g. more developed, less developed and 
transition regions; urban and rural areas etcetera)?.......................................... 88 

4.1.6  EQ 1.6 What main factors (geographical, socioeconomic, organisational…) had the 

biggest impact in the effectiveness of ESF and YEI operations in respect of youth 
employment, by type of operation? ................................................................. 97 

4.1.7  EQ 1.7 To what extent YEI and ESF contributed to structural changes in national 
education systems, vocational training systems, public employment systems or 
youth policies? ........................................................................................... 102 

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

4.2  Efficiency ............................................................................................... 104 

4.2.1  EQ 2.1. To what extent were operations cost-effective? What types of operations 
were more and less cost-effective? In what contexts? What were the determining 
factors? ..................................................................................................... 105 

4.2.2  EQ 2.2. Are there significant cost differences between Member States/Regions in 

the implementation of the operations? What are these differences related to? .... 121 

4.2.3  EQ 2.3. To what extent were the organisational arrangements, including 

management and control systems at all levels conducive to the effectiveness of 
operations? Was there an administrative burden, in particular gold plating involved?
 ................................................................................................................ 122 

4.2.4  EQ 2.4. In particular, how timely and efficient were the procedures for reporting 

and monitoring? ......................................................................................... 125 

4.2.5  EQ 2.5. How visible were YEI and other ESF-funded youth employment operations?

 ................................................................................................................ 127 
4.3  Relevance .............................................................................................. 130 

4.3.1  EQ 3.1. To what extent were the objectives and the operations funded by the YEI 
relevant to the needs of young people in Europe? To what extent were the 
objectives and operations of other ESF funded youth employment operations 
relevant for them? ...................................................................................... 131 

4.3.2  EQ 3.2. To what extent were OPs flexible and able to adapt to changes in the 
implementation context, notably the evolution in the situation of youth 
employment? ............................................................................................. 135 

4.3.3  EQ 3.3. Were the most relevant groups, in the different socioeconomic contexts 

(e.g. more developed, less developed and transition regions; urban and rural areas 
etc.), targeted from the design stage? Were the most important needs of these 
groups addressed? How were gender issues addressed? .................................. 137 
4.4  Coherence ............................................................................................. 141 

4.4.1  EQ 4.1. In which manner were the YEI and other ESF-funded youth employment 

operations complementary with each other? What were the main factors in this 
regard? ..................................................................................................... 141 

4.4.2  EQ 4.2. To what extent were they complementary and coherent with other policy 

objectives funded by the ESF and other programmes and policy initiatives oriented 
to young people and youth-employment at EU level (e.g. ERDF, EAFRD, EMFF, 
Erasmus+, EURES…)? ................................................................................. 143 
4.4.3  EQ 4.3. To what extent were they complementary and coherent with other activities 
oriented to young people and youth-employment at national/regional level? ...... 146 
4.5  EU Added value ...................................................................................... 147 
4.5.1  EQ 5.1. To what extent did the YEI and other ESF-funded operations produce 

effects at the national and regional level that would not have taken place without 
the EU intervention? ................................................................................... 147 
4.5.2  EQ 5.2. To what extent do YEI operations and other ESF-funded youth employment 
operations contribute to the objectives of the Youth Guarantee? ...................... 151 
4.6  Sustainability ......................................................................................... 156 
4.6.1  EQ 6.1. To what extent the effects of YEI and ESF support are likely to continue 

after the end of the funding, both at individual and youth employment policy level?
 ................................................................................................................ 156 
5 
Lessons learned, good practice and suggestions for improvement ................. 159 
5.1  Outreach ............................................................................................... 159 
5.2  Cooperation and partnerships ................................................................... 161 
5.3  Guidance and support to individuals .......................................................... 163 
5.4  Education and training............................................................................. 164 
5.5  First job experience, placements and traineeships ....................................... 166 
5.6  Apprenticeships ...................................................................................... 166 
5.7  Flexible and individualised pathway approaches .......................................... 168 

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

5.8  Vouchers ............................................................................................... 169 
5.9  Support to entrepreneurship .................................................................... 169 
5.10  Measurement of effective youth employment programmes ........................... 170 
Conclusions ............................................................................................ 173 
6 
Annex 1: A mapping of youth-related thematic objectives, investment priorities, target 
populations and types of operations .......................................................... 175 
Annex 2: Assisting the European Commission in the public consultation process ..... 175 
Annex 3: Comparative Analysis of the evolution of the labour market and the role of 

the EU funded operations......................................................................... 175 
Annex 4: Cost-effectiveness analysis ................................................................ 175 
Annex 5: Individual case study reporting ........................................................... 175 
Annex 6: Country-specific factsheets ................................................................ 175 
Annex 7: Synthesis of 2nd YEI evaluations ........................................................ 175 
Annex 8: Methodology and work carried out in the tasks ..................................... 175 
Annex 9: Minutes of Youth Employment EU-level Focus Group ............................. 175 
Annex 10: Synopsis of consultation activities ..................................................... 175 

6 

 
 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

Tables, Figures and Boxes 

  Socio-economic indicators used for clustering of regions ........................40 

  Clusters of regions by typology based on the socio-economic context - EU28, 
2014 and 2014-2018 (change) ...........................................................41 

  Allocations to Youth Employment ESF + YEI – including OP amendments until 
2018, in 1 000 Euro ..........................................................................44 

Total of and share of ESF/YEI targets in relation to reference population (15-
29 years old unemployed in 2014) ......................................................46 

  Number of all participations in Investment Priority 8.ii for persons under and 
above 25 years and total participations (ESF and YEI) ...........................52 

  Number of all outputs for entities in Investment Priority 8.ii (ESF and YEI)
 ......................................................................................................55 

Immediate results – Annex I indicators (YEI) .......................................55 

Immediate results - Annex I indicators (ESF – Investment Priority 8.ii) ...56 

  Results for unemployed participants – Annex II common indicators .........57 

  Results for inactive participants – Annex II common indicators YEI (2) ....59 

  Results  for  participants  six  months  after  leaving  –  Annex  II  common 
indicators YEI (3) ..............................................................................60 

  Employment rates by type of operations, after exit and after six months .71 

  Eligible expenditures declared to EC per participation .......................... 110 

  Comparison of unit costs between different data sources(in EUR) ......... 112 

  Expenditure  per  entry:  expenditure  minimum-rate  threshold  of  75.1 %  - 
breakdown by region and intervention type ........................................ 114 

  Cost by type of operator, expected cost and real cost, National Operational 
Programme France .......................................................................... 116 

  Costs per result - Eligible expenditures declared to EC per immediate result 
achieved ........................................................................................ 118 

  Familiarity  with  ESF/YEI  by  group  of  respondents,  absolute  and  relative 
frequency ...................................................................................... 129 

  Gender-specific targets in Investment Priority 8.ii ............................... 140 

  Use of ESF and YEI funds in the implementation of national Youth Guarantee 
schemes, 2016-2019 ....................................................................... 152 

  ESF  and  YEI  funds  in  the  implementation  of  national  Youth  Guarantee 
schemes, 2016-2019 ....................................................................... 152 

  NEET  rates  of  persons  aged  15-24  by  labour  market  status  (in  %  of  the 
economically active and inactive population, 15-24) and by Member State, 
2014 ...............................................................................................32 

  Youth unemployment rate (persons aged 15-24 as % of active population), 
2014 ...............................................................................................33 

  NEET rates for persons aged 15-24 by labour market status - EU28, 2014-
2018 ...............................................................................................34 

  Change in NEET rates for persons aged 15-24 by labour market status and 
Member State, 2014-2018 (in %) .......................................................34 

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

  Youth unemployment rate for persons aged 15-24 by level of education and 
Member State (as % of active population), 2014 ..................................35 

  Change in unemployment rates of persons aged 15-24 by level of education, 
2014-2018 (in %) .............................................................................35 

  NEET rates of persons aged 15-24 by gender, 2014 ..............................36 

  NEET  rates  of  persons  aged  25-29  by  gender  and  labour  market  status 
(active and inactive) - EU28, 2014 and 2018 ........................................36 

  Unemployment rates of people aged 15-24 by country of birth and Member 
State, 2014 ......................................................................................37 

  Total persons aged 15-24 and those at risk of poverty or social exclusion (as 
% of population) by Member State, 2014 and 2017 ..............................38 

  Clusters of regions by typology based on the socio-economic context - EU28, 
2014 and change to 2018 ..................................................................41 

  Share of eligible ESF/YEI costs related to operation types ......................48 

  Share of eligible ESF/YEI costs related to operation types by cluster .......48 

  Share of eligible ESF costs related to operation by types by Member State
 ......................................................................................................49 

  Share of eligible YEI costs related to operation types by Member State ....50 

  Implementation rates of YEI/ESF  by Member State (expenditures declared 
to the Managing Authority) ................................................................51 

  Share of participation of persons younger than 25 years ........................52 

  Share of men and women against overall participations .........................53 

  Share of unemployed and inactive against overall participation ...............54 

  Share of people with specific vulnerability against overall participation ....54 

  Progress towards Milestones defined for 2018 - YEI ...............................65 

  Implementation rate youth employment investments by ESF - compared 66 

  Types of results by respondents of the public consultation .....................70 

  Share of NEETs (15-24) supported by ESF/YEI as a proportion of the NEET 
population in 2014 by cluster of regions (in %) ....................................76 

  Number  of  early  school  leavers  supported  by  ESF/YEI  between  2014  and 
2017 as a proportion of early school leavers in 2014 (in %) ...................77 

  Employment status in ESF participation under Investment Priority 8.ii (in %)
 ......................................................................................................78 

  Employment status YEI participation (in %) .........................................78 

  Educational attainment – ESF participation (Investment Priority 8.ii) .......79 

  Educational attainment – YEI participation ...........................................79 

  Gender – YEI participation .................................................................80 

  Gender – ESF participation (Investment Priority 8.ii) .............................80 

  Success of youth employment operations by the ESF and the YEI in providing 
support to specific target groups .........................................................82 

  Share of job offers proposing permanent contracts ...............................86 

  Effectiveness  of  operations  related  to  quality  and  sustainable  employment
 ......................................................................................................90 

  Factors contributing to the success of youth employment operations funded 
by the ESF or the YEI ........................................................................98 

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

  Main factors hindering the achievement of the objectives of the ESF and the 
YEI in the field of youth employment ...................................................99 

  Cost-effectiveness of activities implemented through ESF .................... 107 

  Cost-effectiveness of activities implemented through YEI ..................... 108 

  Assessment of administrative arrangements for ESF and YEI ................ 123 

  Familiarity with ESF and YEI ............................................................. 128 

  Overview of budget allocation to clusters of regions ............................ 139 

  Coherence  of  YEI  and  ESF  with  other  youth  and  youth  employment  EU 
national/regional schemes ............................................................... 145 

  YEI  outputs  as  share  of  Youth  Guarantee  offers  by  age-group,  2014-2018
 .................................................................................................... 154 

  YEI  outputs  as  share  of  subsidised  Youth  Guarantee  offers  by  age-group, 
2014-2018 ..................................................................................... 155 

Definition of Thematic Objective 8 and Investment Priority 8ii ................24 

The impact of work based learning on employment in Croatia ................91 

Effects of work based learning in Poland ..............................................92 

The impact of training on employment rates in Italy ..............................92 

The impact of enhanced support in France ...........................................94 

Employment effects of financial incentives in Slovenia and Croatia ..........95 

Net effects by labour market status in Piedmont ...................................96 

Complementarity with other EU programmes ..................................... 144 

Outreach activities in Belgium and Poland .......................................... 161 

Co-operations and partnerships in Germany, Portugal and Spain .......... 161 

Tailored outreach in Germany........................................................... 163 

Tailored support in Poland ................................................................ 164 

Special support for hard-to-reach young people in Belgium .................. 164 

Second chance schools in France ...................................................... 165 

Training for work in Belgium ............................................................ 166 

Apprenticeship programmes in Greece and Germany ........................... 167 

Vouchers for NEETs in Greece ........................................................... 169 

Support to Entrepreneurship in Portugal ............................................ 170 

  Measuring soft outcomes ................................................................. 171 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

Executive summary  

The study supporting the evaluation of EU support to youth employment focused on six 
evaluation criteria, namely the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence, European 
added value and sustainability of the operations1 under the European Social Fund (ESF) 
and the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), between 2014 and 2018. Operations carried 
out by Member States are targeted at young people not in education, employment or 
training (NEET) and aged between 15-29 years2 old.  

This implementation has taken place in a changing context. In 2014, 13.4 million young 
people  across  Europe  were  considered  as  NEET.  Since  then  the  high  youth 
unemployment rate has fallen mainly due to positive evolution of the  socio-economic 
context  at  the  EU  level  between  2014  and  2018.  As  a  result,  economically  inactive3 
young people (rather than unemployed) make up now a greater proportion of the NEET 
population, while it is known that this group is generally more difficult to identify and 
access. 

An estimated EUR 22 billion is being invested in youth employment operations for the 
current programming period (2014-2020), including EUR 8.8 billion from YEI and EUR 
5.5  billion  from  the  ESF  Investment  Priority  8.ii.4  5  Implementation  rates  (vs  funding 
committed) are behind schedule for YEI (52%, 2014-2018) and ESF youth operations 
(27%, 2014-2018), due to delays in set-up, capacity constraints and difficulties to reach 
out to the target groups.  

By  the  end  of  2018,  there  had  been  about  3.8  million  participations  under  ESF/YEI 
operations6, representing 60% of participations targeted. Women make up 52% of all 
participations.  

Effectiveness: YEI and ESF youth employment operations have had a positive 
impact in terms of integrating young people into the labour market  

Youth  employment  operations  supported  by  the  ESF  aimed  at  “the  sustainable 
integration  into  the  labour  market  of  young  people,  in  particular  those  not  in 
employment,  education  or  training,  including  young  people  at  risk  of  social  exclusion 
and  young  people 
the 
implementation of the Youth Guarantee”7. 

from  marginalised  communities, 

including 

through 

In  general,  the  operations  implemented  have  contributed  to  that  overall  objective  in 
different manners and to different extents, depending on the positive evolution of the 
socioeconomic context (which varies between Member States) and the target group.  

Some 1.4 million participations resulted in employment immediately after participation, 
with  further  results  including  employment-oriented  education  and  training,  and  self-
employment. As a combination of these immediate results, the evaluation indicates that 
the level of employment of participants has tended to increase in the medium to long 
term, which hints at a positive effect of the operations on the overall employability of 
participants. 

1 Youth employment operations include vocational education and training (VET), apprenticeships, 
internships and work experience, wage subsidies, advice, guidance and counselling, support for self-
employment and entrepreneurship, and structural support for strengthening institutional capacity. 
2 For YEI, this was originally 15-24 years but was later extended to 29 years. Not all Member States target 
the whole age range, keeping in mind that ESF/YEI complement national policies and targets 
3 These are young people not employed but not registered as unemployed and include students, people 
engaged in family duties and people on sickness and other non-employment benefits. 
4 The specific Investment Priority (IP) targeted on youth employment. The remaining investment is from 
other ESF IPs, co-financing and the private sector.  
5 The cut-off date for data download was 6 September 2019. 
6 A young person may participate more than once. ESF/YEI monitoring counts participations rather than 
individual participants. 
7 Art. 3 of Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013 of the European Parliament and the Council of 17 December 2013 
on the European Social Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006 

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

There are also soft outcomes (such as increased confidence and self-esteem) that are 
not  systematically  measured  and  recorded,  but  are  vitally  important  to  meeting  the 
needs of those NEETs furthest away from the labour market.   

YEI and ESF youth employment operations have been most effective in targeting and 
supporting  unemployed  NEETs,  as  opposed  to  those  who  are  economically  inactive. 
Many of these, but not all, have a low level of skills and educational attainment at the 
start of the participation. While the overall target group was in general well addressed, 
reaching  out  to  it  was  often  a  major  issue,  and  targeting  particularly  disadvantaged 
groups and hard-to-reach areas was often less successful, or more costly. 

Most  of  those  who  had  participated  in  operations  were  generally  satisfied  and 
highlighted the benefits obtained in terms of support on job search and learning general 
skills,  that  have  helped  enhance  employability  over  time.  Where  there  was 
dissatisfaction, it generally centred on the short-term nature and relatively low pay of 
some employment opportunities proposed. 

Those operations that best help participants improve their employability are generally 
linked  to  work  experience  or  vocational  skills  with  a  direct  link  to  employers  (e.g. 
remunerated  traineeships,  apprenticeships  and  internships,  vocational  education  and 
training,  basic  skills  training  for  the  low  skilled).  These  are  important  steps  towards 
work and help to develop the vocational skills base among participants, increasing their 
short and longer-term employability.  

Operations adopting a tailored to individual needs approach tend to be more effective, 
especially  for  more  disadvantaged  groups  and  those  furthest  away  from  the  labour 
market. 

Efficiency: The unit costs of youth employment operations are broadly in line 
with established benchmarks and appropriate to the operations implemented 

The average unit cost per participation is EUR 2 000 and around EUR 4 000 to date for 
a result (offer of employment, education and training) with significant variations in costs 
and  unit  costs,  and  between  Member  States.  There  are  no  significant  cost  variations 
between YEI and ESF youth operations. The type of operation (its content, duration, the 
degree of personalised/tailored provision) is the primary determinant of costs.   

Vocational education and training can have high costs but has shown to be cost-effective 
if closely linked to work experience. Alternatively, guidance delivered at relatively low 
costs, but not tailored to the individual, is generally less effective in terms of generating 
employment results, while improving employability.  

The  evaluation  found  that  in  most  cases  the  organisational  arrangements  are 
appropriate.  There  were  few  examples  of  ‘gold  plating’,  some  resulting  from  national 
structures (such as the initial incompatibility of national databases or determining the 
eligibility  of  young  people  for  YEI/ESF  support).  The  introduction  of  Simplified  Costs 
Options has helped to reduce administrative burden, but there have  been delays and 
capacity issues in setting up SCO systems. 

Overall,  monitoring  and  reporting  arrangements  are  now  operational.  There  are 
information gaps and delays in reporting, notably as regards outputs and results. This 
is  due  in  part  to  Managing  Authorities  needing  time  to  take  on  new  monitoring  and 
reporting requirements, delays in respect of establishing online monitoring systems and 
databases,  but  also  delays  due  to  controls  before  declaring  and  reporting  costs  and 
performance indicators. 

Relevance: The funds have generally gone to the groups and regions most in 
need of youth employment operations. 

Overall, youth employment operations have targeted the needs of different groups of 
NEETs  in  accordance  with  the  characteristic  of  the  NEET  population  in  different 
territories, and with national, regional and local employment strategies.  

11 

 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

YEI/ESF  operations  have  been  challenged    by  the  changes  in  the  composition  of  the 
NEET group during the period covered by the evaluation and, to a variable extent, by 
the  diverse Member States’ socioeconomic contexts. However, it has led to innovative 
approaches to identify and recruit participants from hard to reach groups, such as an 
increased reliance on social media.  

There  is  evidence  of  significant  flexibility  in  operations  (in  terms  of  targeting  –  both 
towards hard to reach groups and regions with higher NEET rates - and the content of 
operations). This has impacted on the outreach work of operations (with a greater focus 
on harder to  reach groups) and the progress  and effectiveness  of  youth employment 
operations.   

Coherence: YEI and ESF youth employment operations are generally coherent 
with other EU and national funds and interventions in the field of youth 
employment 

In general, there are clear lines of demarcation, aided in some countries and regions by 
coordinating partnerships taking a holistic view of youth employment operations across 
EU  and  national  programmes.  Other  programmes  have  a  focus  on  young  people, 
especially Erasmus +, but none have the clear employment focus or the breadth that 
YEI or ESF youth employment operations cover. 

The  YEI  initially  budgeted  for  the  period  2014  to  2018;  these  resources  were  later 
increased until 2020. The YEI was supported by ESF and a dedicated budget line and 
aimed to provide additional and complementary funding (to that already available from 
the ESF, but only on operations directly focused on young people) to support operations 
set out in the 2012 youth employment package, supporting the implementation of the 
Youth  Guarantee.  Existing  evidence  shows  that  YEI  and  other  ESF-funded  youth 
operations  were  coherent  amongst  themselves,  notably  due  to  the  way  they  were 
designed and programmed. 

European Added Value: Overall, EU support has had clear added value, as it 
has increased the volume of youth employment operations and the number 
and breadth of young people supported. 

The specific focus on youth employment afforded by an ESF Investment Priority (IP 8.ii), 
and especially through YEI, has raised and maintained the profile of youth employment 
issues across the EU. In particular, the emphasis on the needs and problems of NEETs, 
going beyond the unemployed, and addressing more disadvantaged and “elder” youth 
(from 25 up to 30 years) has impacted positively on the profile of youth employment.  

Moreover,  many  of  the  youth  employment  operations  would  not  have  been  funded 
without EU support. In some Member States YEI/ESF operations have made it possible 
to extend the age range of employment support to young people. 

Even if YEI was not aimed at changing systems, EU funds have helped support delivery 
capacity,  structural  changes  and  institutional  capabilities,  to  respond  to  the  specific 
needs  of  the  target  population  through  innovative  approaches.  Examples  include 
operations that provide early interventions with young people, especially those leaving 
school with limited skills, working with regional and local partners to develop common 
tools and standards for youth employment operations, and supporting age cohorts not 
fully catered for by national provision.  

Sustainability: Evidence points to increased employability six months or more 
after a participation 

Participants  of  YEI/ESF  youth  operations  have  accrued  improved  employment  results 
over  time,  six  months  or  more  after  participation.  In  addition,  the  macroeconomic 
analysis suggests that over time impacts (GDP and indirect employment) are positive 
because of the operations. 

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In terms of systems and programmes the innovations introduced by YEI and ESF youth 
operations are being mainstreamed into national programmes. 

Key Lessons 

The  case  studies  highlight  several  lessons  that  could  benefit  youth  employment 
operations in the remainder of this programming period, and the next. Many Managing 
Authorities and their delivery partners have applied outreach strategies that combine 
social  media  campaigns,  and  working  collaboratively  with  frontline  organisations  who 
already  support  young  people  (e.g.  social,  health  and  housing  workers).  Other  key 
lessons  include  local  partnerships  working  together  to  coordinate  support,  and  early 
interventions  such  as  pre-emptive  working  with  schools  and  youth  organisations  (to 
prevent young people from becoming NEET in the first place).  

Conclusions 

As  a  general  conclusion,  the  study  finds  that  YEI/ESF  youth  employment  operations 
have helped improve the employability of young people across Europe. To achieve this, 
some  elements  have  been  particularly  relevant,  such  as  innovation  in  reaching  the 
target  population,  coordination  between  partners,  and  holistic  approaches  to 
employment. 

Even if, operationally speaking, implementation took some time to take off and has not 
yet achieved the intended targets, the implementation progress is advancing well, and 
has long-term positive effects on employability. While further efforts seem necessary to 
engage inactive people, youth employment operations have adjusted accordingly and 
remained highly relevant. 

Based on the evidence available, it seems justified to conclude that without EU support 
the number of young NEETs supported would be lower, and the NEET population higher. 

The  specific  focus  on  ‘youth’  in  the  current  programming  period  through  the 
implementation  of  the  Youth  Guarantee,  YEI  and  ESF  operations,  has  raised  and 
maintained the profile of young NEETs, as regards policy design and delivery. This “focus 
on youth” is still justified even in the light of changing circumstances such as the impact 
of  the  current  COVID-19  pandemic and  should  be  adjusted  in  the  new  programming 
period, in particular in terms of the definition of the target group and the objectives to 
be achieved. 

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

Synthèse 

L'étude visant à appuyer l'évaluation portant sur le soutien de l'UE à l'emploi des jeunes 
s'est  concentrée  sur  six  critères  d'évaluation,  à  savoir  l'efficacité,  l'efficience,  la 
pertinence,  la  cohérence,  la  valeur  ajoutée  européenne  et  le  caractère  durable  des 
opérations8 au titre du Fonds Social Européen (FSE) et de l'Initiative pour l'emploi des 
jeunes (IEJ) entre 2014 et 2018. Les opérations menées par les États membres ciblent 
des jeunes qui ne travaillent pas et ne suivent ni études ni formation  (NEET) et âgés 
de 15 à 29 ans9. 

Cette mise en œuvre a eu lieu dans un contexte en évolution. En 2014, 13,4 millions de 
jeunes à travers l'Europe étaient considérés comme des NEET. Depuis, le taux élevé de 
chomâge des jeunes a diminué, principalement du fait de l'évolution positive du contexte 
socio-économique au niveau de l'UE entre 2014 et 2018. En conséquence, les jeunes 
économiquement  inactifs10  (plutôt  que  chômeurs)  représentent  désormais  une  plus 
grande  proportion  de  la  population  NEET,  alors  que  l'on  sait  que  ce  groupe  est 
genéralement plus difficilement identifiable et accessible. 

Pour la période de programmation actuelle (2014-2020), environ 22 milliards d'euros 
ont été investis dans des opérations pour l'emploi des jeunes, dont 8,8 milliards d'euros 
provenant de l'IEJ et 5,5 milliards d'euros de la priorité d'investissement 8.ii11 du FSE12. 
En raison de retards dans la mise en œuvre, de contraintes de capacité et de difficultés 
à  atteindre  les  groupes  cibles,  les  taux  de  réalisation  (par  rapport  au  financement 
engagé) sont en retard pour l'IEJ (52% pour 2014-2018) et les opérations en faveur de 
la jeunesse du FSE (27%). 

À la fin de l'année 2018, 3,8 millions de participations dans le cadre des opérations13 
FSE/IEJ  étaient  recensées,  représentant  60%  des  participations  ciblées.  Les  femmes 
comptaient pour 52% de l'ensemble des participations. 

Efficacité : Les opérations pour  l'emploi des  jeunes menées dans  le cadre  de 
l'IEJ et du FSE ont eu un impact positif en termes d’intégration des jeunes sur 
le marché du travail 

Les  opérations  en  faveur  de  l'emploi  des  jeunes  soutenues  par  le  FSE  visaient  à  
« l'intégration durable sur le marché du travail des jeunes, en particulier ceux qui ne 
travaillent pas, ne font pas d'études ou ne suivent pas de formation, y compris les jeunes 
exposés  à  l'exclusion  sociale  et  ceux  issus  de  groupes  marginalisés,  en  mettant 
notamment en œuvre la garantie pour la jeunesse14 ». 

En  général,  les  opérations  mises  en  œuvre  ont  contribué  à  cet  objectif  global  de 
différentes manières et à des degrés divers selon l'évolution positive du contexte socio-
économique (qui varie entre les États membres) et le groupe cible. 

8 Les opérations en faveur de l'emploi des jeunes incluent l'enseignement et la formation professionnels (EFP), 
l'apprentissage, les stages et l'expérience professionnelle, les subventions salariales, les services de conseil, 
d'orientation et d'assistance, le soutien à l'emploi indépendant et à l'entrepreneuriat, et le soutien structurel 
au renforcement des capacités institutionnelles. 
9 Pour l'IEJ, l'aide concernait à l'origine les 15-24 ans, mais a ensuite été étendue à 29 ans. Tous les États 
membres ne ciblent pas l'ensemble de la tranche d'âge, en gardant à l'esprit que le FSE et l'IEJ complètent 
les politiques et objectifs nationaux. 
10 Il s'agit de jeunes qui ne travaillent pas mais qui ne sont pas inscrits en tant que chômeurs. Cela inclut les 
étudiants,  les  personnes  ayant  des  responsabilités familiales,  ou  qui bénéficient  de  prestations  maladie ou 
d'autres prestations sociales. 
11 La priorité d'investissement (PI) spécifique est axée sur l'emploi des jeunes. Le reste des investissements 
provient d'autres PIs du FSE, du cofinancement et du secteur privé. 
12 La date limite de téléchargement des données était le 6 septembre 2019. 
13 Un jeune peut participer plus d'une fois. Le suivi FSE/IEJ prend en compte les participations plutôt que les 
participants individuels. 
14 Art. 3 du Règlement (UE) N° 1304/2013 du Parlement Européen et du Conseil du 17 décembre 2013 relatif 
au Fonds social européen et abrogeant le règlement (CE) n° 1081/2006 du Conseil. 

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Quelque 1,4 million de participations ont débouché sur un emploi immédiatement après 
participation, et d'autres résultats, notamment un enseignement et une formation axés 
sur  l'emploi  et  un  travail  indépendant.  En  combinant  ces  résultats  immédiats, 
l'évaluation indique que le niveau d'emploi des participants a eu tendance à augmenter 
à  moyen  et  long  terme,  ce  qui  laisse  entrevoir  un  effet  positif  des  opérations  sur 
l'employabilité globale des participants. 

Il existe également des résultats moins tangibles (tels qu'une confiance et une estime 
de  soi  accrues)  qui  ne  sont  pas  systématiquement  mesurés  et  enregistrés,  mais  qui 
demeurent  d'une  importance  vitale  pour  répondre  aux  besoins  des  NEET  les  plus 
éloignés du marché du travail. 

Les opérations de l'IEJ et du FSE en faveur de l'emploi des jeunes ont été très efficaces 
pour  cibler  et  soutenir  les  NEET  au  chômage,  par  opposition  à  ceux  qui  sont 
économiquement inactifs. Bon nombre d'entre eux, mais pas tous, ont un faible niveau 
de compétences et d'éducation en débutant leur participation. Bien que le groupe cible 
global était en général bien identifié, l'atteinte de ce groupe a souvent été un problème 
majeur,  et  cibler  des  groupes  particulièrement  défavorisés  et  des  zones  difficiles  à 
atteindre a souvent été moins fructueux ou plus coûteux. 

La  plupart  des  personnes  ayant  participé  aux  opérations  étaient  généralement 
satisfaites  et  ont  souligné  les  avantages  obtenus  en  termes  d'aide  à  la  recherche 
d'emploi et de l'apprentissage de compétences générales, qui ont contribué à améliorer 
leur  employabilité  au  fil  du  temps.  Celles  qui  s’avéraient  insatisfaites  ont  en  général 
souligné  la  nature  à  court-terme  et  la  rémunération  relativement  faible  de  certaines 
opportunités d'emploi proposées. 

Les opérations qui aident le mieux les participants à améliorer leur employabilité sont 
généralement  liées  à  une  expérience  professionnelle  ou  à  des  compétences 
professionnelles  ayant  un  lien  direct  avec  les  employeurs  (par  exemple,  les  stages 
rémunérés,  les  apprentissages  et  autres  stages,  l'enseignement  et  la  formation 
professionnels,  la  formation  aux  compétences  de  base  pour  les  personnes  peu 
qualifiées).  Ces  opérations  constituent  une  étape  fondamentale  vers  le  travail  et 
contribuent  à  développer  la  base  des  compétences  professionnelles  des  participants, 
augmentant ainsi leur employabilité à court et long terme. 

Les  opérations  qui  adoptent  une  approche  adaptée  aux  besoins  individuels  tendent  à 
être  plus  efficaces,  en  particulier  pour  les  groupes  les  plus  défavorisés  et  les  plus 
éloignés du marché du travail. 

Efficience  :  Les  coûts  unitaires  des  opérations  pour  l'emploi  des  jeunes  sont 
globalement conformes aux standards établis et adaptés aux opérations mises 
en œuvre 

Le coût unitaire moyen par participation est de 2 000 euros et d'environ 4 000 euros à 
ce jour pour obtenir un résultat (offre d'emploi, d'enseignement et de formation) avec 
des variations importantes au niveau des coûts et des coûts unitaires, et entre les États 
membres. Il n'y a pas de variations de coûts significatives entre les opérations pour les 
jeunes  de  l'IEJ  et  du  FSE.  Le  type  d'opération  (son  contenu,  sa  durée,  le  degré  de 
personnalisation/adaptation de l'offre) est le principal déterminant des coûts. 

L'enseignement et la formation professionnels peuvent avoir des coûts élevés, mais se 
sont  avérés  rentables  s'ils  sont  étroitement  liés  à  l'expérience  professionnelle. 
faibles,  et  non 
l'orientation  dispensée  à  coûts  relativement 
Alternativement, 
personnalisée, est généralement moins efficace pour générer des résultats en termes 
d'emploi, tout en améliorant l'employabilité. 

L'évaluation a montré que, dans la plupart des cas, les modalités d'organisation sont 
appropriées. Il y a eu peu d'exemples de surrèglementation (« gold plating »), certains 
résultant  de  structures  nationales  (tels  que  l'incompatibilité  initiale  des  bases  de 
données  nationales,  la  détermination  de  l'éligibilité  des  jeunes  au  soutien  IEJ/FSE). 

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L'introduction d'options simplifiées en matière de coûts (OSC)a contribué à réduire la 
charge administrative, mais la mise en place de systèmes d'OSC a connu des retards et 
des problèmes de capacité. 

Dans  l'ensemble,  les  dispositions  en  matière  de  suivi  et  de  rapports  sont  désormais 
opérationnelles. Il y a des lacunes en matière d'information et des retards en termes de 
transmission des rapports, notamment concernant les réalisations et les résultats. Cela 
est dû partiellement aux autorités de gestion qui ont besoin de temps pour adopter de 
nouvelles exigences de suivi et de transmission, aux retards dans la mise en place des 
systèmes  de  suivi  et  des  bases  de  données  en  ligne,  mais  aussi  des  retards  dus  aux 
contrôles  avant  de  déclarer  et  de  communiquer  les  coûts  et  les  indicateurs  de 
performance. 

Pertinence  :  Les  fonds  ont  été  généralement  distribués  aux  groupes  et  aux 
régions nécessitant le plus d'opérations pour l'emploi des jeunes. 

Globalement, les opérations pour l'emploi des jeunes ont ciblé les besoins de différents 
groupes  de  NEET  conformément  aux  caractéristiques  de  la  population  des  NEET  en 
différents territoires et, aux stratégies nationales, régionales et locales pour l’emploi. 

Les opérations de l'IEJ/FSE ont été remises en question par les changements dans la 
composition du groupe des NEET au cours de la période couverte par l'évaluation et, à 
des degrés variables, par les divers contextes socio-économiques des États membres. 
Cependant, cela a  conduit à des approches innovantes pour identifier  et  recruter des 
participants des groupes difficiles à atteindre, par un recours accru aux médias sociaux. 

On constate une grande flexibilité des opérations (au niveau du ciblage – à la fois vers 
des groupes difficiles à atteindre et des régions ayant un taux de NEET plus élevé – et 
du  contenu  des  opérations).  Cela  a  eu  un  impact  sur  le  travail  de  proximité  des 
opérations (avec un accent plus marqué sur les groupes difficiles à atteindre) et sur les 
progrès et l'efficacité des opérations pour l’emploi des jeunes. 

Cohérence : Les opérations en faveur de l'emploi des jeunes de l'IEJ et du FSE 
sont généralement cohérentes avec les autres fonds et interventions de l'UE et 
des États membres dans ce domaine 

En  général,  les  lignes  de  démarcation  sont  claires  et  facilitées,  dans  certains  pays  et 
régions, par la coordination de partenariats adoptant une vision globale des opérations 
pour  l'emploi  des  jeunes  dans  l'ensemble  des  programmes  européens  et  nationaux. 
D'autres programmes sont axés sur les jeunes, en particulier Erasmus +, mais aucun 
ne met autant l’accent sur l'emploi ou n’a l’envergure que couvrent celles de l'IEJ ou du 
FSE en faveur de l'emploi des jeunes. 

Initialement, l'IEJ  était budgétisée pour la période 2014-2018 ; ces  ressources furent 
par  la  suite  augmentées  jusqu'en  2020.  L'IEJ  était  soutenue  par  le  FSE  et  une  ligne 
budgétaire dédiée et visait à fournir un financement supplémentaire et complémentaire 
(à celui déjà disponible par le FSE, mais uniquement pour les opérations directement 
axées sur les jeunes) pour soutenir les opérations définies dans le paquet emploi jeunes 
de  2012  soutenant  la  mise  en  œuvre  de  la  garantie  pour  la  jeunesse.  Les  données 
existantes montrent que les opérations en faveur de l'emploi des jeunes financées par 
l'IEJ et le FSE étaient cohérentes entre elles, notamment grâce à la manière dont elles 
ont été conçues et programmées. 

Valeur ajoutée européenne : Dans l'ensemble, le soutien de l'UE a eu une valeur 
ajoutée évidente, car il a permis d'augmenter le volume des opérations pour 
l'emploi des jeunes ainsi que le nombre et la variété des jeunes soutenus. 

L'accent particulier mis sur l'emploi des jeunes par une priorité d'investissement du FSE 
(PI 8.ii), et particulièrement par le biais de l'IEJ, a permis d'accroître et de maintenir la 
visibilité des questions relatives à l'emploi des jeunes dans toute l'UE.   En particulier, 
l'accent mis sur les besoins et les problèmes des NEET, notamment en allant au-delà 

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des chômeurs et en abordant également les jeunes plus défavorisés et « plus âgés  » 
(de 25 à 30 ans), a eu un impact positif sur le profil de l'emploi des jeunes. 

En outre, de nombreuses opérations en faveur de l'emploi des jeunes n'auraient pas pu 
être  financées  sans  le  soutien  de  l'UE.  Dans  certains  États  membres,  les  opérations 
IEJ/FSE  ont  permis  d'élargir  la  tranche  d'âge  concernée  par  l'aide  pour  l'emploi  des 
jeunes. 

Même si l'IEJ ne  visait pas à changer les systèmes, les fonds de l'UE  ont contribué à 
soutenir  la  capacité  de  mise  en  œuvre,  les  changements  structurels  et  les  capacités 
institutionnelles,  en  répondant  aux  besoins  spécifiques  de  la  population  cible  grâce  à 
des approches innovantes. Parmi les exemples, on peut citer les opérations qui assurent 
des interventions précoces auprès des jeunes (en particulier ceux quittant l'école avec 
des  compétences  limitées),  la  collaboration  avec  des  partenaires  régionaux  et  locaux 
pour élaborer des outils et des référentiels communs pour les opérations pour l'emploi 
des  jeunes,  et  le  soutien  aux  cohortes  d'âge  qui  ne  sont  pas  entièrement  prises  en 
charge par les dispositions nationales. 

Durabilité : Les données probantes indiquent une employabilité accrue six mois 
ou plus après une participation  

Les participants aux opérations IEJ/FSE en faveur de l'emploi des jeunes démontrent au 
fil  du  temps  de  meilleurs  résultats  en  termes  d'emploi,  six  mois  ou  plus  après  leur 
participation.  En  outre,  l'analyse  macroéconomique  suggère  que  dans  la  durée  les 
impacts sont positifs (PIB et emploi indirect) du fait des opérations. 

En termes de systèmes et de programmes, les innovations introduites par les opérations 
en faveur des jeunes de l'IEJ et du FSE sont intégrées dans les programmes nationaux. 

Leçons clés 

Les études de cas mettent en évidence plusieurs leçons qui pourraient être utiles aux 
opérations  en  faveur  de  l'emploi  des  jeunes  pour  le  reste  de  cette  période  de 
programmation  et  la  suivante.  En  particulier,  de  nombreuses  autorités  de  gestion  et 
leurs  partenaires  de  mise  en  œuvre  ont  appliqué  des  stratégies  de  sensibilisation 
combinant  campagnes  dans  les  médias  sociaux  et  travail  collaboratif  avec  des 
organisations  de  première  ligne  qui  soutiennent  déjà  les  jeunes  (par  exemple,  les 
travailleurs sociaux, de la santé et du logement). Parmi les autres leçons clés, on peut 
citer  les  partenariats  locaux  qui  permettent  de  coordonner  le  soutien,  et  les 
interventions précoces telles que le travail préventif avec les écoles et les organisations 
de jeunesse (pour éviter que les jeunes ne deviennent des NEET en premier lieu). 

Conclusions 

En guise de conclusion générale, l'étude constate que les opérations IEJ/FSE en faveur 
de l'emploi des jeunes ont contribué à améliorer l'employabilité des jeunes dans toute 
l'Europe.  Pour  y  parvenir,  certains  éléments  ont  été  particulièrement  pertinents,  tels 
que  l'innovation  dans  l’atteinte  de  la  population  cible,  la  coordination  entre  les 
partenaires et les approches globales de l'emploi. 

Même si, d'un point de vue opérationnel, la mise en œuvre a mis un certain  temps à 
démarrer et n'a pas encore atteint les cibles visées, elle progresse bien et a des effets 
positifs  à  long  terme  sur  l'employabilité.  Si  des  efforts  supplémentaires  semblent 
nécessaires  pour  faire  participer  les  personnes  inactives,  les  opérations  en  faveur  de 
l'emploi des jeunes se sont adaptées en conséquences et sont restées très pertinentes. 

Sur base des données probantes disponibles, il semble justifié de conclure que sans le 
soutien de l'UE, le nombre de jeunes NEET bénéficiant d'une aide serait plus faible et la 
population des NEET plus élevée. 

L'accent spécifique mis sur les jeunes au cours de la période de programmation actuelle, 
par le biais de la mise en œuvre de la garantie pour la jeunesse, et des opérations de 

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

l'IEJ et du FSE, a permis d'améliorer et de maintenir le profil des jeunes NEET en ce qui 
concerne  la  conception  et  la  mise  en  œuvre  des  politiques.  Cette  focalisation  sur  la 
jeunesse reste justifiée, même à la lumière de l'évolution des circonstances, telles que 
l'impact de la pandémie actuelle du COVID-19, et devrait être ajustée lors de la nouvelle 
période de programmation, en particulier en termes de définition du groupe cible et des 
objectifs à atteindre. 

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Zusammenfassung 

Die  Studie  zur  Evaluation  der  ESF-Unterstützung  für  die  Jugendbeschäftigung 
konzentrierte  sich  auf  sechs  Evaluierungskriterien,  nämlich  Wirksamkeit,  Effizienz, 
Relevanz,  Kohärenz,  europäischer  Mehrwert  und  Nachhaltigkeit  der  Maßnahmen15  im 
Rahmen des Europäischen Sozialfonds (ESF) und der Beschäftigungsinitiative für junge 
Menschen (YEI) zwischen 2014 und 2018. Die von den Mitgliedsstaaten durchgeführten 
Maßnahmen richten sich an junge Menschen im Alter von 15 bis 29 Jahren16, die weder 
in Arbeit noch in der Ausbildung sind. Diese Gruppe wird auch als NEET bezeichnet. 

Die Durchführung der Initiative fand in einem Kontext der Veränderung statt. Im Jahr 
2014 befanden sich in ganz Europa 13,4 Millionen Jugendliche weder in Arbeit noch in 
Ausbildung.  Seither  ist  die  hohe  Jugendarbeitslosigkeit  aufgrund  der  positiven 
Entwicklung des sozioökonomischen Kontextes auf EU Ebene zwischen 2014 und 2018 
zurückgegangen.  Nicht  erwerbstätige  junge  Menschen17  machen  infolgedessen  einen 
größeren Anteil der NEET Bevölkerung (im Vergleich zu Arbeitslose) aus. Es ist jedoch 
bekannt,  dass  diese  Gruppe  im  Allgemeinen  schwieriger  zu  identifizieren  und 
schwieriger zugänglich ist. 

Rund  22  Milliarden  Euro  werden  für  Maßnahmen  zur  Jugendbeschäftigung  in  der 
derzeitigen Programmperiode (2014-2020) ausgegeben, davon 8,8 Milliarden durch die 
Beschäftigungsinitiative 
junge  Menschen  und  5,5  Milliarden  durch  die 
Investitionspriorität 8.ii18 des ESF19. Die Umsetzungsraten von YEI (52%, 2014-2018) 
und  ESF  Jugendbeschäftigungsmaßnahmen  (27%,  2014-2018)  sind  in  Verzug  (im 
Vergleich  zu  den  zugesagten  Mitteln).  Dies  ist  auf  Verzögerungen  beim  Aufbau,  auf 
Kapazitätsengpässe  und  auf  Schwierigkeiten,  die  Zielgruppen  zu  erreichen, 
zurückzuführen.  

für 

Bis  Ende  2018  gab  es  im  Rahmen  der  ESF/YEI  Maßnahmen  etwa  eine  Zahl  von  3,8 
Millionen  Teilnahmen20,  was  60%  der  angestrebten  Teilnahmen  entspricht.  Der 
Frauenanteil aller Teilnahmen lag bei 52%. 

Wirksamkeit: YEI und ESF hatten eine positive Wirkung auf die Unterstützung 
junger Menschen bei der Integration in den Arbeitsmarkt  

Die  vom  ESF  unterstützten  Maßnahmen  zur  Jugendbeschäftigung  zielten  auf  die 
„dauerhafte Eingliederung von jungen Menschen in den Arbeitsmarkt, insbesondere von 
solchen,  die  weder  einen  Arbeitsplatz  haben  noch  eine  schulische  oder  berufliche 
Ausbildung  absolvieren,  darunter  junge  Menschen,  denen  soziale  Ausgrenzung  droht 
und  die  Randgruppen  angehören, 
ins  Erwerbsleben,  einschließlich  durch  die 
Durchführung der Jugendgarantie“21. 

Im  Allgemeinen  haben  die  durchgeführten  Maßnahmen  je  nach  positiver  Entwicklung 
des  sozioökonomischen  Kontextes  (der  zwischen  den  Mitgliedstaaten  variiert)  und 

15 Maßnahmen zur Beschäftigung von jungen Menschen beinhalten die berufliche Aus- und Weiterbildung, 
Lehrlingsausbildung, Praktika und Arbeitserfahrung, Lohnzuschüsse, Beratung, Orientierung und Betreuung, 
Unterstützung der Selbstständigkeit und des Unternehmertums sowie strukturelle Unterstützung zur 
Stärkung der institutionellen Kapazitäten. 
16 Für YEI war die Altersgruppe ursprünglich auf 15-24 Jahre festgelegt, diese wurde aber später auf 29 
Jahre erhöht. Nicht alle Mitgliedsstaaten zielen auf die gesamte Altersspanne ab, wobei zu berücksichtigen 
ist, dass der ESF/YEI die nationalen Politiken und Ziele ergänzt.  
17 Es handelt sich dabei um junge Menschen, die nicht erwerbstätig, aber nicht arbeitslos gemeldet sind, 
darunter Studentinnen und Studenten, Personen, die familiären Pflichten nachgehen, sowie Personen, die 
Krankengeld und andere Unterstützungsleistungen für nicht erwerbstätige Personen beziehen. 
18 Die spezifische Investitionspriorität (IP) zielte auf die Beschäftigung von jungen Menschen ab. Die übrigen 
Investitionen stammen aus anderen ESF-IPs, aus der Kofinanzierung und aus dem Privatsektor.  
19 Der Stichtag für die Datenabfrage war der 6.September 2019. 
20 Eine junge Person kann mehr als nur einmal teilnehmen. Das ESF/YEI Monitoring zählt daher die 
Teilnahmen, statt einzelne Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer. 
21 Art. 3 der Verordnung (EU) Nr. 1304/2013 des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates vom 17. 
Dezember 2013 über den Europäischen Sozialfonds und zur Aufhebung der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1081/2006 
des Rates. 

19 

 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

Zielgruppe  auf  unterschiedliche  Weise  und  in  unterschiedlichem  Umfang  zu  diesem 
Gesamtziel beigetragen. 

Etwa  1,4  Millionen  Teilnahmen  führten  unmittelbar  nach  der  Partizipation  zu  einer 
Beschäftigung.  Weitere  Ergebnisse  wie  beschäftigungsorientierte  Aus-  und 
Weiterbildung  und  Selbstständigkeit  wurden  ebenfalls  erzielt.  Als  Kombination  dieser 
unmittelbaren  Ergebnisse  zeigt  die  Evaluation,  dass  das  Beschäftigungsniveau  der 
Teilnehmerinnen  und  Teilnehmer  mittel-  bis  langfristig  tendenziell  gestiegen  ist.  Dies 
deutet  auf  eine  positive  Wirkung  der  Maßnahmen  auf  die  allgemeine 
Beschäftigungsfähigkeit der Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer hin. 

Zusätzlich  gibt  es  weiche  Ergebnisse  (wie  z.B.  gesteigertes  Selbstbewusstsein  und 
Selbstwertgefühl),  die  nicht  systematisch  gemessen  und  erfasst  werden,  aber  für  die 
Erfüllung  der  Bedürfnisse  der  arbeitsmarktfernsten  NEETs  von  entscheidender 
Bedeutung sind. 

Die  ESF  und  YEI  Beschäftigungsmaßnahmen  für  junge  Menschen  waren  bei  der 
Ausrichtung  und  Unterstützung  von  arbeitslosen  NEETs  im  Gegensatz  zu  nicht 
erwerbstätigen NEETs am wirksamsten. Viele von ihnen haben zu Beginn der Teilnahme 
ein niedriges Qualifikations- und Bildungsniveau.  Im Allgemeinen konnte die gesamte 
Zielgruppe  gut  angesprochen  werden,  jedoch  gestaltete  sich  die  Erreichung  der 
Zielgruppe schwieriger. Auch die Ausrichtung auf besonders benachteiligte Gruppen und 
schwer erreichbare Gebiete war oft weniger erfolgreich oder kostspieliger.  

Im Allgemeinen zeigten sich die meisten Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer zufrieden mit 
den Maßnahmen. Sie betonten die Vorteile, die sie in Form von Unterstützung bei der 
Arbeitssuche  und  dem  Erlernen  vielseitiger  Fähigkeiten  erhalten  hatten  und  die  dazu 
beigetragen  haben,  die  Beschäftigungsfähigkeit  im  Laufe  der  Zeit  zu  verbessern. 
Unzufriedenheit  gab  es  vor  allem  mit  der  kurzen  Dauer  und  der  relativ  geringen 
Bezahlung einiger vorgeschlagenen Beschäftigungsmöglichkeiten.   

Maßnahmen,  welche  die  Möglichkeit  bieten,  Arbeitserfahrung  oder  berufliche 
Fähigkeiten zu sammeln und somit in direkter Verbindung mit Arbeitsgeberinnen und 
Arbeitsgebern  stehen,  unterstützen  die  Teilnehmerinnen  und  Teilnehmer  bei  der 
Verbesserung  der  Beschäftigungsfähigkeit  am  besten.  Dazu  zählen  z.B.  bezahlte 
Praktika,  Lehrstellen  und  Praktika,  berufliche  Aus-  und  Weiterbildung  und 
Grundausbildung  für  Geringqualifizierte.  Dies  sind  wichtige  Schritte  in  Richtung 
tragen  zur  Entwicklung  der  beruflichen  Fähigkeiten  der 
Beschäftigung  und 
Teilnehmerinnen  und  Teilnehmer  bei,  wodurch 
langfristige 
Beschäftigungsfähigkeit erhöht wird.  

ihre  kurz-  und 

Auf  individuelle  Bedürfnisse  zugeschnittene  Maßnahmen  sind  tendenziell  wirksamer, 
insbesondere für stärker benachteiligte und arbeitsmarktferne Gruppen. 

Effizienz: Die Durchschnittskosten der Beschäftigungsmaßnahmen für junge 
Menschen entsprechen im Großen und Ganzen den festgelegten Benchmarks 
und sind für die durchgeführten Maßnahmen angemessen 

Die durchschnittlichen Kosten pro Teilnahme belaufen sich auf 2.000 Euro und auf etwa 
4.000  Euro  für  ein  Ergebnis  (wie  z.B.  das  Angebot  von  Beschäftigung,  Bildung  und 
Ausbildung). Es gibt jedoch erhebliche Unterschiede zwischen den Mitgliedstaaten. YEI 
und ESF Beschäftigungsmaßnahmen weisen keine signifikanten Kostenunterschiede auf. 
Der primäre Bestimmungsfaktor der Kosten ist die Art der Maßnahme (ihr Inhalt, ihre 
Dauer, der Grad der personalisierten/angepassten Bereitstellung).  

Die berufliche Aus- und Weiterbildung kann hohe Kosten verursachen, hat sich aber als 
kosteneffizient  erwiesen,  wenn  sie  eng  mit  der  Arbeitserfahrung  verknüpft  ist.  Eine 
Beratung, die zu relativ niedrigen Kosten angeboten wird, aber nicht auf den Einzelnen 
zugeschnitten  ist,  erweist  sich  im  Allgemeinen  als  weniger  wirksam,  wenn  es  darum 
geht, Beschäftigungsergebnisse zu erzielen und gleichzeitig die Beschäftigungsfähigkeit 
zu verbessern. 

20 

 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

Die Evaluation zeigte, dass die organisatorischen Vorkehrungen in den meisten Fällen 
angemessen  sind.  Nur  wenige  Beispiele  für  „Goldplating“,  die  zum  Teil  auf  nationale 
Strukturen  zurückzuführen  waren  (wie  etwa  die  anfängliche  Inkompatibilität  der 
nationalen  Datenbanken,  oder  die  Bestimmung  der  Förderungswürdigkeit  junger 
Menschen im Rahmen  des  YEI/ESF),  konnten identifiziert werden. Die Einführung  der 
vereinfachten Kostenoptionen (VKO) hat dazu beigetragen, den Verwaltungsaufwand zu 
verringern, jedoch gab es Verzögerungen und Kapazitätsprobleme bei der Einrichtung 
von VKO Systemen. 

Insgesamt  sind  die  Vorkehrungen  für  Monitoring  und  Berichtswesen  mittlerweile 
funktionsfähig. Dennoch kommt es noch zu Informationslücken und Verzögerungen bei 
der  Berichterstattung,  insbesondere  hinsichtlich  der  Ergebnisse  und  Outputs.  Dies  ist 
zum Teil auf die Zeit zurückzuführen, die Verwaltungsbehörden benötigen, um die neuen 
Anforderungen  für  Monitoring  und  Berichterstattung  zu  erfüllen.  Außerdem  kann  dies 
auf  Verzögerungen  bei  der  Einrichtung  von  Online  Monitoringsystemen  und 
Datenbanken, aber auch auf Verzögerungen aufgrund von Kontrollen vor der Meldung 
und Berichtslegung von Kosten und Leistungsindikatoren zurückgeführt werden.  

Relevanz: Die Mittel sind im Allgemeinen an jene Gruppen und Regionen 
gegangen, die am meisten auf Jugendbeschäftigungsmaßnahmen angewiesen 
sind 

Insgesamt  waren  die  Beschäftigungsmaßnahmen  für  junge  Menschen  auf  die 
Bedürfnisse verschiedener Gruppen von NEETs in Übereinstimmung mit den Merkmalen 
der  NEET-Bevölkerung in verschiedenen Gebieten und mit nationalen, regionalen und 
lokalen Beschäftigungsstrategien ausgerichtet.  

Die YEI/ESF Maßnahmen wurden durch die Veränderungen der Zusammensetzung der 
NEET-Gruppe  während  des  von  der  Evaluation  abgedeckten  Zeitraums  und,  in 
unterschiedlichem  Ausmaß,  durch  die  diversen  sozioökonomischen  Kontexte  der 
Mitgliedstaaten in Frage gestellt. Dies hat jedoch zu innovativen Ansätzen geführt, um 
Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer aus schwer erreichbaren Gruppen zu identifizieren und 
zu rekrutieren, wie z.B. durch erhöhten Einsatz von sozialen Medien. 

Die  Evidenz  zeigt  eine  erhebliche  Flexibilität  der  Maßnahmen  (in  Bezug  auf  die 
Ausrichtung  –  sowohl  auf  schwer  erreichbare  Gruppen  als  auch  auf  Regionen  mit 
höheren  NEET-Raten-  und  den  Inhalt  der  Maßnahmen).  Dies  hat  sich  auf  die 
Öffentlichkeitsarbeit  der  Maßnahmen  (mit  stärkerem  Fokus  auf  schwer  erreichbare 
Gruppen) und auf den Fortschritt und die Wirksamkeit von Beschäftigungsmaßnahmen 
für junge Menschen ausgewirkt.    

Kohärenz: YEI und ESF Beschäftigungsmaßnahmen für junge Menschen sind 
im Allgemeinen kohärent mit anderen EU- und national geförderten 
Maßnahmen im Bereich der Jugendbeschäftigung 

Im Allgemeinen gibt es klare Abgrenzungen, die in einigen Ländern und Regionen durch 
koordinierte Partnerschaften unterstützt werden, die eine ganzheitliche Sichtweise der 
Jugendbeschäftigungsmaßnahmen  über  EU-  und  nationale  Programme  hinweg 
verfolgen.  Andere  Programme  haben  einen  Schwerpunkt  auf  junge  Menschen, 
insbesondere  Erasmus  +.  Dennoch  hat  keines  der  Programme  den  klaren 
Beschäftigungsschwerpunkt 
ESF-
oder 
Beschäftigungsmaßnahmen für junge Menschen abgedeckt werden.  

die  Breite, 

oder 

von 

YEI 

die 

YEI war ursprünglich für den Zeitraum 2014 bis 2018 budgetiert;  Diese Mittel wurden 
später bis 2020 erhöht. YEI wurde durch den ESF und eine gesonderte Haushaltslinie 
unterstützt und zielte darauf ab, zusätzliche und ergänzende Mittel (zu den bereits aus 
dem ESF verfügbaren Mitteln, jedoch nur für direkt auf junge Menschen ausgerichtete 
Maßnahmen) bereitzustellen. Damit sollten die im Jugendpaket von 2012 festgelegten 
Maßnahmen zur Umsetzung der Jugendgarantie unterstützt werden. Die vorliegenden 
Erkenntnisse zeigen, dass YEI und andere ESF-finanzierte Beschäftigungsmaßnahmen 

21 

 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

für junge Menschen untereinander kohärent waren. Die Art und Weise, wie sie konzipiert 
und programmiert wurden, spielte dabei eine essenzielle Rolle. 

Europäischer Mehrwert: Insgesamt hat die EU-Unterstützung einen klaren 
Mehrwert erzielt, da sie das Volumen der Jugendbeschäftigungsmaßnahmen 
sowie die Anzahl und das Spektrum der unterstützten jungen Menschen 
erhöht hat  

durch 

insbesondere 

Der  Fokus  auf  Jugendbeschäftigung,  der  durch  eine  ESF-Investitionspriorität  (IP  8.ii) 
der 
und 
Jugendbeschäftigungsfragen in der gesamten EU aufrechterhalten und erhöht. Dies ist 
besonders  der  Fall  im  Hinblick  auf  die  Betonung  der  Bedürfnisse  und  Probleme  der 
NEETs. Vermehrtes Hinausgehen über Arbeitslose und auch stärkeres Ansprechen von 
benachteiligten und „älteren” Jugendlichen (von 25 bis 30 Jahren) hat sich positiv auf 
das Profil der Jugendbeschäftigung ausgewirkt. 

geboten  wird, 

Profil 

das 

YEI 

hat 

Darüber hinaus wären viele der Beschäftigungsmaßnahmen für junge Menschen ohne 
die Unterstützung der EU nicht finanziert worden. In einigen Mitgliedstaaten haben die 
YEI/ESF-Maßnahmen ermöglicht, die Altersspanne der Beschäftigungsunterstützung für 
junge Menschen zu erweitern. 

Auch wenn YEI nicht auf eine Veränderung der Systeme abzielte, haben die EU-Mittel 
dazu  beigetragen,  die  institutionellen  Kapazitäten  für  die  Abwicklung  zu  verbessern, 
strukturelle Veränderungen zu bewirken und institutionelle Fähigkeiten zu unterstützen, 
um durch innovative Ansätze auf die spezifischen Bedürfnisse der Zielbevölkerung zu 
reagieren.  Beispiele  dafür  sind 
junge  Menschen, 
insbesondere für Schulabgängerinnen und Schulabgänger mit begrenzten Fähigkeiten. 
Solche  Maßnahmen  arbeiten  beispielsweise  mit  regionalen  und  lokalen  Partnern  zur 
Entwicklung 
für 
Jugendbeschäftigungsmaßnahmen zusammen und unterstützen Alterskohorten, die von 
den nationalen Bestimmungen nicht vollständig abgedeckt werden. 

frühzeitige  Maßnahmen 

gemeinsamer 

Instrumente 

Standards 

und 

für 

Nachhaltigkeit: Evidenz deutet auf eine erhöhte Beschäftigungsfähigkeit 
sechs Monate oder länger nach einer Teilnahme 

Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer von YEI/ESF-Jugendmaßnahmen haben im Laufe der 
Zeit, sechs Monate oder länger nach der Teilnahme, bessere Beschäftigungsergebnisse 
erzielt.  Darüber  hinaus  deutet  die  makroökonomische  Analyse  darauf  hin,  dass  die 
Auswirkungen  (BIP  und  indirekte  Beschäftigung)  im  Laufe  der  Zeit  aufgrund  der 
Maßnahmen positiv sind. 

In  Bezug  auf  die  Systeme  und  Programme  werden  die  Innovationen,  die  durch  die 
Jugendbeschäftigungsmaßnahmen von YEI und ESF eingeführt wurden, in die nationalen 
Programme übernommen. 

Wichtigste Erkenntnisse 

zeigen 

mehrere 

Hinweise 

Fallstudien 

die 
auf, 
Die 
Jugendbeschäftigungsmaßnahmen 
in  der  verbleibenden  und  der  nächsten 
Programmperiode  von  Nutzen  sein  könnten.  Viele  Verwaltungsbehörden  und  ihre 
Durchführungspartner  haben  Outreach-Strategien  angewandt,  die  in  Kampagnen 
verschiedene  soziale  Medien  kombinieren  und  mit 
führenden  Organisationen 
zusammenarbeiten,  die  junge  Menschen  bereits  unterstützen  (z.B.  Sozialarbeiter, 
Gesundheits-,  und  Wohnungsberater).  Weitere  wichtige  Erkenntnisse  sind  die 
Zusammenarbeit  in lokalen  Partnerschaften  zur  Koordinierung  der  Unterstützung  und 
frühzeitige Maßnahmen wie die präventive Arbeit mit Schulen und Jugendorganisationen 
(um zu verhindern, dass junge Menschen überhaupt erst zu NEET werden).  

die 

für 

22 

 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

Schlussfolgerungen 

Als allgemeine Schlussfolgerung kommt die Studie zu dem Schluss, dass die YEI/ESF-
Jugendbeschäftigungsmaßnahmen 
die 
dazu 
Beschäftigungsfähigkeit  junger  Menschen  in  ganz  Europa  zu  verbessern.  Um  dies  zu 
erreichen,  waren  einige  Elemente  besonders  relevant,  wie  z.B.  Innovation  bei  der 
Erreichung  der  Zielbevölkerung,  Koordination  zwischen  den  Partnern  und  holistische 
Ansätze zur Beschäftigung. 

beigetragen 

haben, 

Auch wenn die Umsetzung in operativer Hinsicht einige Zeit in Anspruch genommen hat 
und  die  angestrebten  Ziele  noch  nicht  erreicht  wurden,  sind  gute  Fortschritte  in  der 
Umsetzung  erzielt  worden.  Diese  haben  langfristig  positive  Auswirkungen  auf  die 
Beschäftigungsfähigkeit.  Während  weitere  Anstrengungen  notwendig  scheinen,  um 
nicht  erwerbstätige  Menschen  zu  beschäftigen,  haben  sich  die  Maßnahmen  zur 
Beschäftigung  von  jungen  Menschen  entsprechend  angepasst  und  sind  weiterhin  von 
großer Bedeutung. 

Auf  der  Grundlage  der  vorliegenden  Erkenntnisse  scheint  die  Schlussfolgerung 
gerechtfertigt,  dass  ohne  die  Unterstützung  der  EU  die  Zahl  der  geförderten  jungen 
NEETs geringer und die NEET-Bevölkerung höher wäre. 

Der spezifische Schwerpunkt auf die „Jugend“ im laufenden Programmplanungszeitraum 
durch die Umsetzung der Jugendgarantie, der YEI und ESF Maßnahmen hat das Profil 
junger  NEETs  in  Bezug  auf  die  Gestaltung  und  Durchführung  der  Politik  erhöht  und 
aufrechterhalten.  Dieser  „Fokus  auf  die  Jugend“  ist  auch  angesichts  der  sich 
verändernden Umstände, wie zum Beispiel die Auswirkungen der derzeitigen COVID-19 
Pandemie,  nach  wie  vor  gerechtfertigt  und  sollte  deshalb 
in  der  neuen 
Programmperiode, insbesondere im Hinblick auf die Definition der Zielgruppe und der 
zu erreichenden Ziele angepasst werden. 

23 

 
 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

1 

Introduction  

1.1 

Purpose and objectives of the study 

This study focuses on the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence, the European 
Union (EU) added value and sustainability of the youth employment focused operations, 
and  assesses  the  complementarity  of  measures  to  other  EU  policy  and  funding 
programmes targeting youth during the current programming period (2014-2020).  

It  identifies  and  analyses  youth  employment-related  European  Social  Fund  (ESF) 
support for the period 2014-2018 in all 28 EU Member States and the Youth Employment 
Initiative  (YEI)  actions  taken  in  the  eligible  regions  (defined  at  the  outset  as  regions 
where  youth  unemployment  was  higher  than  25%  in  2012).  It  therefore  focuses 
primarily  on  the  YEI  and  youth  employment  operations  related  to  ESF  Investment 
Priority 8.ii (IP 8.ii) (see  Box 1)  but also looks beyond for further  examples of  youth 
employment operations. The cut-off date for data collection was 6 September 2019 and 
the analysis and reporting was completed before the Covid-19 pandemic. The economic 
and social consequences – including the impact on the employment prospects of young 
people  –  will  dominate  policy  development  for  the  coming  years  but  the  lessons  for 
supporting  young  people  into  employment  will  remain  relevant,  as  the  economic 
recovery of Europe progresses. 

The support is implemented under shared management, which means that EU Member 
States  are  responsible  for  distributing  funds  and  managing  the  expenditures.  Each 
Member State agrees on one or more Operational Programmes, in partnership with the 
EC,  which  describes  the  priorities  for  the  activities  and  their  objectives.  All  ESF 
interventions are co-financed by national public or private funds22.  

Definition of Thematic Objective 8 and Investment Priority 8ii 

Thematic  Objective  8  of  the  ESF23  is  about  Promoting  sustainable  and  quality 
employment and supporting labour mobility.  
Investment priority 8.ii subsumes sustainable integration into the labour market of 
young people (participants in ESF24) in particular those not in employment, education 
or training (NEET), including young people at risk of social exclusion and young people 
from marginalised communities, and including through the implementation of the Youth 
Guarantee. 

The purpose and objectives of the evaluation is twofold.  

First,  it  takes  stock  of  the  results  of  youth  employment-related  ESF  support  for  the 
period 2014-2018, building on the mandatory evaluation of YEI by Member States by 
December  2018.  The  conclusions  of  this  evaluation  should  be  used  in  the 
implementation  of  the  final  stages  of  the  existing  Youth  Employment  Initiative  and 
European Social Fund programmes dedicated to youth.  

Second, the results of the evaluation should feed into the next programming period, by 
providing lessons, notably regarding cost-effectiveness, outreach and the target groups 
most in need, thus supporting the negotiation of the Operational Programmes (OPs) for 
the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) in 2021-2027. It will also pave the way for the 
ex-post  evaluation  of  the  ESF  and  the  YEI  by  the  Commission,  to  be  completed  by 
December 2024. 

22 https://ec.europa.eu/esf/main.jsp?catId=525&langId=en 
23 Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on 
the European Social Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006 http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2013:347:0470:0486:EN:P; Art. 3.1 
24 ESF projects are applied for and run by a wide variety of organisations known as beneficiaries, including 
public administrations, workers’ and employers’ organisations, NGOs, charities and companies. The individuals 
who take part in an ESF project are called participants; these include, for example, older workers training for 
new skills, young job-seekers getting work placements, or people seeking advice on how to set up their own 
business. 

24 

 
 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

1.2  Methodology and work carried out 

Following  the  contract  specifications,  the  study  applied  a  mix  of  evaluation  methods 
which are detailed in Annex 8. In summary, the work has included: 

  Desk research: 

-  analysis of the monitoring data in the SFC2014 database (System for Fund 

Management in the European Union); 

- 

in-depth analysis of the Operational Programmes and Annual Implementation 
Reports (AIRs), and specifically the 2018 AIRs that include reported data as of 
31st December 2018; 

-  econometric analysis and provision of data to the Joint Research Centre (JRC) 

for the RHOMOLO simulations25; 

- 

literature review (policy documents, regulations, national and EU-wide 
evaluations, ESF websites and publications); 

-  synthesis of the 2018 YEI evaluation reports; 

-  screening of other evaluations of youth employment programmes using the 

database of evaluations compiled by the Evaluation Helpdesk. 

  Public consultation: Assisting the Commission in developing the questionnaire, 

and analysing the results of the public consultation from 1 376 respondents. 

  Ten  case  studies  in  10  Member  States  covering  20  Operational  Programmes: 
addressing the research questions at national and regional level, based on desk 
research, interviews and focus groups. 

  62  interviews  with  desk  officers,  Managing  Authorities  and  other  stakeholders 
(such as Intermediate Bodies, officials responsible for YEI funding, labour offices 
and other agencies dealing with ESF, monitoring and evaluation experts with the 
MA,  EC  desk  officers,  social  partners,  voluntary  organisations,  researchers  and 
evaluators) in particular for the case studies. In addition, Member States have had 
the opportunity to comment on draft outputs from this study.  

  Five focus groups in the Member States and one at EU level. 

  Member States had the opportunity to comment on the Interim and the Draft 

Final Reports.  

Specifically,  as  requested  in  the  technical  specifications  for  the  study,  this  evaluation 
has involved the following tasks: 

The  mapping  of  youth-related  thematic  objectives,  investment  priorities, 
target populations and types of operations, based on the SFC2014 database, OPs, 
AIRs  and  related  documentation,  including  the  Commission’s  Country-specific 
Recommendations (CSR).  

A synthesis of the 2018 YEI evaluation reports. The full synthesis report of the YEI 
evaluation findings is included in Annex 7. The key results together with results from 
other evaluations of youth employment have been incorporated into the answers to the 
evaluation questions in Chapter 4. 

A  public  consultation  exercise  regarding  the  evaluation  of  the  YE26.  The 
characteristics  of  the  respondents  and  responses,  plus  the  detailed  results  of  the 
consultation are presented in Annex 2 and inform several of the evaluation questions. 

Comparative analysis of the evolution of the labour market and the role of the 
EU  funded  operations  based  on  Eurostat,  the  Labour  Market  Policies  database,  the 

25  The  Dynamic  Computable  General  Equilibrium  RHOMOLO  model  provides  estimates  of  macroeconomic 
effects in the short and long term, with a focus on the regional dimension. 
26 There were 1 376 responses with more than half (57.6%) up to 33 years of age and just under a quarter 
who had taken part in ESF/YEI operations. Some 21.8% of respondents were from organisations involved in 
the management of YEI and/or ESF. Where gender data are available 58.7% of respondents were female. 

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

European Network of Public Employment Services reports on the implementation of the 
Youth Guarantee and other data.  Based  on a set of selected indicators with available 
data at regional level, four clusters of regions with similar socio-economic characteristics 
were developed. These clusters were used together with the ESF/YEI monitoring data 
to establish the underlying socio-economic situation at the beginning of 2014 and how 
it  had  developed  by  2018  and  whether  they  had  an  impact  on  the  effectiveness  and 
efficiency of implementation. Annex 3 provides the full analysis.  

Cost-effectiveness analysis using a combination of programme data (for unit costs) 
(see Annex 3), counterfactual impact evaluations (see Annex 7), and case studies (see 
Annex 5). The results of this work are given in response to evaluation question (EQ 2) 
and in Annex 4. 

Case studies in 10 Member States27, covering 20 Operational Programmes and a mix 
of YEI and ESF youth employment programmes. The case study reports are presented 
in  Annex  5  and  were  used  to  answer  all  evaluation  questions.  The  relevant  Member 
States had the possibility to comment on the case studies.  

A set of fact-sheets for all of those countries with YEI and/or ESF youth employment 
programmes.  The  fact  sheets  cover  socio-economic  profiles  and  data  on  finance, 
participations and results and are included in Annex 6 to this report the Member States 
had the possibility to comment on the fact sheets.  

Lessons  learnt  and  good  practices.  To  inform  the  remainder  of  the  programme 
period and the next round of Operational Programmes. 

1.3 

Limitations of the research 

The  research  encountered  a  number  of  limitations  –  described  below  -  which  had  an 
impact on the answers to the evaluation questions. Some of these limitations relate to 
the  timing  of  this  evaluation  and  should  be  resolved  by  the  time  of  the  ex-post 
evaluation.  But  the  points  raised  below  are  also  relevant  to  the  design  of  the  final 
evaluation  and  the  monitoring  and  evaluation  requirements  for  the  2021-27 
programmes.  

Detailed  programme  information:  One  of  the  main  limitations  of  the  mapping 
exercise has been the availability of detailed information for individual operations. The 
use of common investment priorities in the 2014-2020 programming period within the 
existing structure of priority axes greatly facilitated the analysis of monitoring data and 
helped to structure the specific objectives. However, to understand how programmes 
aim to address their specific objectives, more detailed insights at the level of operations 
are necessary.  The main challenge for analysing operations across the EU is that the 
quality  and  standards  for  reporting  are  uneven.  This  is  despite  the  fact  that  Member 
States  are  obliged  to  record  and  store  data  by  operation  in  the  monitoring  system.28 
Some Member States report the types of operations in great detail, including their costs. 
A number of Member States include information about outputs and results, while other 
Member  States  report  none  of  these  details.  This  makes  a  systematic  comparison 
difficult. We were able to address this challenge by focusing on the costs of operations, 
and  a  decision  was  taken  on  a  number  of  assumptions  where  no  such  information  is 
provided. These are presented in Annex 8.  

Data quality and timeliness: This is also a major limitation. There are very few audits 
of  data  quality  to  date,  either  from  the  Commission  or  the  Member  States,  and 

27 Belgium, Germany, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Poland and Slovakia. 
28  The  Delegated  Regulation  480/2014  states  that  “Data  shall  be  recorded  and  stored  for  each  operation, 
including data on individual participants, where applicable, in order to allow it to be aggregated where this is 
necessary for the purposes of monitoring, evaluation, financial management, verification and audit” (Art 24.2). 
However,  Managing  Authorities  are  not  mandated  by  the  regulations  to  report  yearly,  in  their  Annual 
Implementation Report, information at the level of the specific operations supported through the Operational 
Programmes.  This  hampered  the  mapping  of  costs  by  typology  of  operation  across  all  Operational 
Programmes.  

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

inconsistencies occur despite periodic plausibility checks. There are time delays resulting 
from data checking and reporting conventions (e.g. costs are declared later, following 
checks by the relevant authorities), and outputs are reported often once operations are 
completed and declared, with results reported later still). This is a natural constraint for 
any interim evaluation. Furthermore, it cannot be ignored that the numbers for certain 
indicators are under reported (e.g. for some disadvantaged groups, but varying between 
Member States) and this is taken into account when presenting results based on such 
figures.  Also,  the  monitoring  data  does  not  allow  to  systematically  conclude  whether 
reported figures represent partially or fully implemented operations29. We address this 
challenge by highlighting limitations especially in the analysis of effectiveness and cost 
effectiveness of youth employment operations. 

Definition  of  youth  employment  operations:  The  introduction  of  a  dedicated 
investment priority in the 2014-2020 programming period sought to introduce a clear-
cut  separation  of  all  youth  employment  interventions  in  the  monitoring  system. 
However, for various reasons, Member States decided to programme youth employment 
operations also across other investment priorities, either as part of broader access to 
employment  operations,  or  even  as  more  specific  operations  with  a  focus  on 
entrepreneurship or gender equality. This complicates the thematic evaluation, in which 
a  distinction  is  made  between  youth  employment  operations,  and  other  types  of 
employment support. In response to this challenge, the demarcation for this evaluation 
follows two approaches. First, when discussing monitoring data (with detailed data on 
costs,  outputs,  results,  and  target  achievement),  the  evaluation  strictly  follows  the 
demarcation  in  the  monitoring  data  (restricting  the  scope  to  operations  within  the 
dedicated youth employment investment priority - IP 8.ii). Second, whenever possible, 
our  EU-level  mapping  complements  this  data  with  detailed  insights  in  the  costs  of 
operations  outside  the  investment  priority  dedicated  to  youth  employment.  The 
evaluation report highlights explicitly what the underlying data is based upon and where 
reliable comparisons can be drawn. 

Public consultation: Whilst the overall response was good, the public consultation is 
a voluntary online survey30 and in this case the responses come predominantly from a 
reduced number of countries. Almost three quarters of the respondents referred to four 
Member  States:  Italy  (20.4%  of  responses),  Bulgaria  (18.8%),  Spain  (16.4%)  and 
Slovakia  (16.4%)31.  There  were  five  different  profiles  of  respondents  to  the  public 
consultation:  ESF/YEI  participants,  other  young  people  (who  did  not  participate  in 
ESF/YEI support), general public (individuals over 33 years old), organisations involved 
in  ESF/YEI  and  organisations  not  involved.  Some  questions  did  not  get  enough 
responses  to  meaningfully  analyse  disaggregated  results  (by  country  or  respondent 
profile),  but  in  each  case,  we  quote  the  base  figures.  Despite  the  limitations  when  it 
came to experiences of youth employment programmes the public consultation exercise 
provided  useful  information,  although  it  was  not  possible  to  attribute  responses  to 
specific funding sources (i.e. between ESF youth operations and YEI). 

Comparative analysis of the evolution of the labour market: The analysis of the 
socio-economic  context  within  which  ESF/YEI  funded  operations  are  implemented  is 
based on readily available data from Eurostat. The analysis is conducted both at national 
and regional (NUTS32 2) level and although there is a wide variety of data at national 
level,  data  at  regional  level  are  limited.  Data  at  regional  level  were  used  to  create 

29 Regulation 1304/2013 stipulates that “data transmitted for output and result indicators shall relate to values 
for partially or fully implemented operations” (Art 5.3) 
30 As indicated in the Commission Better Regulation guidelines the data gathered through public consultations 
does not provide a representative view of the EU population. 
31 These percentages are calculated over the number of respondents whose answers referred to only one 
country; an additional 5.5% of respondents referred to two or more countries and 3.5% to the 28 Member 
States. 
32 NUTS = nomenclature of territorial units for statistics. Used to draw comparisons between territorial units 
of similar standing. There are three divisions NUTS 1, 2 and 3 

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

regional clusters as a means of providing a degree of comparative analysis. Although 
ESF monitoring data is broken down by type of region (more developed, less developed, 
transition) and can thus be directly linked to a specific cluster, that is not the case for 
YEI  monitoring  data.  As  it  is  not  required  by  the  regulation33,  YEI  data  is  not  broken 
down by type of region, so data on expenditure and participants may cover regions in 
more  than  one  cluster.  The  analysis  also  includes  a  comparative  analysis  of  Active 
Labour Market Policies (ALMP) measures based on the LMP database.  The main issue 
with the LMP database is that, at the time of writing the report, data were available up 
to 2017 and thus, 2018 was not covered. Additionally, the LMP database does not hold 
any data for the UK34. Nevertheless, we have collected a good set of information – with 
these limitations – to provide a detailed ‘picture’ of the labour market context. 

Regional  clusters:  We  explain  the  cluster  methodology  in  Chapter  2  as  a  means  of 
providing an additional degree of comparative analysis. Although ESF monitoring data 
is broken down by type of region (more developed, less developed, transition) and can 
thus be directly linked to a specific cluster, that is not the case for YEI monitoring data. 
YEI  data  are  not  broken  down  by  type  of  region  so  that  data  on  expenditure  and 
participants may cover more than one type of region. 

Effectiveness  and  cost-effectiveness:  This  has  proved  challenging  as,  in  spite  of 
analysing  all  counterfactual impact  evaluations  available  (with  varying  methodologies 
and levels of robustness35), requesting micro-data from the Member States’ case study, 
performing  econometric  analysis  and  getting  results  from  RHOMOLO  (see  paragraph 
below for more details), the evidence is partial. In terms of reporting on unit costs for 
results  we  are  limited  by  the  time  delays  from  both  the  time  lag  reported  above  in 
obtaining results for completed operations and the fact that many operations are still 
ongoing and have yet to report fully on their results. These limitations are caveated and 
we were able to get useful information from the public consultation, the focus group and 
the case studies to provide some conclusions.  

Econometric  analysis:  The  econometric  analysis  undertaken  for  this  evaluation 
provides an additional source of evidence and helps to reinforce the key conclusions. It 
has limitations due to the great variability among observations, which is natural given 
the  diversity  in  the  level  of  progress  across  programmes,  their  structure,  the  target 
group addressed, forms of operation supported and socio-economic context. In addition, 
monitoring data is still in the process of being consolidated36 (as reported above, there 
is  a  significant  time  lag  between  reporting  of  outputs,  results  and  financial 
implementation). Moreover, data available for the analysis is aggregated at the level of 
the programme,37 as micro-data with individual results for each participant could not be 
collected in many instances.  

This has implications on the possibility to estimate clear correlations and trends between 
the  background  features  of  the  participants  and  different  measures  of  progress  or 

33 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32013R1304 
34 There is no obligation for Member States to provide these data. The latest available data for the UK are for 
reference year 2011. There was no possibility to overcome this limitation. Data from the LMP database were 
used  in  the  replying  of  EQ on  EU  added value,  in  case studies  and  in Annex  3. In  all  occasions,  the  UK  is 
excluded from the analysis. 
35 A total of 8 CIE were used in more details (see Annex 4). Only those with clarity on the results could be 
analysed.  
36  Information  from  different  sources  (e.g.  data  from  beneficiaries,  administrative  registers,  electronic 
exchange systems – and the related issues) is still in the process of being collated and checked 
37 As reported in Annual Implementation Reports. In fact, the actual level of disaggregation is slightly higher 
than the programme level, as it is by programme, fund and category of region. But there is no breakdown by 
operation, nor participant.  

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success.38 As a result we use the econometric analysis to support rather than lead our 
analysis, highlighting the limitations where appropriate in the text. 

RHOMOLO analysis: In providing answers to the evaluation questions, use was made 
also of findings from the experimental research carried out by the Joint Research Centre 
through the spatial general equilibrium model RHOMOLO. General equilibrium models, 
given the inherent complexity of the phenomena they seek to replicate, need to rely on 
a  number  of  simplifying  assumptions.  However,  this  comes  in  addition  to  the  lack  of 
disaggregated  information  on  the  composition39  of  participants  addressed  on  the 
ESF/YEI as well as detailed information on typology of operation supported. As a result, 
to briefly state the most significant limitations: (i) the features of participants had to be 
estimated econometrically to be then used as a proxy of the support provided to them; 
(ii)  different  typologies  of  intervention  had  to  be  calculated  by  estimation  and  then 
lumped together in broader categories to keep the analysis tractable; and (iii) the model 
uses as input financial expenditure per participation and broad typology of operation but 
then needs to resort to the literature or data from third sources to translate these inputs 
into outcomes. In addition, the sensitivity analysis carried out by the JRC shows that 
some of the results of the model are significantly affected by the variation in the unit 
costs, which, in their turn, are rather volatile given the ongoing nature of data entry. 
This  means  that  one  should  consider  the  findings  as  a  very  innovative  and  insightful 
way  of  understanding  the  potential  of  the  interventions  supported  rather  than  their 
actual outcomes. Yet, the work has been informative for the analysis especially on the 
transmission  mechanisms  of  the  policy,  the  spatial  distribution,  macroeconomic  cost-
effectiveness and sustainability. 

COVID-19  pandemic:  It  shall  be  noted  that  the  field  work  for  this  evaluation  was 
carried out before the COVID-19 (coronavirus) came to Europe.  The Corona Response 
Investment Initiative will affect the support to Youth Employment for the remainder of 
the implementation period and the proposals for the next programming period will also 
aim  at  mitigating  the  consequences  of  this  pandemic.  This  COVID-19  pandemic  is  a 
major shock to the global and European economy. Already at the end of March of 2020, 
a substantial negative economic impact on Europe has materialised, at least for the first 
half of 2020 and possibly longer if the pandemic is not contained rapidly. For the future, 
the degree of the negative outlook will depend on a number of parameters such as the 
lack  of  supply  of  critical  materials,  the  effectiveness  of  containment  measures,  the 

38 For instance, based on aggregated data we know how many participants in a given programme were high 
skilled and how many individuals in the same programme were inactive. But we do not know how many were 
at  the  same  time  inactive  and  high  skilled.  Also,  not  all  inactive  are  equal.  This  has  implications  on  the 
possibility to measure the extent to which this given feature affects the relevant variables (e.g. progress of 
financial  indicators).  In  addition,  about  results,  aggregated  data  might  tell  us  that  a  certain  number  of 
individuals are in employment upon exiting from support. However, we have no information as to how many 
of them were originally inactive or unemployed, respectively. We can only test whether increasing inactivity 
rates  of  participants  in  a  programme  are  frequently  found  in  association  with  higher  or  lower  levels  of 
employment rates at the end of support. But it might be that such employment rates are mostly driven by 
the results that the unemployed have achieved, which can affect the average employment rate for the whole 
programme. In addition, we cannot simultaneously control for the composition of other background features 
of the inactive, as we don’t know how many of them were low, medium or high skilled. At the extreme, if all 
participants originally in unemployment in programmes had positive results whenever their presence is scarce 
and very bad results whenever they are many in a programme, we might find a positive correlation between 
growing inactivity rates and employment rates, which would be actually driven by the employment results 
belonging to the unemployed and not to the inactive. In essence, the correlations that are identified between 
average  features  of  programmes’  participants  and  different  indexes  of  performance  (average  financial 
progress,  progress  of  results  etc.),  not  each  individual  result  for  each  individual  participant.  This  makes 
identifying correlation  harder due  to omitted variables.  To mitigate  this  issue,  several covariates based on 
aggregated data are used jointly in the analysis, so reduce the bias to the extent possible.  
39 There is no information on the combined characteristics of the participants, e.g. how many are low skilled 
AND inactive AND disadvantaged. As the RHOMOLO model would need such conditional distribution, a 
separate econometric calculation was done in the JRC as part of the voluntary research.  

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downtime  in  manufacturing  in  the  EU  work  days  lost  in  companies  and  public 
administrations, and demand effects (e.g. mobility restrictions, travel cancellations). 

Despite the limitations, by using a variety of sources means we can conduct a 
robust evaluation 

Whilst we report a number of limitations this should not be read in a negative way. It is 
valuable at this stage, in advance of the ex-post evaluation and the next programmes 
to highlight areas where there are limitations to the information that can be gathered, 
and with possibilities to make further improvements to data capture and analysis. The 
consultants acknowledge the progress made in this programming period to simplify and 
clarify indicators and data collection.  

Many  of  the  limitations  raised  above  are  related  to  the  design  and  application  of 
monitoring  and  evaluation  systems  at  Member  State  level  and  different  approaches 
towards  monitoring  and  evaluation  between  Member  States,  including  the  different 
methodological  approaches  to  counterfactual  impact  evaluations40.  The  efforts  of  the 
Commission  in  respect  of  simplification  are  generally  recognised  but  complexities 
remain.  Additionally,  the  measurement  of  ‘soft’  outcomes  remains  difficult  given 
inconsistent approaches to recording and reporting (e.g. in the definition). In a number 
of  instances  the  soft  outcomes  are  not  at  all  reported.  This  underestimates  the 
achievement  of  youth  programmes,  compounded  by  ongoing  operations  meaning  an 
under reporting of results. This is therefore, the least reliable part of the evaluation.  

To counter data deficiencies our approach has been to apply different approaches and 
sources,  some  to  better  effect  than  others,  although  we  have  addressed  all  of  the 
information, 
evaluation  questions.  The  public  consultation  has  provided  rich 
notwithstanding the specific limitations outlined above. Micro data has been difficult to 
acquire and utilise, and the counterfactual impact evaluations are restrictive in respect 
of clear analysis and conclusions. However, the combination of all sources allows us to 
provide an overall narrative in the subsequent sections. 

40  Member  States  have  used  many  methods  and  approaches  in  CIE,  and  applied  them  at  a  different  level 
(programme, intervention, project). There are differences also  in the effects being measured (occupational 
chances,  reduction  of  unemployment  spells,  education)  as  well  as  in  the  timescale  of  such  effects  (from 
immediately after the intervention to a few years after).  

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2 

Background  

This chapter provides an overview of the context for implementation of the ESF and YEI 
in  terms  of  the  socio-economic  situation  confronting  young  people  at  national  and 
regional level at the start of the programming period (2014) and how this has developed 
over  the  period  (up  to  2018  or  2017  depending  on  the  data  sources  available).  In 
addition,  the  chapter  briefly  describes  the  EU  policy  response  to  the  increased  youth 
unemployment  following  the  2008  economic  and  financial  crisis,  which  provided  the 
impetus for current youth employment policies. 

2.1 

Young people not in employment, education or training 
(NEET)– volume and characteristics 

2.1.1  Defining NEET 

The  population  of  young  people  not  in  employment,  education  or  training  (NEET), 
includes those who are actively seeking and available for  work (economically active), 
who are considered to be unemployed, but also others who are either not seeking work 
or not immediately available for work, or both, and that are not in education or training 
(economically inactive) 41. This latter group includes some who are disabled or sick, but 
also others who are discouraged from seeking work because they believe that they have 
no chance of finding or securing a job. In general, those that are actively seeking work 
will be easier to help because they are already taking steps to find work whereas the 
inactive  group  is  potentially  more  difficult  to  reach  and  to  activate.  So,  the  relative 
weights of the unemployed and inactive groups are important factors in the design and 
implementation of employment policies. 

2.1.2  Long-term impact of the 2008 economic and financial crisis on young 

people 

The  economic  and  financial  crisis  of  the  late  2000s  had  severe  long-term  impact  on 
young people - those willing to move from education/training to work faced limited job 
opportunities and unparalleled levels of competition, not only from their peers but also 
from adult workers with extensive work experience who had recently been laid off. As a 
result, young people were increasingly confronted with the situation of not being able 
to get a job without prior experience and yet little chance of getting a job to gain that 
experience.  

One in eight young persons were not in employment, education or training 
(NEET) in 2014 

Whilst  the  negative  effects  of  the  crisis  had  diminished  by  the  start  of  the  current 
programming period, the problems for young people seeking employment persisted, to 
varying degrees across Member States. The lack of opportunities for young people 
in the labour market was such that at the beginning of the programming period in 2014, 
about 7.0 million young people aged 15-24 – 12.5% or one in eight of the EU population 
in this age group – were not in employment, education or training (NEET). A further 6.4 
million  or  one  in  five  (20.4%)  of  those  aged  25-29  were  similarly  affected  –  46%  of 
which  (or  9.4%  of  population)  was  unemployed  and  the  remaining  54%  (or  11%  of 
population) were inactive. 

41 The indicator used by Eurostat corresponds to the percentage of the population of a given age group that 
is not employed and not involved in further education or training. The numerator of the indicator refers to 
persons  who  meet  the  following  two  conditions:  (a)  they  are  not  employed  (i.e.  unemployed  or  inactive 
according to the International Labour Organisation definition) and (b) they have not received any education 
or training (i.e. neither formal nor non-formal) in the four weeks preceding the survey. The ILO definition for 
unemployed refer to those that are without work during the reference week; available to start work within 
the next two weeks or have already found a job to start within the next three months; actively having sought 
employment at some time during the last four weeks. The denominator in the total population consists of the 
same  age  group,  excluding  the  respondents  who  have  not  answered  the  question  'participation  in  regular 
(formal) education and training'. As regards all ESF and YEI supported operations targeting NEETs, the legal 
base sets out that each Member State sets out its national definition.   

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The NEET rate for young persons aged 15-24 varied from under 6% in the Netherlands 
(5.5%) and Denmark (5.8%) to more than 20% in Bulgaria (20.2%) and Italy (22.1%) 
(See Figure 1). Above average NEET rates were seen, in all southern countries (Greece, 
Spain, Italy and Cyprus) except Malta (10.3%) and Portugal (12.3%), as well as in the 
three  newest  Member  States  –  Bulgaria  (20.2%),  Romania  (17.0%)  and  Croatia 
(19.3%). Ireland was the only other country with a rate higher than 15% (15.3%).  

The 12.4% overall NEET rate for young persons aged 15-24 was composed of slightly 
more than 6.4% unemployed and 6.0% inactive NEETs so that the inactive NEETs 
comprised 48% of the total. The rate in 2014 was 8% or less in 25 of the 28 Member 
States.  The  exceptions  with  relatively  high  numbers  of  inactive  NEETs  were  Bulgaria 
(14.4%),  Romania  (10.5%)  and  Italy  (11.9%).  In  the  former  two,  there  were 
substantially more inactive than unemployed NEETs but in Italy the difference was small. 
The  unemployed  NEET  rate  is  more  variable,  with  Denmark,  Germany  and  the 
Netherlands all having less than 3% unemployed NEETs in 2014 whilst Greece, Spain, 
Croatia had rates in excess of 12% and Italy and Cyprus over 10%. 

  NEET rates of persons aged 15-24 by labour market status (in % of the 

economically active and inactive population, 15-24) and by Member State, 
2014 

Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (yth_empl_150), date of extraction 21 June 2019. 

At EU level, this means that in 2014 more than one in five active young people was 
unemployed (22.2%, Figure 2). Similar to NEET rates, there is a noticeable difference 
between northern and southern countries as the highest unemployment rates were seen 
in  Greece  (52.4%),  Spain  (53.2%),  Croatia  (45.5%),  Italy  (42.7%),  Cyprus  (36.0%) 
and Portugal (34.8%). Malta is the only southern country with a below average youth 
unemployment rate (11.7%), a figure that is surpassed only by Germany (7.7%) and 
Austria (10.3%). 

32 

12.512.312.020.28.15.86.411.715.319.117.111.219.322.117.012.09.96.313.610.35.57.712.012.317.09.412.810.27.211.905101520250510152025EU28EUavBEBGCZDKDEEEIEELESFRHRITCYLVLTLUHUMTNLATPLPTROSISKFISEUKNEET rate unemployedNEET rate inactiveTotal NEET rate 
 
 
 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

  Youth unemployment rate (persons aged 15-24 as % of active population), 

2014 

Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (lfsa_pganws), data extracted on 21 June 2018. 

Young people are disadvantaged compared to adults 

In  theory,  when  comparing  the  proportion  of  the  population  aged  15-24  that  is 
unemployed  (i.e.  the  unemployment  ratio)  to  that  of  those  aged  25-64,  one  might 
expect the former to be lower, simply on the basis that a significant proportion of the 
younger age-group is likely to be still in education or training. However, across the EU, 
the ratio of the youth against adult unemployment ratios was 1.3 in 201442, suggesting 
that young people were relatively disadvantaged and thus justifying the implementation 
of  targeted  employment  policies  to  alleviate  the  situation.  Perhaps  surprisingly,  the 
highest ratios (>1.5) were seen in countries with below average youth unemployment 
rates43, demonstrating the complexity of the situation and serving as a reminder of the 
need to consider a variety of aspects when planning employment policies.  

2.1.3  Changing NEET rates from 2014 to 2018 

Between 2014 and 2018, the NEET population decreased from 12.5% to 10.4%, 
from approximately 7 million to around 5.6 million young people aged 15-24 (Figure 3 
and Figure 4). This decline is the result of reduced unemployment as the economies of 
Europe recovered after the crisis, though at different rate.  

Relative increase of NEETs that are economically inactive 

Whereas the number of economically inactive NEETs has stayed broadly the same, the 
overall share within the NEET population has increased. In 2018 this group amounted 
to 58% of all NEETs in the EU (as compared to 48% in 2014). Similarly, the NEET rate 
for those aged 25-29 fell to 17.1% (from 20.4%), again largely as a result of a decrease 
in the unemployed NEET rate (from 9.4% to 6.3%). The proportion of inactive NEETs in 
the population has remained practically unchanged (11.0% in 2014 and 10.8% in 2018). 

42 The unemployment ratio is the youth unemployment ratio divided by the adult unemployment ratio. Thus, 
all values>1 imply a disadvantage for the younger cohort. Note that we are using ratios and not rates (ratio 
is the share of unemployed among all those aged 15-24, unemployment rates refer to the share of unemployed 
among active population of the same age). 
43 See Annex 3, DK, MT, NL, RO FI, SE, UK. 

33 

22.224.523.223.815.812.67.714.923.452.453.224.245.542.736.019.719.222.320.411.712.710.323.934.824.020.229.720.522.917.00102030405060 
 
 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

  NEET rates for persons aged 15-24 by labour market status - EU28, 2014-

2018 

Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (yth_empl_150), date of extraction 21 June 2019. 

In general, those who are actively seeking work should be easier to help because 
they  are  already  taking  steps  to  find  work,  whereas  the  inactive  group  is  potentially 
more difficult to reach and to activate. So, the relative weights of the unemployed and 
inactive groups are important factors in the design and implementation of employment 
policies. This means that whilst there has been a decrease in the overall NEET population 
since the start of the programming period in 2014, there still is a significant problem in 
terms of youth employment as it becomes harder to place NEETs into employment. 

  Change in NEET rates for persons aged 15-24 by labour market status and 

Member State, 2014-2018 (in %) 

Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (yth_empl_150), date of extraction 21 June 2019. 

2.1.4  The importance of skills and educational attainment  

lower  skill 

NEETs  with 
levels  and  educational  attainment  are  more 
disadvantaged  in  the  labour  market.  Overall,  unemployment  rates  were  higher  for 
low-skilled young people than for those with medium and high skills. In 2014, almost 
one in three (30.2%) young Europeans with low levels of education (lower secondary) 
was  unemployed  compared  to  one  in  five  (19.9%)  of  those  with  medium  levels  of 
education (upper secondary) and one in six (16.6%) for those with high levels (tertiary). 
Low-skilled  young  people  were  particularly  disadvantaged  in  Bulgaria,  the  Czech 
Republic,  Croatia,  Lithuania,  Hungary,  Malta,  Slovakia,  Finland  and  Sweden,  while 
Romania was the only country in which the level of unemployment appears to increase 
with the level of education (Figure 5). 

With the decrease in the NEET population between 2014 and 2018, the unemployment 
rate  for  low  educated  (21.9%)  remains  double  than  that  of  high-educated  young 
people (11.0%) (Figure 6). 

34 

6.9%6.4%5.9%5.4%4.8%4.4%6.1%6.0%6.1%6.2%6.1%6.1%13.0%12.5%12.0%11.6%10.9%10.5%0%5%10%15%201320142015201620172018EU NEET rate (15-24) unemployedEU NEET rate (15-24) inactiveEU NEET rate (15-24)-10-8-6-4-2024-10-8-6-4-2024NEET rate unemployedNEET rate inactiveTotal NEET rate 
 
 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

  Youth unemployment rate for persons aged 15-24 by level of education 

and Member State (as % of active population), 2014 

Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (yth_empl_090), data extracted on 21 June 2018. 

  Change in unemployment rates of persons aged 15-24 by level of 

education, 2014-2018 (in %) 

Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (yth_empl_100), data extracted on 21 June 2018. 

2.1.5  Gender variations 

At EU level, there was only a small gender difference in NEET rates in 2014 (12.3% 
for men aged 15-24 vs. 12.7% for women). More substantial differences were apparent 
in some countries: in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta and Romania the NEET rates 
for young women exceeded those of young men by 3-3.5 percentage points, while in 
Croatia,  Cyprus,  Luxemburg  and  Finland  NEET  rates  were  noticeably  higher  for  men. 
The gender difference becomes more apparent when considering the different labour 
market  status  of  young  NEETs.  At  EU  level,  60.2%  of  young  NEET  men  were 
unemployed and 39.8% inactive compared to 43.3% and 56.7% respectively of young 
NEET  women.  This  implies  that  young  women  are  a  more  difficult  target  for 
employment measures to reach because more of them are economically inactive, and 
not necessarily actively seeking employment, education and training (Figure 7). 

35 

010203040506070Low (ISCED 0-2)Medium (ISCED 3-4)High (ISCED 5-8)-40-30-20-10010-40-30-20-10010Low (ISCED 0-2)Medium (ISCED 3-4)High (ISCED 5-8)Total (ISCED 0-8) 
 
 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

  NEET rates of persons aged 15-24 by gender, 2014 

Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (yth_empl_150), date of extraction 21 June 2019. 

Gender differences increase with age 

In contrast to the younger age group where gender differences are very low, in the 25-
29 age group there is a substantial gender difference: the share of female NEETs was 
about 10 percentage points higher than that of men in both 2014 and 2018 (Figure 
8). Though the rate of unemployed NEETs is similar for both sexes in 2018, the share 
of inactive NEETs is more than three times higher for women than men. Indeed, nearly 
three-quarters  of  all  inactive  NEETs  aged  25-29  are  women  (73%).  A  significant 
proportion of these are likely to be women who are not in work, education or training. 
Reasons could include maternity leave, caring responsibilities for young children or other 
dependants44.  This  probably  indicates,  that  this  group  faces  higher  obstacles  in 
accessing the labour market than others and that comprehensive support is necessary 
to  improve  the  labour  market  situation  of  this  group  (also  including  operations  from 
other thematic objectives, like provision of child care services).  

  NEET rates of persons aged 25-29 by gender and labour market status 

(active and inactive) - EU28, 2014 and 2018 

Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (yth_empl_150), date of extraction 21 November 2019. 

44 An assumption based on the data on childbirth. Women aged 25 to 29 accounted for 27.7% of all births in 
2017, the highest figure by age group. Based on Eurostat (demo_fasec) 

36 

05101520250510152025EU28EUavBEBGCZDKDEEEIEELESFRHRITCYLVLTLUHUMTNLATPLPTROSISKFISEUKNEET rate MenNEET rate WomenTotal NEET rate15.810.25.725.08.716.312.46.65.822.06.016.00510152025Overall NEETrateNEET rate -unemployedNEET rate -InactiveOverall NEETrateNEET rate -unemployedNEET rate -Inactive20142018WomenMen 
 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

2.1.6  Young migrants 

Finding  employment  seems  to  be  harder  also  for  young  migrants45  compared  to 
nationals. In 2014, the difference in unemployment rates between the two groups 
stood at 7.6 percentage points with Portugal, Ireland, Croatia and more notably Cyprus 
being  the  only  countries  in  which  the  unemployment  rates  were  higher  for  nationals 
(Figure 9). Young migrants were particularly disadvantaged when compared to nationals 
in Sweden, Slovenia and Belgium. 

  Unemployment rates of people aged 15-24 by country of birth and Member 

State, 2014 

Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (yth_empl_100), data extracted on 21 June 2018. “National” refers 
to persons born in the country, “foreign-born” is defined as born outside the EU 

2.1.7  Young people at risk of poverty and social exclusion 

In 2014, almost a third (31.4%) of young people aged 15-24 lived in households at risk 
of poverty or social exclusion. Poverty is therefore more prevalent amongst this age-
group than in the population as a whole (24.4%), reflecting the fact that young people 
are making the transition from school to work, often leaving the parental home, seeking 
work for the first time  –frequently finding this difficult, having to take a low-paid job 
and  having  no  accumulated  savings.  In  2014,  young  people  aged  15-24  were  more 
likely, compared to the general population, to be at risk of poverty or social exclusion 
in all countries but Estonia (Figure 10). Poverty rates were particularly high in Bulgaria 
(41.1%), Ireland (41.6%) and most notably in Romania (49.8%) and Greece (50.7%), 
where  half  of  young  people  were  affected.  The  risk  of  poverty  or  social  exclusion  for 
young people was more than double compared to that of the total population in Denmark 
(36.2%  vs.  17.9%)  and  there  were  particularly  significant  differences  also  in  Greece 
(50.7% vs. 36.0%) and Sweden (29.7% vs. 18.2%). 

45 Eurostat’s Labour Force Survey (LFS) provides two ways to assess employment and unemployment rates 
of migrants – based on people’s nationality or on their place of birth. The relevant ESF common indicator, 
“Migrants, people with a foreign background, minorities (including marginalised communities such as the 
Roma)”, is defined as non-national permanent residents in a country, people with a foreign background or 
nationals from a minority (according to national definitions). The definitions of people with foreign 
background and nationals from a minority are quite heterogeneous across Member States. In the absence of 
a national definition for ‘people with a foreign background’ the term should be understood according to the 
following international recommendation (UNECE in cooperation with Eurostat): persons with a foreign 
background are "… persons whose parents were born outside the country. The persons in this group may or 
may not have directly experienced an international migration".  
See: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3888793/5850217/KS-RA-11-019-EN.PDF and 
http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/publications/CES_2010_Census_Recommendations_English.pdf. 

37 

21.621.623.815.812.07.315.023.852.152.423.846.042.738.219.619.220.620.411.412.19.623.835.024.019.429.820.420.616.929.236.518.020.011.721.254.756.432.238.242.524.228.622.115.232.935.423.240.517.70102030405060NationalsForeign-born 
 
 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

  Total persons aged 15-24 and those at risk of poverty or social exclusion 

(as % of population) by Member State, 2014 and 2017 

Source: Eurostat, EU-SILC (ilc_peps01), data extracted on 21 June 2018. 

By 201746 , the rate of young people at risk of poverty or social exclusion fell to 29.0%, 
while it was 22.4% for the total population. Nevertheless, poverty risks amongst young 
people increased substantially in Lithuania (+4.2 percentage points.) and Luxembourg 
(+4.9 percentage points, Figure 10). In contrast, the largest improvements took place 
in  Ireland  (-8.1  percentage  points),  Croatia  (-6.6  percentage  points),  Latvia  (-6.3 
percentage points), and Hungary (-6.6 percentage points). 

2.2 

The EU response to youth unemployment and the focus on 
NEETs 

In response to the damaging effects of the economic downturn on young people and the 
levels of youth unemployment the EU focused on employment related instruments: 
The Council Recommendation on establishing a Youth Guarantee was adopted on 22 
April 2013. The Youth Guarantee aims to ensure that all young people under 25 receive 
a  good-quality  offer  of  employment,  continued  education,  an  apprenticeship  or  a 
traineeship within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal 
education47.  

Introduction of the YEI to support young people in regions with high youth 
unemployment 

To help young people in regions where the youth unemployment issue was particularly 
severe (regions where youth unemployment was higher than 25% in 2012), the Council 
announced  in  February  2013  the  Youth  Employment  Initiative  (YEI)  initially 
budgeted  for  the  period  2014  to  2018,  whose  resources  were  later  increased  until 
202048.  YEI  was  supported  by  ESF  and  a  dedicated  budget  line49.  The  YEI  aimed  to 
provide additional and complementary funding (to that already available from the 
European  Social  Fund,  but  only  on  operations  directly  focused  on  young  people)  to 
support operations set out in the 2012 youth employment package50 supporting the 
implementation  of  the  Youth  Guarantee.  Furthermore,  the  June  2013  European 
Council  stressed  that  Member  States  should  give  particular  attention  to  youth 

46 2018 data is not yet available for all countries 
47 Council Recommendation of 22 April 2013 on establishing a Youth Guarantee: http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32013H0426(01) 
48 It should be noted that the financial implementation of the YEI, despite the frontloading of resources, 
follows the same profile as for the ESF – spending continues even after 2020 (at least until 2023), in line 
with cohesion funding rules. 
49 Council conclusions, February 2013: 
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/doc/srv?l=EN&f=ST%2037%202013%20INIT 
50 https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1039&langId=en 

38 

0102030405060010203040506015-24, 201415-24, 2017Total, 2014Total, 2017 
 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

employment  in  implementing  the  Structural  Funds,  including  -  where  appropriate  - 
reprogramming  unspent  funds  and  making  use  of  enhanced  technical  assistance  to 
improve administrative capacity51.  

The  majority  of  the  Member  States  launched  their  national  Youth  Guarantee 
schemes in January 201452. Adopting the option provided by YEI, 17 Member States53 
expanded the scheme, either from the beginning or progressively54 to cover also young 
people  aged  25-29.  In  terms  of  organisation,  in  the  majority  (13)  of  the  23  Member 
States55 benefiting from YEI or ESF funding targeting youth, the YEI/ESF and the Youth 
Guarantee  are  managed  by  the  same  institution  –  mainly  by  Ministries  of  Labour  or 
directly by the Public Employment Services (PES) that belong to the Ministry56.  

Both  the  YEI  and  the  Youth  Guarantee  targets  young  people  not  in  employment, 
education  or  training  (NEET).  In  principle,  the  Youth  Guarantee  is  open  to  all  young 
people but the focus is the NEET group. The YEI exclusively targeted young NEETs: it is 
primarily targeted at the 15-24 years cohort, but could also be extended to those aged 
from 15-29 years.  

Policies  targeted  at  the  25-29  age  group  may  require  a  different  orientation  from 
those  targeting  the  younger  cohort  due  to  their  different  (relative)  proximity  to  the 
labour  market  in  terms  of  being  equipped  with  the  skills  and  experience  needed.  In 
other words, the support needed is more likely to focus on overcoming barriers to work 
and outreach, than on further developing their qualifications and skills.  

2.3 

Regional variations 

The  level  of  ESF  funding  and  the  types  of  projects  funded  differ  from  one  region  to 
another depending on their relative regional labour market situation. To that end, EU 
regions  have  been  categorized  into  three  funding  categories  based  on  their 
regional GDP per capita compared to the EU average (more developed, transition, less 
developed)57.  Additionally,  as  mentioned  above,  the  YEI  was  launched  to  provide 
support to young people living in regions where youth unemployment was higher than 
25% in 2012 and subsequently increased in 2017 and in succeeding years for regions 
with youth unemployment higher than 25%, using the latest available Eurostat data on 
regional youth unemployment.  

To  better  understand  and  evaluate  the  financial  contribution  of  ESF  and  YEI  funded 
Operational Programmes (OPs), it is important to look into the national socio-economic 
situation,  and  also  into  the  situation  in  the  specific  regions  in  which  the  Operational 
Programmes are delivered, since there can be significant differences between different 
parts of the country.  

51 Council conclusions, June 2013: http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-104-2013-REV-
2/en/pdf 
52 Exceptions where the Youth Guarantee implementation started later in 2014 were SK (Feb), PT (March), 
CZ (April), IT (May), ES, LU and MT (all in July), while HU started only in 2015 (January). The UK did not 
establish a Youth Guarantee scheme per se. Whilst the government supported the approach set out in the 
Council Recommendation, it felt that the provision existing in the UK at the time matched best the local and 
national circumstances. 
53 The Youth Guarantee is limited to those aged 15-24 only in BE, DK, FR, HU, IE, LU, NL, AT, RO, SE and the 
UK. In the other 17 Member States it is open to the 15-29 cohort. 
54 ES and PL since 2015, CY since May 2017, and EL since November 2018. 
55 DK, EE, NL, AT, FI are the only exceptions. 
56 The only exceptions are IE, LT, MT, PL, PT, RO and SI where the Youth Guarantee and YEI/ESF are managed 
by different Ministries as well as DE and the UK where ESF/YEI are managed by authorities at the regional 
level. Note also that in FR, IT and PT due to regional ESF/YEI funded Operational Programmes (OPs), regional 
authorities are also involved in the managing of YEI/ESF funds targeting youth. 
57 https://ec.europa.eu/esf/main.jsp?catId=525&langId=en 

39 

 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

Clustering regions with different socio-economic situation 

In order to capture the different contexts of regions, this study has identified clusters 
of regions with similar characteristics relating to their relative position in the country 
and their respective development. These groups can be used in combination with the 
ESF/YEI  monitoring  data  to  try  to  establish  some  understanding  on  the  effectiveness 
and efficiency of implementation.  

For this purpose, data from selected indicators on regions (at NUTS 2 level)58 were 
aggregated  to  define  different  types  of  regions  in  each  country  (i.e.  maximum  three 
types of region per country - 50 regions in total). These types were used to develop two 
composite indicators – one describing the situation at the beginning of the programming 
period in 2014 and one describing how this has evolved between 2014 and 2018. By 
combining the data for the two composite indicators, four broad clusters of regions 
were  identified,  which  are  briefly  presented  below  (detailed  methodology  and  cluster 
description can be found in Annex 3): 

  Cluster A: Regions with strong starting point and significant progress  

  Cluster B: Regions with strong starting point and little progress  

  Cluster C: Regions with low starting point and significant progress  

  Cluster D: Regions with low starting point and little progress 

The  clustering  of  regions  is  based  on  a  subset  of  the  indicators  used  to  describe  the 
general socio-economic context at national level, largely determined by the availability 
of  data.  In  particular,  indicators  of  poverty  and  social  exclusion  could  not  be  used 
because  there  are  too  many  regions  in  which  the  sample  size  (from  EU-SILC)  is  too 

small to provide reliable data
in Table 1 below.  

59

. The indicators selected for clustering are summarised 

  Socio-economic indicators used for clustering of regions  

Indicator 

Comments 

1 

Youth employment 
rate, 15-24 

2  NEET rate, 15-24 

3 

4 

Share of population 
aged 30-34 with 
tertiary education 

Early leavers from 
education and 
training, 18-24 

5  GDP/capita (PPS) 

Indicators 1 and 2 are similar to indicators used in the joint 
assessment framework (JAF) to monitor progress in implementing 
the Employment Guidelines in the context of the Europe 2020 
strategy, the only difference being that in this study the indicator 
on youth employment rate is limited to people aged 15-24 
(instead of 20-29 as in the JAF framework). 
Indicator 3 does not refer directly to the primary target group 
(those aged 15-24) but is used as a proxy to assess the extent to 
which young people enter and acquire tertiary level education. 
The indicator on early school leavers (ESL) is also part of the JAF 
indicators as it is effectively a proxy for the numbers of young 
people without any secondary level qualifications and therefore 
particularly at risk of exclusion from the labour market. 
Indicator used to describe the overall economic context in which 
the ESF OPs are implemented. Data cover 2014 and 2017. 

The clusters are presented below. In each cluster, the main defining characteristics are 
highlighted in bold and for these it is generally the case that all regions in the cluster 
comply  with  the  characteristics,  though  there  may  be  occasional  exceptions.  For  the 
lesser characteristics, some variations are expected. Figure 11 offers an illustration of 

58 Youth employment rate, 15-24; NEET rate, 15-24; Share of population aged 30-34 with tertiary 
education; Early leavers from education and training, 18-24; GDP/capita (PPS) 
59 SILC data at NUTS 2 level are not broken down by age. Data on the general population are also incomplete. 
For example, for the indicator at risk of poverty or social exclusion there are no regional data for BE, EL, FR, 
Pl, SL and the UK, while data for DE and NL are not available for all years. The availability of data is similar 
also for the indicator on severe material deprivation which could have been used as an alternative.  
See http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=ilc_peps11&lang=en and 
http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=ilc_mddd21&lang=en. 

40 

 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

the four clusters and the respective average values allowing comparisons both in terms 
of  the  starting  point  and  the  change  between  2014  and  2018.  Table  2  indicates  the 
countries/types  of  regions  included  in  each  cluster  and  the  values  of  the  composite 
indicators for each cluster. Detailed indicator values can be found at the end of Annex 3.  

  Clusters of regions by typology based on the socio-economic context - 

EU28, 2014 and 2014-2018 (change) 

Cluster 

Type of region 

Countries 

Cluster A 

More developed 

CZ, IE, LU, NL, SK 

Cluster B 

More developed 

BE, DK, DE, FR, HU, AT, PL, SI, FI, SE, UK 

Transition 

DK, DE, AT, UK 

More developed 

EL, ES, IT, CY, PT, RO 

Cluster C 

Transition 

MT, PT 

Less developed 

CZ, EE, EL, HR, LV, LT, PL, PT, SI, SK, UK  

Cluster D 

Transition 

BE, EL, ES, FR, IT 

Less developed 

BG, ES, FR, IT, HU, RO 

Source: Metis, 2019 

  Clusters of regions by typology based on the socio-economic context - 

EU28, 2014 and change to 2018  

Source: Metis et al, based on EUROSTAT data (2019) 

Cluster  A  –  Strong  start/substantial  progress:  This  cluster  comprises  the  five 
more developed regions located in Central and Western Europe. These are all the 
regions in Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Ireland and the more developed (capital) 
regions  in  the  Czech  Republic  and  Slovakia.  The  regions  in  this  cluster  had  a  strong 
starting point: in 2014 all indicator values were on average more favourable than at EU 
level. Compared to the other three clusters, regions in this cluster had on average in 
2014 the highest GDP per capita (particularly Ireland), the lowest early school leaving 
rates and the highest share of those aged 30-34 with tertiary education. The average 
NEET rate was also the lowest across the board (on average 7.6%), although the rate 
in  Ireland  was  notably  higher  (15.2%  vs.  12.5%  at  EU  level).  Finally,  the  average 
employment rate of those aged 15-24 in regions of this cluster was also above the EU 
level  (33.5%  vs.  32.4%)  and  was  driven  by  the  high  employment  rates  in  the 
Netherlands  (58.8%)  and  Ireland  (36.8%),  whereas  the  employment  rates  in  the 
remaining regions were noticeably lower.  

Between  2014  and  2018  (2017  in  terms  of  GDP),  areas  in  this  cluster  had  achieved 
overall the greatest progress as compared to the other clusters. NEET rates dropped in 
all  regions,  whereas  employment  rates  increased  more  than  average  in  all  regions, 

41 

 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

except  for  the  developed  regions  in  the  Czech  Republic  where  the  improvement  was 
only marginal (+0.7 percentage points). The increase in the share of those aged 30-34 
with  tertiary  education  was  the  highest  across  the  board  and  mainly  driven  by  the 
increase in the Czech Republic (+12.3 percentage points). In terms of the early school 
leaving rate, regions in cluster A had the smallest decrease (on average -0.7 percentage 
points),  as  the  rate  decreased  only  slightly  in  three  of  the  five  areas  (Ireland, 
Netherlands  and  Slovakia)  and  increased  (marginally)  in  the  remaining  two  (by  0.2 
percentage points in Czech Republic and Luxembourg).  

Cluster  B  –  Strong  start/limited  progress:  This  cluster  comprises  15  regions 
(mostly  more  developed)  located  mainly  in  Central  Europe.  The  cluster  covers  all 
regions (more developed and transitional) in Denmark, Germany, Austria, Finland (all 
more  developed)  and  Sweden  (all  more  developed)  and  more  developed  regions  in 
Belgium, France, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and the UK as well as transitional regions 
in  the  UK.  Overall,  these  regions  had  a  strong  starting  point  in  2014.  Almost  all 
regions had above average GDP per capita (all transitional regions and more developed 
regions  in  Slovenia  being  the  only  exceptions)  and  below  average  NEET  rates 
(transitional  regions  in  the  UK  being  the  only  exception).  Compared  to  the  other 
clusters, regions in Cluster B had on average the highest employment rates though 
in  five  regions  (more  developed  regions  in  Belgium,  France,  Hungary,  Poland  and 
Slovenia) the employment rates were below average. The  share of those aged 30-34 
with  tertiary  education  was  above  average  in  all  regions  with  the  exception  for 
transitional  regions  in  Germany,  whereas  the  early  school  leaving  rate  was  below 
average in all regions but transitional regions in the UK. 

The  overall  progress  by  2018  was  limited  compared  to  the  other  three  clusters: 
Regions in cluster B had on average the lowest decrease in the NEET rate and the second 
lowest increase (after Cluster D) in GDP per capita, employment rates for those aged 
15-24, as well as in the proportion of those aged 30-34 with tertiary education. In terms 
of the early school leaving, the situation in this cluster has deteriorated as on average 
the early school leaving rate increased by 0.4 percentage points as the rate increased 
in seven regions. 

Cluster C – Weak start/visible progress: This cluster comprises 19 regions – six 
more  developed  (Greece,  Spain,  Italy,  Cyprus,  Portugal  and  Romania)  and  two 
transitional  (Malta,  Portugal)  regions  located  in  southern  Europe  and  11  less 
developed  regions  mainly  in  eastern  Europe  (Czech  Republic,  Estonia,  Greece, 
Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, United Kingdom).  

In  essence, this cluster covers all regions in Cyprus, Portugal, Malta, Croatia and the 
three  Baltic  states  (Estonia,  Lithuania  and  Latvia),  more  developed  regions  in  Spain, 
Italy, Greece and Romania and less developed regions in the Czech Republic, Greece, 
Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland and the UK. These regions had a relatively weak starting 
point related to GDP per capita and employment rates. The share of persons aged 
30-34 with tertiary education were the second lowest after cluster D, whereas the NEET 
rate  and  the  early  school  leaving  rate  was  the  second  highest,  again  after  cluster  D. 
GDP  per  capita  was  below  average  in  all  but  four  regions  (Spain,  Italy,  Portugal  and 
Romania, all more developed), while employment rates were below average also in all 
but four regions (less developed regions in Estonia, Latvia and the United Kingdom and 
transitional  regions  in  Malta).  On  average,  the  NEET  rate  in  regions  in  Cluster  C  was 
high  (13.8%  vs.  12.5%  at  EU  level)  though  in  less  developed  regions  in  the  Czech 
Republic and Lithuania the NEET rate was notable lower. The rate of those aged 30-34 
with tertiary education and the rate of early school leavers were on average close to the 
EU values. 

By  2018,  all  indicator  values  had  improved.  Regions  in  this  cluster  had  the  highest 
increase in the employment rates of those aged 15-24 and the highest decrease in the 
NEET  and  early  school  leavers  rates.  GDP  per  capita  also  increased  substantially  but 

42 

 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

remained below the GDP at EU level. There was also a significant increase (the second 
highest after Cluster A) in the share of those aged 30-34 with tertiary education. 

Cluster  D  –  Very  weak  start/limited  progress:  This  cluster  comprises  six  less 
developed (Bulgaria, Spain, France, Italy, Hungary, Romania) and five transitional 
(Belgium, Spain, Greece, France - overseas, Italy) regions all located in Southern Europe 
– transitional regions in Belgium being the only exception. On average, these regions 
had  the  lowest  starting  point  compared  to  the  other  clusters.  The  value  of  the 
composite  indicator  for  2014  had  the  lowest  value:  GDP  per  capita  and  employment 
rates for those aged 15-24 were considerably lower than the EU level in all regions of 
the cluster. At the same time, NEET rates were considerably higher than the EU level in 
all regions (on average 20.0% vs. 12.5%). Also, on average, the share of those aged 
30-34  with  tertiary  education  was  below  the  EU  level.  But  in  transitional  regions  in 
Belgium and in less developed regions in Spain, values were somewhat higher. The early 
school  leaving  rate  was  on  average  the  highest  seen  across  the  different  clusters  as 
values were below the EU level only in transitional areas in France.  

On  average,  the  progress  made  by  2018  was  very  limited.  These  regions  had  the 
lowest increase in GDP per capita as well as the lowest increase in employment rates 
and in the share of those aged 30-34 with tertiary education. However, the decrease in 
the  early  school  leaving  and  NEET  rate  was  noticeable,  and  the  second  highest  seen 
after Cluster C. 

43 

 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

3 

Summary  of  the  situation  regarding  the  financial  and 
operational  implementation  of  the  YEI  and  ESF  funded 
youth employment operations  

This chapter provides information on the scope of investment for youth employment in 
financial terms and in targeted participation. It then moves to the types of operations 
found in the mapping of youth employment. Finally, it discusses the actual progress in 
implementation.  This  chapter  should  be  read  in  conjunction  with  Annex  3  which 
includes a fuller analysis and additional tables.  

3.1 

Scope of investments 

There is a total investment of EUR 22 billion for youth employment (2014-
2020) 

The  YEI  provides  financial  support  to  the  Member  States  worst  hit  by  youth 
unemployment60. At the start of the programming period, the total EU budget allocated 
to  YEI  (YEI  plus  matching  ESF)  was  EUR  6.4  billion  (EUR  7.67  billion  if  we  include 
national co-financing to the ESF share), committed only over the first two years of the 
programming period (2014-2015), to ensure swift mobilisation of measures for young 
people. In view of persisting levels of youth unemployment, in June 2017, the European 
Parliament and the Council agreed to increase YEI funding by another EUR 1.2 billion, 
matched by an equivalent amount of ESF funding (EUR 2.4 billion in total). The increase 
in ESF contribution to YEI was raised further by the eligible Member States’ own financial 
resources61. Overall, combining EU funds from the dedicated YEI budget line, matching 
ESF  share  and  national  co-financing,  a  total  budget  of  EUR  10.3  billion  for  YEI  was 
safeguarded, as shown in Table 3 below.  

In addition, Member States allocated  another  EUR  8.2 billion  of ESF investments to 
the  dedicated  Investment  Priority  (IP  8.ii),  making  a  total  investment  in  Youth 
Employment related investments of around EUR 18.6 billion for the entire 2014-
2020 programme period. Nearly half of the allocation of total funds for ESF – Investment 
priority 8.ii was for less developed regions (EUR 4 million or 49%), another 42% (EUR 
3.4  million)  for  more  developed  regions  and  10%  (EUR  0.8  million)  for  transition 
regions62.  

  Allocations to Youth Employment ESF + YEI – including OP amendments 

until 2018, in 1 000 Euro 

MS 

AT 
BE 
BG 
CY 
CZ 
DE 
DK 
EE 
ES 
FI 
FR 
EL 

YEI63 

EU 
amount 

Total 

ESF – IP 8.ii64 
EU 
amount 

Total 

Total 

EU 
amount 

Total 

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 125 788  
 110 377  
 36 274  
 27 200  

 188 682  
 120 117  
 39 474  
 29 600  

 -    
 -    
 -    

 -    
 -    
 -    

 61 539  
 31 799  
 6 798  

 133 209  
 37 357  
 7 998  

 -    

 -    

 467 029  

 827 733  

 187 327  
 142 177  
 43 072  
 27 200  
 467 029  

 321 891  
 157 474  
 47 472  
 29 600  
 827 733  

 -    
 -    

 -    
 -    

 -    
 -    

 -    
 -    

 2 723 322  

 2 963 615  

 420 217  

 589 236  

 3 143 538  

 3 552 850  

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 944 660  
 500 842  

 1 117 509  
 574 249  

 195 976  

 249 915  

 -    

 -    

 1 140 635  
 500 842  

 1 367 424  
 574 249  

60 Art. 16 ESF Regulation 
61 This was followed by smaller further increases agreed at EU level as part of the 2019 and 2020 annual 
budgetary procedure. 
62 For YEI there is no allocation to types of regions  
63 Includes ESF allocations to YEI 
64 Excludes ESF allocations to YEI 

44 

 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

YEI63 

EU 
amount 

 202 590  
 99 531  
 136 291  
 1 821 065  
 63 565  

Total 

 220 466  
 108 313  
 204 436  
 2 288 069  
 69 174  

 -    

 -    

ESF – IP 8.ii64 
EU 
amount 

Total 

 35 540  
 503 068  

 41 812  
 598 801  

 -    

 -    

 1 293 095  
 17 453  
 6 819  

 2 267 888  
 20 533  
 13 638  

 58 021  

 63 141  

 -    

 -    

Total 

EU 
amount 

 238 130  
 602 598  
 136 291  
 3 114 159  
 81 018  
 6 819  
 58 021  
 4 800  

Total 

 262 277  
 707 113  
 204 436  
 4 555 957  
 89 707  
 13 638  
 63 141  
 6 000  

 -    
 -    

 -    
 -    

 4 800  

 6 000  

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 1 256 028  

 1 488 182  

 421 124  
 191 150  
 73 000  

 585 074  
 486 136  
 328 905  
 132 489  
 20 726  
 228 275  
 578 361  

 537 635  
 446 720  
 302 237  
 88 326  
 18 423  
 206 715  
 397 265  

 2 073 256  
 486 136  
 825 674  
 514 790  
 111 976  
 228 275  
 1 562 510  
8 846 846  10 346 810   5 535 274   8 236 768  14 382 120  18 583 579  
 3 436 253  
 3 999 889  
 800 627  
 8 846 846    10 346 810  

- 
- 
- 
 8 846 846    10 346 810  

 1 793 663  
 446 720  
 723 361  
 279 477  
 91 423  
 206 715  
 947 105  

 3 436 253  
 3 999 889  
 800 627  
- 

 1 817 730  
 3 146 078  
 571 466  
- 

 1 817 730  
 3 146 078  
 571 466  

 496 769  
 382 301  
 91 250  

 984 149  

 549 841  

- 
- 
- 

 -    

 -    

MS 

HR 
HU 
IE 
IT 
LT 
LU 
LV 
MT 
NL 
PL 
PT 
RO 
SE 
SI 
SK 
UK 
EU 
More dev. 
Less dev. 
Transition 
No region  
assigned 

Source:  SFC2014,  based  on  OP  data  reported  in  AIR2018  (data  extracted  on  6  September  2019)  with 
allocations up to 31 December 2018, to be consistent with the AIR.  

A detailed mapping exercise (see Annex 1) shows that ESF investments also finance 
youth employment operations outside the dedicated  Investment Priority 8.ii, 
that  is  in  other  Investment  Priorities  (mainly  in  Investment  Priority  8.i  –  Access  to 
employment, and to a small part also in 8.v – Adaptability)65. Such investments are not 
systematically tracked in the monitoring system66. While information is available on the 
share  of  youth  that  actually  participates,  the  monitoring  system  does  not  allow 
establishing with certainty whether a certain operation targets youth, nor what types of 
costs are involved. The mapping exercise verified individual operations in more detail 
and allows to provide such estimates, based on textual remarks provided by Managing 
Authorities about already implemented operations67. The resulting estimate of the costs 
for  these  additional  operations  is  EUR  2.1  billion,  which  can  be  extrapolated  to  an 
estimated allocation of EUR 3.5 billion68. Based on these additional calculations the total 
estimated size of all youth employment operations within ESF and YEI is EUR 
22.0 billion for the period 2014-202069. 

65 Operations outside IP 8.ii are defined as youth employment (YE), if these define youth (up to 30 years old) 
as  its  exclusive  target  group  (i.e.  do  not  mention  other  age  groups  for  that  operation),  or  if  these  are 
programmed under Specific Objectives that mention youth, and the operation mentions youth as (one of the) 
target groups. 
66 i.e. the costs are not tracked and whereas participation of young persons is monitored, it is not known if 
these are targeted or not 
67 Note that the estimated costs of implemented operations is not the same as the allocation. However, based 
on the estimated costs, assuming similar implementation levels, estimates for allocation could be provided.  
68  This  estimate  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  operations  outside  IP  8.ii  have  reached  similar 
implementation levels as YE operations in IP 8.ii: 66%. 
69 Whilst it would be interesting to compare ESF/YEI investments with all comparable active labour market 
policy operations we have investigated do not believe there is a suitable methodology that would stand up to 
scrutiny.  For  example,  we  would  not  be  able  to  isolate  youth  provision  in  many  Member  States  and  the 
definitions of active labour market policies is also liable to variation.  

45 

 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

ESF and YEI youth employment operations target 6.3 million participations of 
young people 

The budgets defined for youth employment operations are closely related to the number 
of young people that each programme aims to reach. This section presents the targets 
that Member States set for the number of young people ESF and YEI investments should 
reach.  When  interpreting  targets  and  outputs,  it  is  important  to  realise  that  the 
monitoring system does not count unique individuals, but instead counts participation 
(an  individual  can  have  more  than  one  participation),  which is  also  the  measure  this 
report uses70.  

Managing  Authorities  set  aggregated  targets  of  3.9  million  participations  for  YEI, 
further  complemented  by  another  target  of  2.4  million  young  participations  for 
ESF71. This adds up to a total target of 6.3 million participations across the seven-year 
programming period for ESF and YEI together. Table 4 below, summarises the targets 
set  for  all  Member  States  and  compares  these  against  the  population  of  unemployed 
youth (15-29 years old, 2014)72. The table shows that the relative participation targets 
for Spain, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Romania are considerably higher than 
average (equal to or above 15% of the total population), and equal to or above average 
targets for Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia. These figures suggest that the ESF / 
YEI  investments  in  these  Member  States  are  particularly  important  policy 
levers to respond to youth unemployment.  

Total of and share of ESF/YEI targets in relation to reference population 
(15-29 years old unemployed in 2014) 

YEI – target 
participations 

ESF – target 
participations 

Total target 
(YEI+ESF) 

Total as share of 
target population 
(ref. 2014) 

34 238 
39 225 
4 000 
3 100 
- 
1 522 665 
548 630 
124 370 
73 700 
35 000 
22 330 
720 000 
35 000 
- 
30 906 
- 
212 770 
157 800 

47 950 
12 710 
1 800 
- 
126 796 
274 392 
82 165 
- 
8 946 
 138 225 
- 
436 324 
10 000 
3 000 
- 
2 700 
592 625 
- 

82 188 
51 935 
5 800 
3 100 
126 796 
1 797 057 
630 795 
124 370 
82 646 
173 225 
22 330 
1 156 324 
45 000 
3 000 
30 906 
2 700 
805 395 
157 800 

7% 
7% 
3% 
0% 
3% 
17% 
8% 
5% 
9% 
20% 
3% 
14% 
15% 
7% 
15% 
8% 
19% 
10% 

MS 

BE 
BG 
CY 
CZ 
DE 
ES 
FR 
EL 
HR 
HU 
IE 
IT 
LT 
LU 
LV 
MT 
PL 
PT 

70 If a single individual participates in multiple operations, this person is counted multiple times. SFC counts 
participations rather than individual participants 
71 All indicators (common and programme-specific) were screened to count the total number of participations 
targeted (and reached) by programmes. Where programmes use non-exclusive target categories (for instance 
to measure specific target groups; cf. unemployed and long-term unemployed), only one of these overlapping 
indicators is included. As such, this figure serves to get a sense of the targeted number of participations of a 
programme.  
72 The size of the reference population was estimated based on the Eurostat data on youth unemployment 
(15-29  years  old)  for  2014  and  compared  against  the  target  for  ESF/YEI  participations  in  the  seven-year 
programme period. To account for the natural in-/outflow of individuals in the official statistics (because of 
age  or  changes  in  employment  status),  we  assume  that  each  individual  in  the  unemployment  figures  is 
replaced annually, and that the overall population size remains the same. Note that participations may also 
consist of multiple counts of the same individual. Because of these caveats, the figure presented serves mainly 
as a tool for comparison across Member States and should be treated with caution when drawing conclusions 
about the targeted share of the total population. 

46 

 
 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

MS 

RO 
SE 
SI 
SK 
UK 
EU 

YEI – target 
participations 

ESF – target 
participations 

Total target 
(YEI+ESF) 

Total as share of 
target population 
(ref. 2014) 

84 116 
20 000 
2 859 
82 255 
127 480 
3 880 444 

222 181 
39 400 
20 620 
- 
422 260 
2 442 094 

306 297 
59 400 
23 479 
82 255 
549 740 
6 322 538 

16% 
4% 
10% 
10% 
8% 
10% 

Source:  SFC2014,  based  on  OP  data  reported  in  AIR2018  (data  extracted  on  6  September  2019).  The 
reference population varies by Member States (e.g. 15- 24 for Hungary) but we use the period 15-29 to avoid 
inconsistencies 

3.2 

Types of supported operations 

This section presents the types of operations that were found in the mapping of youth 
employment  operations  across  all  programmes.  This  mapping  concentrated  on 
implemented operations. In line with the demarcation approach adopted for this study 
as  explained  in  Annex  1,  this  section  is  based  on  the  demarcation  at  the  level  of 
operations.  This  means  that  it  presents  information  for  all  youth  employment 
operations,  even  if  these  are  programmed  outside  Investment  Priority  8.ii  (youth 
employment)73. It is important to note that this section analyses the type of supported 
operations,  based  on  the  reported  costs  so  far.  It  is  therefore  possible  that  the  final 
characterisation  of  operations  at  the  end  of  the  programming  period  is  considerably 
different. 

There is a wide spectrum of operations to support youth employment 

Under  the  broad  heading  of  Youth  Employment,  a  wide  variety  of  operations  are 
supported.  For  non-YEI/ESF  funded  operations,  the  largest  budget  share  is  linked  to 
operations that support work-based learning (24% at EU level), guidance and support 
measures (22%), measures that support  education and training (13%), and financial 
incentives (10%). Another 13% of the reported ESF costs for youth employment is used 
for operations that combine multiple categories of operations in a single approach, for 
example, a trajectory of training and education combined with guidance and support for 
individuals. When comparing ESF funded operations within Investment Priority 8.ii and 
ESF funded operations outside the investment priority, the main difference seems that 
operations  outside  8.ii  consist  substantially  of  guidance  and  support  measures  (36% 
against  16%).  Youth  employment  operations  also  often  combine  different  operations 
outside 8.ii (22% against 9% for 8.ii operations; see Figure 12 below).  

Both the ESF youth employment and YEI tackle the NEET target group, although the 
use  of  the  funds  varies  between  Member  States.  YEI  was  set  up  as  an  emergency 
response to youth unemployment, while ESF can also contribute to more structural 
measures, such as institutional capacity and systems support. This is confirmed 
by the large share of the YEI budget (20%) that combines multiple types of operations 
in a single approach. Particularly the higher share of financial incentives such as wage 
subsidies  (24%  compared  to  10%  for  ESF  funded  operations)  underline  the  different 
character of YEI. Guidance and support on the other hand is considerably smaller for 
YEI  operations  (11%  compared  to  22%).  The  share  of  work-based  learning  and 
education and training are relatively similar. 

73 Operations outside IP 8.ii are defined as Youth employment (YE), if these define youth (up to 30 years old) 
as its exclusive target group (i.e. not mention other age groups for that operation), or if these are programmed 
under Specific Objectives that mention youth, and the operation mentions youth as (one of the) target groups. 

47 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

  Share of eligible ESF/YEI costs related to operation types 

Source: Mapping of operations based on AIR 2015 – 2018 

Clusters show distinct patterns of operations 

The  types  of  operations  for  ESF/YEI  differ  by  cluster  of  regions.  Figure  13  shows 
considerable  differences  in  approaches  across  regions.  ESF  and  YEI  in  regions  with  a 
strong  start  and  substantial  progress  (Cluster  A)  consist  entirely  of  operations  that 
combine multiple types of operations. Conversely in regions with a weak start and 
limited progress (Cluster D), financial incentives are far more common than in other 
clusters, both for YEI as well as for ESF operations. Comparable approaches are taken 
for ESF in the remaining two clusters of regions (B and C), while for YEI, regions with a 
strong  start  and  limited  progress  (Cluster  B)  stand  out  by  the  high  level  of  attention 
given to education and training operations. These results are further analysed by 
Member State in Figure 14.  

  Share of eligible ESF/YEI costs related to operation types by cluster 

Source: Mapping of operations based on AIR 2015 – 2018 (Cluster A – Strong start/substantial progress, 
Cluster B – Strong start/limited progress, Cluster C – Weak start/visible progress, Cluster D –Weak 
start/limited progress) 

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

  Share of eligible ESF costs related to operation by types by Member State 

Source: Mapping of operations based on AIR 2015 – 201874 

At  Member  State  level,  different  patterns  of  approaches  emerge  (see  Figure  14): 
Germany,  France,  Croatia,  Hungary  and  Italy  have  chosen  a  combination  of  types  of 
ESF operations, that is similar to the broader EU average (i.e. mainly combining work-
based  learning  with  education  and  training  operations,  combined  with  financial 
incentives for hiring and support to entrepreneurs in regions with higher unemployment, 
while offering integrated pathways / combined approaches in regions with better socio-
economic contexts). Spain stands out with its high share of operations reported so far 
that are dedicated to institutional capacities, mainly focusing on its regional PES system. 
In Poland, 71% is allocated to the category ‘other’, which consists of mainly of integrated 
pathways,  combining  guidance,  education  and  financial  incentives.  Guidance  and 
support for individuals are mostly found in Bulgaria and Romania.  

Figure  15  below,  presents  the  distribution  of  types  of  operations  for  YEI-funded 
operations  by  Member  States,  and  confirms,  what  the  earlier  figure  show:  France, 
Greece  and  Italy  are  representative  of  the  broader  distribution  of  different  types  of 
operations.  Most  financial  incentives  can  be  found  in  Spain  and  Slovenia,  while 
operations in the area of work-based learning represent the largest shares of reported 
costs so far in Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Latvia and Portugal. Pure education 
measures are relatively rare as large category; these only represent a substantial share 
of costs in Sweden, France and Greece.  

74 In case no distribution is shown for a Member State, it means that no ESF investments are dedicated to 
youth employment. Estonia and the Netherlands do not appear in the figure at all, as these Member States 
have no investments allocated to youth employment, neither from ESF nor from YEI.  

49 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

  Share of eligible YEI costs related to operation types by Member State 

Source: Mapping of operations based on AIR 2015 – 201875 

3.3 

Implementation 

This  section  discusses  in  more  detail  the  actual  progress  reported  so  far  for  youth 
employment operations, as measured by monitoring data. We discuss the progress of 
expenditure, output and result indicators. Readers must be aware that the figures used 
present  the  situation  for  youth  employment  operations  for  the  programming  period 
2014-2020 implemented up to 2018, as reported by 6 September 2019 by the Managing 
Authorities.  

In many instances, operations are not yet complete at this stage or expenses have not 
yet been claimed/results not reported yet, which therefore is a contribution to the under 
reporting  in  many  Member  States.  The  figures  presented  so  far  are  thus  to  be 
understood as a first indication of progress. 

In line with the demarcation approach adopted for this study and explained in Annex 1, 
this  section  is  based  on  the  demarcation  at  the  level  of  the  investment  priority.  This 
means  that  it  presents  information  for  investments  conducted  by  ESF  and  YEI  under 
Investment Priority 8.ii (Youth Employment).  

3.3.1  Financial implementation 

Progress in implementation with some delay 

To  mobilise  resources  towards  youth  employment  measures  at  the  start  of  the 
programming  period,  YEI  investments  were  frontloaded  to  the  first  two  years  of  the 
programming  period,  while  ESF  investments  could  be  allocated  over  the  full 
programming cycle76. This explains the difference of implementation between YEI and 
ESF,  particularly  in  Member  States  with  a  substantial  share  of  YEI.  Various  ESF 
investments  for  youth  employment  were  designed  as  a  follow  up  to  YEI  activities,  to 
commence in or after 2018, for instance in Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, 
Greece, Spain, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Portugal77. As shown in Figure 16, financial 
implementation  of  investments  in  youth  employment  is  progressing  in  most  Member 
States.  

75 In case no distribution is shown for a Member State, it means that no YEI investments are dedicated to 
youth employment. Estonia and the Netherlands do not appear in the figure at all, as these Member States 
have no investments allocated to youth employment, neither from ESF nor from YEI. For HU the OP/AIR does 
not specify shares of costs or budgets for different types of operations. Therefore, YEI intervention had to be 
treated as one. 
76 Taking into account the N+3 rule for spending and declaring investments, the last eligible declarations for 
YEI support were initially foreseen to take in place in 2018.  
77 See for instance European Commission, (2016), First results of the Youth Employment Initiative.  

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

Only  in  Romania,  no  progress  is  reported  for  YEI  and  for  ESF,  while  in  Spain  and 
Lithuania almost no implementation progress is reported for ESF investments in youth 
employment.  Romania  indicates  that  this  lack  of  progress  is  due  to  the  majority  of 
operations still at the design phase, and IT systems for storing monitoring data were 
not ready in time. For operations that had been launched, difficulties were reported in 
identifying  NEETs.  For  Spain  and  Lithuania  YEI  operations  were  launched  first,  after 
which additional ESF investments were programmed. By the end of 2018, 52% of the 
allocated  budgets  for  YEI  investments  at  EU  level  were  spent  and  declared  eligible, 
against 27% of the ESF budgets.  

  Implementation rates of YEI/ESF by Member State (expenditures declared 

to the Managing Authority) 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 201978. MD=more developed region, 
LD=less developed region, TR=transition region. No regional data available for YEI.  

3.3.2  Operational implementation by participation (outputs) 

This section reports on the number of participations reached by YEI and ESF (without 
YEI) supported operations under Investment Priority 8.ii from 2014-201879.  

There  are  2.7  million  participations  in  YEI  with  uneven  distribution  among 
Member States 

For YEI, 2.7 million participations were reported by the end of 2018, of which 70% were 
under  25  years-old  (see  Table  5).  Large  numbers  of  participations  were  reported  for 
Spain,  Italy,  France,  Poland,  and  Belgium.  So  far,  very  low  participation  figures  are 
reported in the Czech Republic and Romania. Spain, France and Italy are  responsible 
for more than half of all participations. 

Substantial efforts to reach the younger persons within the eligible age group 

Overall,  about  one  third  of  the  participations  are  between  25  and  29  years.  In  six 
Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Lithuania, Portugal, and Slovenia) this share 
is above 40%. Figure 17 also summarises the development of the share of 25 years old 
persons  over  time.  In  2014,  no  less  than  95%  of  all  recorded  participations  in  ESF 
Investment  Priority  8.ii  concerned  people  younger  than  25,  which  subsequently 
stabilised to its current level in subsequent years. For YEI, only a minor decrease in the 
number  of  under  25  years  old  was  recorded  (from  76%  to  65%  in  2018),  as  an 
increasing number of Member States broadened the eligibility criteria for participants, 
so that now in all YEI programmes young people up to the age of 29 are eligible. 

78 The implementation rate reported for Bulgaria is an outlier because of  
79  The  monitoring  data  does  not  allow  differentiating  between  unique  participants  and  individuals  who 
participated in ESF multiple times. Throughout this report, the number of participations are reported, thus 
possibly including the same participant multiple times. Participations are measured upon entry of the individual 
in the ESF or YEI support 

51 

 
 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

  Share of participation of persons younger than 25 years  

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019 

For ESF, a total of 0.8 million participations were reported of people below 25 years of 
age  at  the  end  of  2018.  As  shown  in  Figure  17  above,  this  amounts  to  70%  of  all 
participations  in  the  dedicated  youth  employment  investment  priority  for  ESF, 
illustrating the efforts made by Member States to reach out to young people. A similar 
share was found for YEI (69%). Large numbers of participations were reported for Italy, 
Poland, Belgium, and Germany. The low number of participations for Romania is striking 
compared to the total budget allocated. However, this can be explained by the delays 
in the design and commencement of the operations as well as delays in setting up the 
monitoring systems (Table 5).  

  Number of all participations in Investment Priority 8.ii for persons under 

and above 25 years and total participations (ESF and YEI)80 

ESF81 

YEI82 

Total 

Partici-
pations 
under 25 
years 

All partici-
pations  

Partici- 
pations  
under  
25 years 

All partici-
pations 

Partici-
pations 
under 25 
years 

All partici-
pations 

- 
 104 540  
 3 948  
 969  

- 
 109 080  
 8 208  
 1 653  

 -    

 -    

 77 392  
- 
- 
 4 726  
- 
 33 775  

 83 675  
- 
- 
 5 478  
- 
 36 650  

 -    

 -    

 6 792  
 69 740  

 9 646  
 70 468  

 -    

 -    

 303 573  

 458 166  

 -    

 -    

- 
 141 839  
 24 560  
 3 989  
 2 958  

 -    
- 
- 
 468 380  
- 
 427 341  
 31 828  
 12 025  
 39 526  
 12 000  
 322 745  
 32 931  

 3 718  

 4 208  

 -    

- 
 142 993  
 46 529  
 5 133  
 4 059  

 -    
- 
- 
 751 704  
- 
 459 125  
 60 893  
 24 220  
 40 001  
 12 043  
 494 178  
 61 321  

 -    

 -    

 -    

 19 890  

 29 498  

 2 632  

 2 632  

 -    

 -    

- 
 246 379  
 28 508  
 4 958  
 2 958  
 77 392  
- 
- 
 473 106  
- 
 461 116  
 31 828  
 18 817  
 109 266  
 12 000  
 626 318  
 32 931  
 3 718  
 19 890  
 2 632  

- 
 252 073  
 54 737  
 6 786  
 4 059  
 83 675  
- 
- 
 757 182  
- 
 495 775  
 60 893  
 33 866  
 110 469  
 12 043  
 952 344  
 61 321  
 4 208  
 29 498  
 2 632  

MS 

AT 
BE 
BG 
CY 
CZ 
DE 
DK 
EE 
ES 
FI 
FR 
EL 
HR 
HU 
IE 
IT 
LT 
LU 
LV 
MT 

80 Managing authorities were not able to collect relevant background information for all participations (on age, 
and / or labour market status). The guidance documents require that these participations are counted, but 
are excluded from the monitoring data. This is the case for 99 993 participations, which means that for a total 
of 97% participations all relevant data has been collected and reported in the tables in this report.  
81 Excludes ESF allocations to YEI 
82 Includes ESF allocations to YEI 

52 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

ESF81 

YEI82 

Total 

Partici-
pations 
under 25 
years 

All partici-
pations  

Partici- 
pations  
under  
25 years 

All partici-
pations 

Partici-
pations 
under 25 
years 

All partici-
pations 

 -    

 -    

- 
 190 948  

- 
 116 223  

- 
 161 447  
 33 741  
 1 268  
 27 843  
 1 150  
 57 155  
 11 547  
 114 578  
787 097   1 120 948   1 834 163  

 617  
 14 706  
 10 235  

 616  
 14 706  
 3 831  

 39 916  

 -    

 -    

- 
 266 308  
 59 276  
 1 268  
 28 764  
 2 985  
 88 044  
 74 891  

- 
- 
 457 256  
 277 670  
 59 276  
 33 741  
 1 885  
 1 884  
 43 470  
 42 549  
 13 220  
 4 981  
 88 044  
 57 155  
 189 469  
 51 463  
2 653 233   2 621 260   3 774 181  

MS 

NL 
PL 
PT 
RO 
SE 
SI 
SK 
UK 
EU 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019 

Youth operations are largely gender balanced 

As shown in Figure 18, the gender balance for youth employment operations is different 
in the case of ESF and YEI supported actions. ESF funded operations reached more men 
than women (54% against 46%), while for YEI the gender balance is roughly similar. 
Overall  (i.e.  taking  ESF  and  YEI  together),  this  means  that  youth  employment 
operations were gender-balanced. However, as shown in greater detail in section 4.1.3, 
this  masks  some  more  profound  differences  between  Member  States.  Notably,  the 
gender balance between participations in other Investment Priorities and ESF operations 
as a whole is reversed (more women than men).  

  Share of men and women against overall participations 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019 

The focus is on unemployed and inactive persons 

As  could  be  expected  for  any  measure  that  focuses  on  employment,  the  majority  of 
participations  were  recorded  by  unemployed  individuals.  A  total  of  59%  of  the 
participations in ESF, and 82% of the participations in YEI were unemployed persons 
(see Figure 19). For YEI and ESF together 75% of all participations in youth employment 
operations  were  unemployed.  This  is  considerably  above  the  overall  average  of  ESF, 
when including all Investment Priorities (40%). The other category targeted by youth 
employment operations is inactive people, i.e. persons currently not part of the labour 
force (in the sense that they are not employed or unemployed)83. This includes full-time 
students (though not for YEI, which is dedicated to unemployed persons that are out of 

83 European Commission (2013), Eurostat: Labour market policy statistics, methodology 2013. 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3859598/5935673/KS-GQ-13-002-EN.PDF 

53 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

education as well, as per Article 16 of the ESF Regulation), as well as people in full-time 
parental leave (unless they are registered as unemployed). 

   Share of unemployed and inactive against overall participation 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019 

Slightly lower participation of vulnerable persons  

The  share  of  participations  by  persons  in  a  vulnerable  situation  reached  with  youth 
employment  operations  (as  of  total  participation)  is  slightly  lower  than  in  other 
investment priorities, mostly for YEI and to a lesser extent for ESF interventions (see 
Figure  20).  The  three  types  of  vulnerabilities  (migrants  and  minorities,  persons  with 
disabilities and other disadvantaged) presented in the figure show similar shares for ESF 
and YEI and for Youth employment and other investment priorities. Variations are small: 
for instance, 13% of participations in ESF youth employment were migrants / minorities, 
whereas this share is slightly higher in other investment priorities (16%)84.  

  Share of people with specific vulnerability against overall participation85  

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019 

84 The share of persons with a migration background and / or minorities is possible underreported. Annex I 
of the ESF Regulation has assigned this category as ‘potentially sensitive’ information. Final beneficiaries have 
the right to refuse consent to collection of this status. Moreover, the European Commission recommends MS 
to  collect  this  characteristic  based  on  self-definition,  i.e.  allowing  final  beneficiaries  to  select  themselves 
whether this category applies to them. Both can result in lower reporting.  
85  Note  that  an  individual  may  combine  multiple  vulnerabilities.  In  that  case  he/she  is  counted  in  each 
category.  

54 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

ESF and YEI has supported 3 300 projects and 14 600 SMEs 

In  addition  to  the  figures  of  individual  participations  in  ESF/YEI  supported  youth 
employment  operations,  the  common  indicators  defined  in  the  ESF  Regulation  also 
measure the number of projects that were supported, based on a number of background 
characteristics of entities. While no such data has been collected for YEI, Table 6 below 
shows that a total of 930 projects were (partially) implemented by  social partners  or 
NGOs, a total of 1 676 projects were dedicated at sustainable participation and progress 
of women in employment. In total 700 projects target public administrations or public 
services, while a total of 14 609 SMEs was supported with projects in the area of youth 
employment.  

  Number of all outputs for entities in Investment Priority 8.ii (ESF and YEI) 

Number of projects fully or partially implemented by social 
partners or non-governmental organisations 
Number of projects dedicated at sustainable participation and 
progress of women in employment 
Number of projects targeting public administrations or public 
services at national, regional or local level 
Number of supported micro, small and medium-sized 
enterprises (including cooperative enterprises, enterprises of 
the social economy) 

ESF 

YEI 

Total 

930 

n.a. 

930 

1 676 

n.a. 

1 676 

700 

n.a. 

700 

14 609 

n.a. 

14 609 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019 

3.3.3  Operational implementation - results achieved86 

YEI and ESF supported operations achieved 1 422 000 immediate results, 
around a third of these by disadvantaged persons 

Data on results are collected up to four weeks after leaving the operation and thus show 
the immediate result of that particular operation. When comparing the results against 
outputs reported, it is important to take into account that outputs may be reported for 
ongoing operations, while results can only be reported when operations are completed. 
For that reason, success rates presented in this mid-term evaluation may appear lower 
than what is actually the case. The number of disadvantaged participants that reached 
a  positive  result  is  also  included  in  the  data,  as  well  as  the  share  of  disadvantaged 
participants  with  positive  results  compared  to  the  total  number  of  participants  with 
positive  results.  Table  7  presents  an  overview  of  the  total  results  achieved  by  YEI  in 
each  of  the  Member  States,  measured  by  ESF  common  result  indicators.  Table  8 
provides the same information for ESF (without YEI). Results are not split out by gender, 
but these generally follow the same pattern as the gender balance among participation 
data.  

Immediate results – Annex I indicators (YEI) 

Immediate result indicators 

All results 

Disadvantaged 

MS 

BE  
BG  
CY  
CZ  
DE  

Job 
sear-
ching 
 1 655  
 2 579  

 -    
 -    
 -    

In  
edu-
cation 
16 392  
 1 054  
 54  
 30  

Qua-
lified 

Em-
ployed 

Total 

 7 178  
 8 101  
 338  
 242  

 6 841  
 10 388  
 591  
 1 757  

 32 066  
 22 122  
 983  
 2 029  

% of 
parti-
cipations 
22% 
48% 
19% 
50% 
- 

CR5 – 
any 
result 

 5 228  
 4 235  
 114  
 560  

% of total 
results 
(CR1,2,3,4) 
16% 
19% 
12% 
28% 
- 

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

86 All the figures presented in this section are analysed in greater details in the evaluation questions on 
effectiveness and efficiency. 

55 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

Immediate result indicators 

All results 

Disadvantaged 

MS 

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 359  

Total 

 3 814  

 3 064  

 3 363  

 1 604  

Qua-
lified 

 -    
 -    
 -    

Em-
ployed 

 6 509  
 11 156  

CR5 – 
any 
result 

 992    14 628  
 852  
 436  

 71 495  
 85 811  
 5 972  
 178  

Job 
sear-
ching 
 25 160  
 23 947  

In  
edu-
cation 
 28 976    59 335    148 711    262 182  
 51 161    25 821    126 219    227 148  
 22 129  
 12 444  

% of total 
results 
(CR1,2,3,4) 
27% 
38% 
27% 
1% 
- 
30% 
- 
9% 
- 
24% 
- 
47% 
1% 
- 
43% 
- 
62% 
58% 
34% 
*MS with no allocated investments nor participations in IP 8.ii not presented (AT, DK, EE, FI, NL) 

ES  
FR  
EL  
HR  
HU  
IE  
IT  
LT  
LU  
LV  
MT  
PL  
PT  
RO  
SE  
SI  
 31 573  
SK  
UK  
 23 395  
EU  61 116   126 754   165 747  593 577   947 194  

% of 
parti-
cipations 
35% 
49% 
36% 
51% 
- 
73% 
- 
38% 
- 
46% 
- 
83% 
44% 
- 
69% 
- 
36% 
31% 
36% 

 3 782    32 252    181 053    219 763  
 26 017  

 102 249  
 209  
 344  
 8 503  

 19 630  
 13 488  
 325 977  

 -    
 6  
 3 291  

 -      25 381  
 -    

 31 434  
 12 112  

 123  
 7 209  

 10  
 783  

 -    
 -    

 23 032  

 13 683  

 19 787  

 11 577  

 12 723  

 8 841  

 5 521  

 2 676  

 1 195  

 7 712  

 1 732  

 1 965  

 3 326  

 4 820  

 2 670  

 6 897  

 512  

 378  

 636  

 72  

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019. Note that Italy and Hungary 
did not report this type of results (Annex I) for YEI  

Immediate results - Annex I indicators (ESF – Investment Priority 8.ii) 

Immediate result indicators 

All results 

Disadvantaged 

MS 

BE  
BG  
CY  
CZ  
DE  
ES  
FR  
EL  
HR  
HU  
IE  
IT  
LT  
LU  
LV  
MT  
PL  
PT  
RO  
SE  
SI  
SK  

Job 
sear-
ching 
 7 672  
 232  

 -    
 -    

In edu-
cation 

Qua-
lified 

Em-
ployed 

Total 

 3 861    13 006  
 937  
 101  

 138  
 74  

 6 242  
 3 269  
 376  

 30 781  
 4 576  
 551  

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 3 280  
 142  
 2 289  

 9 306    35 832  
 3 139  
 7 110  

 462  
 9 383  

 7 814  
 1 083  
 5 112  

 56 232  
 4 826  
 23 894  

 -    
 -    

 143  

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 328  
 736  

 634  
 4 801  

 3 023  
 24 732  

 3 985  
 30 412  

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 -    

 5 372  

 9 217    65 239  

 10 996  

 90 824  

 -    

 139  

 -    

 178  
 1 570  

 -    
 -    

 -    
 -    
 -    

 -    
 -    
 -    

 -    

 -    

 674  

 813  

 -    

 -    

 72  

 2 204  
 2 958    31 879    108 118    144 525  

 1 543  

 411  

 -    
 -    

 -    
 7  
 656  
 1 499  

 -    

 -    

 32  
 3 017  
 1 773  

 39  
 6 653  
 3 275  

 -    

 -    

 -    

 275  
 1  
 -    

 2 705  
 2  
 -    

% of 
parti-
cipations 
28% 
56% 
33% 
- 
67% 
88% 
65% 
- 
41% 
43% 
- 
20% 
- 
19% 
- 
84% 
76% 
- 
6% 
45% 
32% 
- 

CR5 – 
any 
result 

 5 377  
 322  
 32  

 -    

 4 273  
 1 132  
 5 420  

 -    

 194  
 3 516  

 -    

 6 534  

 -    

 86  

 -    

 138  
 63 153  

 -    
 4  
 5 260  
 521  

 -    

% of total 
results 
(CR1,2,3,4) 
17% 
7% 
6% 
- 
8% 
23% 
23% 
- 
5% 
12% 
- 
7% 
- 
11% 
- 
6% 
44% 
- 
10% 
79% 
16% 
- 

56 

 
 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

Immediate result indicators 

All results 

Disadvantaged 

MS 

In edu-
cation 

Job 
sear-
ching 
 1 540  
 22 833  

% of total 
results 
(CR1,2,3,4) 
54% 
28% 
*MS with no allocated investments nor participations in IP 8.ii not presented (AT, DK, EE, FI, NL) 

 29 200    25 154  
 71 679  
 68 442    191 537   192 457    475 269  

% of 
parti-
cipations 
63% 
42% 

CR5 – 
any 
result 
 38 402  
 134 364  

Em-
ployed 

Qua-
lified 

 15 785  

Total 

UK  
EU 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019 

YEI has achieved about two thirds of the targets set for unemployed and for 
the long-term unemployed 

While all programmes report on a set of commonly defined results (Annex I of the ESF 
Regulation), YEI programmes complement these with a distinct set of result indicators 
(as defined in Annex II of the ESF regulation). These were aggregated and presented 
as well, and assist to get a more detailed understanding of the results achieved by YEI 
operations. Reporting also includes the total number  of female participants that have 
been supported, along with the target achievement per type of YEI indicator. Table 9 
below  shows  that  nearly  1.5  million  unemployed  young  people  completed  a  YEI 
operation, which is slightly over half of the total participations (2.7 million participations 
counted  for  YEI  operations).  However,  many  participations  may  continue  to  be 
supported at the moment of measurement, and therefore  are not yet included in the 
reported  results.  This  equals  on  average  65%  of  all  the  target  values  set  for  this 
indicator.  A  total  of  0.7  million  unemployed  people  received  an  offer  after 
completing the operation (with an average target achievement of 58%), while 876 937 
unemployed  were  in  education  or  training,  gained  a  qualification  or  were  in 
employment (60% of the target achievement).  

A total of 482 823 long-term unemployed completed the YEI operation (77% of target 
achievement),  while  205  249  received  an  offer  of  employment,  continued 
education,  apprenticeship  or  traineeship  (66%  of  target  achievement),  and 
255 354 persons entered into education or training, gained a qualification or 
were in employment (72% of average target achievement) (see Table 9).  

  Results for unemployed participants – Annex II common indicators  

Unemployed participants, who… 

Long-term unemployed participants, who 

MS 

completed 
the YEI-
supported 
operation 

received an 
offer for 
employment, 
continued 
education, 
apprentice-
ship or 
traineeship 
upon leaving 

are in 
education, 
training, 
gain a 
qualificatio
n, or are in 
(self-) 
employmen
t, upon 
leaving 

who 
completed 
the YEI-
supported 
operation 

received an 
offer for 
employment, 
continued 
education, 
apprentice-
ship or 
traineeship 
upon leaving 

are in 
education, 
training, 
gain a 
qualification
, or are in 
(self-) 
employment
, upon 
leaving 

BE 
BG 
CY 
CZ 
ES 
FR 
EL 
HR 
HU 
IE 
IT 

 43 286  
 24 021  
 1 290  
 2 197  
 406 510  
 242 550  
 53 351  
 24 118  
 27 647  
 2 217  
 268 809  

 5 548  
 1 277  
 215  
 330  
 152 250  
 167 430  
 11 871  
 11 519  
 39 102  

 -    

 56 246  

 10 341  
 17 042  
 751  
 1 654  
 196 635  
 159 316  
 21 203  
 12 172  
 20 906  
 2 156  
 128 280  

 27 440  
 6 733  
 437  
 174  
 66 842  
 69 507  
 42 854  

 -    

 6 847  
 947  
 143 754  

 1 299  
 185  
 285  
 79  
 17 832  
 43 556  
 8 741  

 -    

 9 488  

 -    

 29 625  

 2 969  
 1 717  
 280  
 116  
 32 300  
 41 326  
 13 602  

 -    

 5 437  
 997  
 58 145  

57 

 
 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

Unemployed participants, who… 

Long-term unemployed participants, who 

MS 

completed 
the YEI-
supported 
operation 

received an 
offer for 
employment, 
continued 
education, 
apprentice-
ship or 
traineeship 
upon leaving 

are in 
education, 
training, 
gain a 
qualificatio
n, or are in 
(self-) 
employmen
t, upon 
leaving 

who 
completed 
the YEI-
supported 
operation 

received an 
offer for 
employment, 
continued 
education, 
apprentice-
ship or 
traineeship 
upon leaving 

are in 
education, 
training, 
gain a 
qualification
, or are in 
(self-) 
employment
, upon 
leaving 

LT 
LV 
PL 
PT 
RO 
SE 
SI 
SK 
UK 
Total  

% women 

Target 
achievement
87 
Success 
rate88 

 30 754  
 15 473  
 199 916  
 43 812  
 841  
 4 609  
 130  
 65 870  
 20 446  
1 477 847  

51% 

65% 

 17 164  
 11 433  
 144 491  
 29 750  

 18 935  
 7 940  
 182 574  
 25 823  

 -    

 -    

 1 242  
 118  
 39 055  
 18 024  
 707 065  

53% 

58% 

 15 078  

 -    

 41 137  
 14 994  
 876 937  

51% 

60% 

 6 642  
 3 391  
 79 577  
 3 620  
 480  
 1 388  
 41  
 14 310  
 7 839  
 482 823  

52% 

77% 

 3 082  
 4 439  
 59 174  
 2 212  

 -    

 387  
 134  
 7 322  
 17 409  
 205 249  

53% 

66% 

 4 461  
 3 217  
 69 436  
 1 993  

 -    

 3 378  

 -    

 10 446  
 5 534  
 255 354  

51% 

72% 

68% 

33% 

41% 

76% 

32% 

40% 

*Member States without YEI investments are not presented 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019 

Lower results for inactive participants 

Table  10  provides  an  overview  of  the  results  of  inactive  participants  (persons  out  of 
employment,  yet  not  registered  as  unemployed)89.  A  total  of  314  108  inactive 
persons  completed  the  YEI  operation  (40%  reached  the  targets  set  for  this 
category),  while  116  865  received  an  offer  (30%  of  the  target  achievement),  and 
203  964  are  in  education  or  training,  gained  a  qualification  or  were  in 
employment  (38%  of  average  target  achievement).  While  the  results  for  inactive 
participants have steadily increased, particularly since 2016, this group has a relatively 
low target achievement (for instance compared against implementation rates, but also 
against the results for the long-term unemployed). This is related to the distance some 
of this group have to the labour market, and also the relative lack of engagement with 
active labour market operations compared to those who are unemployed and already 
within the ‘support system’ of policy interventions. 

87 The table presents the weighted average target achievement for each indicator. Because there are only a 
limited number of indicators, the non-weighed average target achievement is too sensitive for outliers. 
88 The figures presented are the share of each type of result compared against their target population (i.e. 
first three columns are the share of unemployed with that particular result, the next three columns are based 
on the share of long-term unemployed with that particular result.  
89 YEI concentrates on inactive persons that not are in education.  

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

  Results for inactive participants – Annex II common indicators YEI (2) 

MS 

BE 
BG 
CY 
CZ 
ES 
FR 
EL 
HR 
HU 
IE 
IT 
LT 
LV 
PL 
PT 
RO 
SE 
SI 
SK 
UK 
Total YEI 
% women 

Target 
achievement90 
Success rate91 

Inactive participants 

who 
completed 
the YEI-
supported 
operation 

who received an offer of 
employment, continued 
education, 
apprenticeship or 
traineeship upon leaving 

in education / training, 
gain a qualification, or 
are in employment, 
including self- 
employment, upon 
leaving 

 10 803  
 5 081  

 -    

 218  
 36 502  
 47 523  

 -    
 -    

 645  
 4 599  
 163 874  
 6 085  
 5 638  
 20 580  

 -    
 -    

 904  

 -    

 83  
 11 573  
 314 108  
46% 
40% 

 3 149  
 3 663  

 -    

 145  
 11 803  
 34 468  

 -    
 -    

 878  

 -    

 32 602  
 1 602  
 2 371  
 20 271  

 -    
 -    

 462  

 -    

 39  
 5 412  
 116 865  
47% 
30% 

 19 996  
 1 148  

 -    

 175  
 20 673  
 30 857  

 -    
 -    

 421  
 3 961  
 89 837  
 1 828  
 2 803  
 21 172  

 -    
 -    

 2 886  

 -    
 8  
 8 199  
 203 964  
44% 
38% 

64% 

42% 
*Member States without YEI investments not presented 

24% 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019 

Highest target achievement for participants are in employment six months 
after leaving the action 

Finally, a total of 270 469 young people is reported to be in education and training 
six months after completing the YEI operation (35% of targets set for this category), 
753 755 are in employment after six months (83% of target), and 70 062 are in self-
employment after six months (43% of target; see Table 11 below). We look at the 
reasons for this under Evaluation Questions 1 (Effectiveness) and 6 (Sustainability). 

90 The table presents the weighted average target achievement for each indicator. Because there are only a 
limited number of indicators, the non-weighed average target achievement is too sensitive for outliers. 
91 The figures presented are the share of each type of result compared against their target population (i.e. 
first three columns are the share of unemployed with that particular result, the next three columns are based 
on the share of long-term unemployed with that particular result.  

59 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

  Results for participants six months after leaving – Annex II common 

indicators YEI (3)92 

All participants, six months after leaving 

in continued education, 
training leading to a 
qualification, 
apprenticeship or a 
traineeship 

in employment 

in self-employment 

BE 
BG 
CY 
CZ 
ES 
FR 
EL 
HR 
HU 
IE 
IT 
LT 
LV 
PL 
PT 
RO 
SE 
SI 
SK 
UK 
Total YEI 
% women 
Target 
achievement93 
Success rate94 

 194  
 351  
 48  

 -    

 50 080  
 51 065  
 1 705  
 6 730  
 407  
 632  
 83 144  
 2 497  
 2 170  
 61 799  
 1 731  

 -    

 4 626  

 -    

 731  
 2 559  
 270 469  
50% 
35% 

 501  
 19 586  
 739  
 2 048  
 122 978  
 149 393  
 13 645  
 15 724  
 17 737  
 439  
 146 731  
 9 293  
 10 349  
 171 909  
 32 982  

 -    

 10 594  
 34  
 28 380  
 693  
 753 755  
49% 
83% 

 11  
 492  
 13  
 62  
 9 348  
 2 298  
 837  
 554  
 545  
 98  

 -    

 96  
 86  
 53 360  
 335  

 -    

 30  

 -    

 1 895  
 2  
 70 062  
47% 
43% 

10% 

28% 

3% 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019 

92  Despite  guidance  and  Regulatory  obligations  to  the  contrary,  various  programme  do  not  systematically 
report  on  the  longer-term  indicators  for  YEI  since  2015.  Also,  these  values  are  collected  by  means  of  a 
representative  sample  of  participants  of  the  preceding  year.  This  means  that  programmes  in  which  most 
participations are counted in the second half of 2018 may underreport the longer-term results.  
93 The table presents the weighted average target achievement for each indicator. Because there are only a 
limited number of indicators, the non-weighed average target achievement is too sensitive for outliers. 
94 The figures presented are the share of each type of result compared against their target population (i.e. 
first three columns are the share of unemployed with that particular result, the next three columns are based 
on the share of long-term unemployed with that particular result.  

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4 

Answers to the evaluation questions  

4.1 

Effectiveness 

EQ 1. Effectiveness: How effective is the YEI, and other ESF-funded youth 
employment operations, in achieving their objectives? 

The NEET rate has reduced but there was a higher proportion of economically 
inactive NEETs in 2018 compared to 2014 

We  review  effectiveness  at  different  levels  and  in  the  context  of  a  changing 
composition of NEETs since the YEI and ESF programmes started in 2013. There are 
fewer  unemployed  and  economically  active  persons,  the  share  of  the  economically 
inactive has increased.  This includes young people in hard to reach and vulnerable 
groups95. 

Progress against targets stronger with YEI than ESF 

YEI  has  performed  more  strongly  in  all  respects  compared  to  ESF-programmed 
funding for youth employment (e.g. 52% financial implementation against 27% for 
ESF youth employment operations) which is due to the implementation process (YEI 
was  ‘front  loaded’  for  the  first  years  of  the  programming  period).  There  is  some 
evidence that YEI has had a higher priority in some countries at the expense of 
ESF, and also that YEI has had a greater focus on those young people closest to the 
labour market, both generally easier to recruit and to achieve employment results, 
but  experiences  vary  between  Member  States.  The  additional  time  for  YEI  and  the 
overall progress of YEI and ESF will help in achieving of spend and output targets are 
met by the closing date of 2023 

Employment results improve over time, following participations 

There  is  evidence  from  the  monitoring  data,  evaluations  and  econometric  analyses 
that points to achievements both in terms of jobs and qualifications. Crucially 
participation in programmes is more likely to lead to positive results (based on our 
modelling and the YEI evaluations from 2018 – see the YEI sub-section below). YEI 
has  a  higher  rate  for  achieving  results,  in  part  due  to  a  greater  proportion  of 
unemployed  (active)  participants  than  for  the  ESF  youth  operations.  Any 
national/regional variations are influenced more by  economic factors than anything 
else. 

It  is  particularly  striking  that  positive  results  improve  with  time  (e.g.  more 
participants in work after six months and beyond than at the point of exiting ESF/YEI 
provision).  This  is  also  borne  out  in  surveys  undertaken  by  Member  States. 
Interestingly,  where  this  issue  is  covered  (Poland  and  the  Italian  region  Friuli)  the 
effects  which  we  can  directly  attribute  to  the  support  received  are  higher  for 
individuals  at  a  greater  distance  from  the  labour  market  and  with  lower 
employment  rates.  For  those  furthest  from  the  labour  market  there  are  other, 
softer  outcomes  e.g.  benefits  in  terms  of  self-esteem  and  confidence,  reached 
thanks to the support provided. These are not consistently or systematically recorded 
and there is to date an under-reporting of the achievements of ESF youth employment 
and YEI operations. 

Best employment results by operations tailored to the needs and exposure 
to work 

The  collective evidence  from the focus group and the public consultation highlights 
that remunerated apprenticeships, traineeships and internships, along with financial 

95 Hard to reach and vulnerable groups might be economically inactive, but not all economically inactive are 
in hard to reach and vulnerable groups. The economically inactive can include students for example and 
those not currently, actively seeking employment, training and education (for various reasons, including 
childcare) 

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

incentives, vocational and basic training, and individualised support and support on 
different  levels  (especially  for  vulnerable  groups),  as  the  most  effective  forms  of 
provision. Specifically, operations that are tailored to individuals and their needs, 
and operations that give participants direct exposure to work and employment seem 
to deliver the best results.  

There  were  varied  perceptions  of  the  quality  of  work  offered  to  YEI/ESF 
participants 

The issue of quality of employment was raised in the case studies, the focus group 
and the public consultation, and whilst responses were generally positive there were 
some concerns over the relatively higher numbers of temporary, part-time and 
occasional jobs. The ideal is fulltime employment with a fair rate of pay and which 
allows the participant to improve their labour market position and future job mobility. 
However, this is not always seen as a priority by young people, especially in Member 
States  (including  those  in  Eastern  and  Southern  Europe)  with  less  favourable 
economic conditions where any experience and/or paid employment is a positive.  

Gender is not a major variable in outputs and results but there appear to be 
few operations that directly target women 

There is a small gender imbalance for ESF youth employment operations with the 
male/female participation ratio of 54:46 (compared to 51:49 for YEI) although ratios 
vary across Member States and for ESF and YEI operations. In combination (ESF and 
YEI  is  broadly  equal  (51:49  male:  female)  Where  there  are  imbalances  they  are 
sometimes  due  to  the  nature  of  support  provided  (e.g.  geared  to  employment 
areas that have traditionally been male orientated) but stricter adherence to gender 
monitoring  plus  targeted  outreach  work  would  help  to  address  the  issue.  In 
contrast,  there  has  been  considerable  focus  –  and  a  wide  variety  of  innovative 
approaches (see also Chapter 5 for Lessons Learned and Good Practice) at a range of 
vulnerable and hard to  reach groups. We  can  observe less innovation in respect  of 
gender.  

Flexible approaches used to tackle the outreach challenges  

As mentioned above, the share of economically inactive persons has increased 
in the NEET group. The characteristics of the participant is a factor in determining the 
result of the operation. Whilst it is too simplistic to say that a focus on the long term 
unemployed  and  disadvantaged  groups  carries  more  difficulties  (with  lower 
attainment levels), the case studies highlight an  increase in the time required to 
locate  and  recruit  from  the  harder  to  reach  groups.  There  are  also  different 
targeting  policies  across  the  Member  States  reflecting  national  priorities  and 
national assessments of needs, with some countries using the youth programmes to 
target young people closer to employment, including graduates, and with generally 
higher  levels  of  effectiveness,  based  on  results.  ESF/YEI  operations  have  shown  a 
high  level  of  flexibility  and  innovation  in  tackling  the  outreach  challenges  of 
accessing hard to reach and vulnerable groups. 

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

4.1.1  EQ 1.1 To what extent have the financial implementation and the 
achievement of the expected outputs progressed according to the 
targets set in the programmes? What were the main factors involved 
(delays in implementation, ESF absorption…)? 

Slower progress than anticipated 

Financial implementation and the expected outputs of youth employment investments 
are  progressing,  but  more  slowly  than  anticipated,  both  for  investments  funded  by 
YEI and ESF. At present, 52% of YEI resources have been declared, against 27% 
of  the  ESF  budget  allocated  to  youth  employment.  YEI  implementation  is 
considerably higher than ESF, because it was an emergency measure initially planned 
to end in 2018 and there were clear priorities to declare costs under YEI, if both, ESF 
and YEI were possible options. In 2017 however, the implementation period for YEI 
was extended to allow implementation throughout the entire programming period.  

Despite substantial increases in recent years, implementation falls short of the 
targets  defined  in  advance  by  programmes  for  2018,  even  after  substantially 
reducing  financial  and  implementation  targets  in  2017  and  2018  (YEI).  ESF  and 
particularly in regions that would benefit most (i.e. those with the highest numbers 
of youth unemployment and had the least improvement in recent years) has achieved 
the lowest financial implementation rates and expected outputs96.  

The  composition  of  the  participants,  especially  the  presence  of  participants  with 
disabilities and other disadvantages, is found to have a bearing on the financial 
and physical progress of programmes. The socio-economic context, absorption and 
administrative  capacities  of  Managing  Authorities  and  beneficiaries  and  complex 
programming requirements appear to be further decisive factors for the progress in 
implementation. 

YEI implementation is behind its targets (end of 2018), despite its status as 
an ‘emergency measure’ but the extension to the end of the programming 
period should improve on the position 

When  compared  against  the  initial  targets,  implementation  progress  of  YEI  has  been 
below the targets set in the operational programmes97. In 2018, only France, Hungary, 
Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia passed the minimum level of the 2018 milestone 
targets defined at the start of the programming period (not pictured:  see  Annex 1). 
Despite efforts by the European Commission to facilitate the implementation of YEI in 
years98,  Member  States  experienced  difficulties  starting 
the  early 
implementation  in  2014  or  even  2015  as  they  faced  legal  uncertainties  to  start 
implementation before their operational programme was approved. Member States also 
needed  time  to  set  up  monitoring  systems  that  satisfy  the  Regulations  and  national 
legislation, before actual implementation was initiated. In addition to such procedural 
reasons,  a  common  challenge  across  YEI  programmes  is  related  to  their  ability  to 
reach the defined target groups (see EQ1.3 for more details). NEETs in the primary 
age  category  of  under  25  years  were  often  not  registered  as  unemployed,  and  the 

96 The study (not yet published) ESF Synthesis Report of AIRs 2018 shows that milestone targets were reduced 
2016-18 overall but with variations across Member States. A second study, the analysis of the outcome of the 
negotiations concerning the Partnership Agreements and ESF Operational Programmes for the programming 
period 2014-2020, found that considerable efforts have been made by Managing Authorities to set meaningful 
and realistic targets, using appropriate methodologies. 
97  As  there  had  been  no  precedent  to  the  YEI  as  an  EU  instrument  prior  to  its  launch,  many  MS  set  very 
vaguely  argued  and  researched  targets  and  milestones,  either  unambitious  or  overambitious  given  the 
specificities of the target group. 
98  Two  main  factors  can  be  considered. First of  all,  YEI  was  allowed  to  start  as  early  as  September 2013. 
Secondly, in 2015 by means of an amendment to the ESF Regulation, the initial pre-financing amount paid to 
OP  was  raised  substantially  (from  1%  to  30%),  to  help  countries  facing  budget  constraints  to  start  YEI 
implementation.  

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

successful  identification  of  this  target  group  often  depends  on  active  canvassing  and 
encouraging individuals to register.  

The actual identification of the NEET status was also a widespread issue. Notably 
some countries such as France consistently report on this as a hindering factor. Over 
one fifth of the respondents to the public consultation consider that difficulties with 
the eligibility criteria of NEETs are one of the main obstacles to the achievement of 
the programmes’ objectives. Because of these difficulties and other factors to do with 
the  national  context,  YEI  programmes  that  had  not  yet  done  so  from  the  start, 
broadened the eligibility of YEI investments to include 25-29 years old persons as well. 
Faced with these considerable challenges to meet the initial targets for 2018, the 2017 
revision  of  the  Multiannual  Financial  Framework  introduced  the  possibility  to  extend 
YEI  funding  up  to  the  end  of  the  programming  period,  in  combination  with 
additional  funding.  In  view  of  the  52%  implementation  rate  reached  in  2018,  it  is 
concluded  that  this  extension  proved  highly  effective99.  With  implementation  now 
stretched  out  to  the  end  of  the  programming  period,  effectively  doubling  the  initial 
period for implementation, the probability that the final implementation target in 2023 
can be met has clearly increased.  

Figure 21Figure 21 below aggregates the progress towards financial and output indicator 
targets  defined  by  each  Member  State.  The  Performance  Review  conducted  in  2019 
verifies whether programmes met at least 85% of their milestone targets (as defined in 
Commission Implementing Regulation 215/2014, article 6) and the figure presents this. 
It  shows that seven out of the 20 Member  States, that allocated  budget to youth 
employment,  face  difficulties  in  meeting  the  targets100.  Belgium,  Spain,  Italy, 
Slovakia did not meet their spending targets, while Croatia and Portugal did not meet 
their output targets for 2018. Romania did not meet its financial nor its output targets. 
The  difficulties  encountered  in  implementation  are  explored  below.  When  comparing 
different clusters, those regions with a strong start and substantial progress (A), and a 
weak start and visible progress (C) cleared on average the minimum threshold set for 
the Performance Framework Milestones. The financial implementation in clusters with 
limited progress remained inadequate (Clusters B and D), and did not clear the minimum 
threshold101102. 

99 Due to the extension of the implementation period, most Member States substantially lowered their targets 
for 2018. After the target adjustment following the 2017 reprogramming exercise, the EU average milestone 
for 2018  is set  at  61% of  the  revised  YEI budgets  (or 82% of  the  allocated  YEI budget  before  the  budget 
increase), as opposed to the 100% set at the start of the programming period.   
100 This result is based on the assumption that if the aggregated values for financial and output pass 85% at 
the national level, the Member States should on average be able to clear the minimum 85% mark for individual 
Priority Axes as well (which are the focus of the Performance Review).  
101 Our caveat would be the fact that some OPs are across clusters – e.g. 4 national OPs for YEI insist on both 
Cluster C and D regions. 
102 The minimum threshold is set by Commission Implementing Regulation 215/2014, article 6(2, 3, 4). The 
milestones  or  targets  of  a  priority  shall  be  deemed  to  be  achieved  if  all  indicators  included  in  the  related 
performance framework have achieved at least 85 % of the milestone value by the end of 2018. 

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  Progress towards Milestones defined for 2018 - YEI 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on September 6, 2019 (Cluster A – Strong 
start/substantial progress, Cluster B – Strong start/limited progress, Cluster C – Weak start/visible 
progress, Cluster D –Weak start/limited progress) 

ESF faces more implementation difficulties in regions where it is needed most 

No specific output, results or financial targets are set in the Performance Framework for 
ESF-supported youth employment investments103. To be able to answer the evaluation 
question, financial implementation is compared over time for different types of regions, 
against the previous programming period and more general employment investments. 
As  shown  in  Figure  22Figure  22,  regions  with a  weak starting point and limited 
progress  (Cluster D)  reached  an  implementation  of  17%,  against  the  overall 
32%  of  the  entire  investment  priority,  and  relatively  similar  implementation 
rates for other regions. To some extent, this difference can be related to the fact that 
the  regions  in  this  last  category  also  have  substantial  YEI  programmes.  As  indicated 
above, a focus on YEI implementation may reduce implementation of ESF investments 
in the same area, which were often programmed to start after 2018. At the same time, 
the  figure  presents  a  strong  indication  that  the  ESF  faces  more  implementation 
difficulties in regions where its operations would be most needed104. Moreover, Figure 
22 shows that between 2017 and 2018, the distance between regions in terms of the 
financial  implementation  rate  in  fact  widened,  as  shown  by  the  steeper  increase  of 
implementation rates in other clusters of regions.  

103 The Performance Framework sets common targets at the priority axis level (where relevant specifying the 
Fund and/or category of Region). Most, but not all, priority axes focus on a specific thematic objective, but 
tend to group together multiple Investment Priorities. Except for YEI, there are no separate targets for youth 
employment.  
104 Also note that a considerable number of Member States with regions in this cluster also faced difficulties 
in meeting the YEI milestone targets (ES, IT, FR, BE).  

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

  Implementation rate youth employment investments by ESF - compared 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019 (Cluster A – Strong 
start/substantial progress, Cluster B – Strong start/limited progress, Cluster C – Weak start/visible 
progress, Cluster D –Weak start/limited progress)105. 

Based on a detailed screening of individual indicators and their targets, Figure 22 also 
shows the share of targeted participations that were reached106. Intuitively, these move 
roughly in the same pattern as the implementation rate, within the 35%-40% range. 
This  indicates  that  the  targets  defined  by  Member  States  turned  out  to  be 
realistic.  Particularly  in  the  most  recent  years,  Member  States  often  pointed  to  the 
improved socio-economic context and especially the improved youth employment rates 
to explain difficulties in reaching their initial targets. However, this is not corroborated 
by  the  monitoring  data.  ESF  investments  in  regions  with  improvements  in  the 
socio-economic  context  also  advanced  more  steadily  towards  their  targets  than 
investments  in  regions  with  persistent  economic  challenges.  The  figure  confirms  that 
ESF  in  regions  with  a  weak  start  and  limited  progress  (Cluster  D)  had  more 
difficulties in reaching the targeted number of individuals.  

The econometric analysis of monitoring data107 was used to test whether the elements 
discussed above, e.g. differences in socio-economic context, source of funding, features 
of the target group, can help to explain differences in the progress of the programmes. 
The  analysis  covered  jointly  the  ESF  and  YEI,  but  was  structured  in  order  that  each 
fund’s specific contribution to a given trend could be measured individually. Overall, the 
econometric analysis adds some statistical evidence to the fact that the socio-economic 
context  affects  implementation  and  the  countries  in  most  need  of  support  (including 
Cluster D regions) also face the greatest need of ESF and YEI support often have the 
greatest  implementation  challenges.  By  example,  countries  in  Cluster  C,  with  an 
unfavourable context at the start of the implementation but improving conditions, are 
correlated positively with progress in the project selection rate, whereas in general the 
change in the youth unemployment rate shows no correlation with financial progress. 
However,  there  are  other  factors  determining  implementation  including  delivery 
capacity,  delays  in  collating  data  and  weaknesses  in  respect  of  coordination  between 
implementation agencies. 

105 Youth employment investments by ESF in Cluster A are only found in Luxembourg. This is excluded from 
this figure because its aggregated target achievement is an outlier (above 100%).  
106 All indicators (common and programme-specific) were screened to count the total number of participations 
targeted (and reached) by programmes. Where programmes use non-exclusive target categories (for instance 
to measure specific target groups; cf. unemployed and long-term unemployed), only one of these overlapping 
indicators is included. As such, this figure serves to get a sense of the current reach of the programme. The 
figure presents the share of the aggregated number of individuals targeted that was achieved by programmes 
in each cluster region.  
107 Please see Annex 4 for a clearer description of the data used and its limitations. To briefly recall here 
that there might be underreporting especially in some areas, which can affect the estimates.  

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Structural challenges and administrative burden affect the implementation 
rates of programmes 

Based on qualitative evidence from the study, the difficulties for implementation of 
ESF youth employment, and also YEI investments, especially in Cluster D regions (with 
a weak start and low progress), are not only related to the socio-economic context, but 
are  illustrative  of  broader  structural  challenges.  Over  the  period  of  implementation, 
Managing Authorities, who report annually on factors affecting the performance of their 
programmes, have mentioned several such issues. Looking at the data in combination 
with the findings of the public consultation, amongst the most widespread issues appear 
in  the  category  ‘structural  challenges’  that  influence  implementation  (e.g.  ranging 
from national contextual factors, lack of employment opportunities, shortfalls in public 
policy responses due to delivery and analytical capacity108, budgets, analytical and low 
education  of  ESF/YEI  participants)  as  well  as  the  administrative  burden  for  both 
beneficiaries and for Managing Authorities including those stemming from issues with 
the implementation systems of EU funds. See Chapter 4.2.3 for details on administrative 
burden. 

involved 

in  project 

implementation.  Particularly 

These tie in with a lack of administrative capacity, such as the Managing Authorities’ 
lack of capacity for project management, but also of the public employment services or 
other  authorities 
in  regional 
programmes this is an important issue, where the successful implementation of projects 
depends on the collaboration with various governance levels and actors. Another issue 
is related to the absorption capacity among public authorities, civil society partners, 
and companies to apply for projects and implement these. Particularly in contexts with 
a more limited absorption capacity (which can be related to limited availability of co-
financing, as well as a concentrated and homogeneous group of project managers), the 
combined investments of YEI and ESF contributed to a feeling of competition to reach 
the same groups of young people among beneficiaries. This was for example the case 
in  the  region  of  Languedoc-Roussillon  in  France,  where  DIRECCTE  (decentralised 
component of the national Operational Programme) competed with the Missions Locales 
for young NEETs (for more details see section 4.1.3). A similar phenomenon arose in 
Italy, Portugal, Slovakia and Hungary. 

Reaching out to individuals from hard-to-reach-groups can hinder 
effectiveness 

According to the public consultation findings and some of the case studies, one decisive 
factor  hindering  effectiveness  seems  to  be  the  capacity  to  reach  out  to 
individuals,  especially  from  hard  to  reach  groups.  There  is  evidence  of  innovative 
solutions,  including  the  calls  for  proposals  in  Spain  for  specialist  organisations  –  who 
directly work with hard to reach groups – to support programme implementation109. This 
issue has also been raised, although it is not amongst the most frequently mentioned 
issues,  by  Managing  Authorities  especially  in  countries  with  a  weak  start  and  limited 
progress (Cluster D).  

The econometric analysis also shows that the composition of the participants and the 
presence of harder to reach individuals, especially when it comes to activities directed 
at  people  with  disabilities  or  other  disadvantages,  slows  down  financial  as  well  as 
physical progress. This is suggestive of harder than expected difficulties in addressing 
these target groups. However, physical performance does not seem to be significantly 
affected by a larger presence of inactive or low skilled individuals, which suggests that 
the design of the interventions already takes into account their specificities. 

108 Including use of labour market information to inform policy 
109 For example, the Gypsy Secretariat Foundation and the ONCE foundation for people with disabilities, in 
Spain 

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4.1.2  EQ 1.2 How and to what extent does YEI contribute to the 

achievement of the general objective of sustainable integration (also 
after the end of the operation) of young people into the labour market 
and to the specific objectives under ESF? How did it contribute to 
addressing the problems faced by NEETs?  

Positive effects persist beyond the actual support 

The combined evidence from several sources110 including the public consultation which 
recorded  the  views  of  385  organisations  involved  or  not  involved  in  ESF/YEI 
implementation suggests the YEI has had a positive effect – even though achievement 
targets have not been met – on integrating young people into the labour market. Results 
are better after six months than immediately after support ends.  

This is also supported by the experimental research from RHOMOLO, a spatial general 
equilibrium model111. RHOMOLO concludes that returns from investment in human 
capital, especially for interventions which include on the job or vocational training, need 
time to materialise. Productivity enhancing human capital investments ensure the actual 
creation of jobs in the medium to long term.  

The extent and sustainability of results from a macroeconomic perspective is expected 
to vary depending on the socio-economic structure, but it is generally stronger in regions 
located  in  Northern  Italy,  Spain,  Slovenia,  Belgium  and  Portugal.  However,  the 
RHOMOLO report also clarifies that, the net effects are small in magnitude112. Hence, 
they are not expected to contribute decisively to raising employment and participation 
rates.  This  suggests  that  higher  investments  in  youth  employment  operations 
might be necessary to trigger notable effects. This is however consistent with the 
fact that the main responsibility for such policies lies with Member States.  

Not all results relate to employment. Many participants enter education or training 
(including  traineeships  and  apprenticeships)  after  YEI,  and  benefit  in  other  ways 
including improvements to levels of self-esteem and job-seeking skills.  

As also discussed under  evaluation question 1.5, some types  of support (work-based 
learning, support to entrepreneurship and recruitment incentives for employers) seem 
to  be  more  effective  than  others.  However,  country  patterns  are  harder  to  ascertain 
with in-country variations and variations between  countries within the  same clusters. 
Organisations responding to the public consultation agree on the effectiveness of YEI 
contribution  to  the  development  of  new  qualifications,  courses  and  training 
programmes  and  to  having  young  people,  especially  NEETs,  enter  or  re-enter 
education and training, and actively seek employment. However, the assessment is 
less  positive  on  YEI’s  contribution  to  the  general  improvement  of  the  quality  of 
employment for young people with more stable contracts, salaries and tasks matching 
the profile of employees.  

Results six months after leaving the support are often better than the 
immediate results 

An analysis of sustainable integration needs to look beyond the immediate position, and 
reviewed six months after completing YEI (there is a requirement to report, based on 
representative  samples  at  six  months  twice  during  the  programming  period),  and 
preferably later, knowing that the evidence is reliant on voluntary surveys at programme 
and/or project level. Varying practices in tracking YEI participants after they have left 
YEI  are  unhelpful  if  we  are  to  have  a  better  understanding  of  long  term  integration. 
However,  from  SFC2014  we  know  that  270  469  young  people  were  in  education  and 

110 YEI evaluations, the AIRs and post-participation surveys six months or more after 
111 RHOMOLO takes into account any adverse dynamics potentially generated by the support offered to 
some individuals, such as displacement effects, spill overs as well as the increase in taxation needed to 
finance the support. 
112 overall and also having discounted the cost of the support reported until the end of 2018 

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training  after  six  months  (35%  of  the  achievement  target),  and  753  755  were  in 
employment  (83%  of  target)  with  70  062  in  self-employment  (43%  of  target,  and 
generally a greater challenge for young people given a relative lack of experience).  

Of  specific  interest  is  the  cumulative  evidence  of  improved  positive  results  between 
leaving YEI and after six months. Table 12 draws on cases from the YEI evaluations. For 
a  total  of  nine  operations  the  employment  rate  was  compared  between  immediately 
after the completion of  the  operation and after six months.  In  seven cases the latter 
was  higher.  The  biggest  ‘jump’  was  in  respect  of  guidance  services,  which  would  be 
logical as the value of guidance ‘to get a job’ often comes once a participant has left a 
scheme and is actively seeking employment. Belgium has one of the better systems for 
capturing the longer-term impacts of YEI and has some data on employment over 42 
months  (3.5  years  after  YEI  participation).  In  Wallonia  (Belgium),  different  sources 
(monitoring  data,  interviews  and  a  survey)  concur  that  employment  possibilities 
increase  with  time,  thus  contributing  to  sustainable  integration,  so  the  proportion  of 
participants in employment increases from 47% upon leaving the operation to 75% after 
42 months. 

Within  the  public  consultation  exercise,  ESF/YEI  participants  were  asked  about  their 
labour  market  situation  before  receiving  support  and  their  current  one.  The  findings 
provide some additional evidence113 of positive results achieved after ESF or YEI support 
on the transition to employment from unemployment for participants in those schemes.  

In fact, looking at their labour market transitions, results show that among those who 
were unemployed for less than 12 months when they started receiving support, 45.4% 
are  currently  employed  (full  time,  part  time  or  self-employed)  with  32.6%  remaining 
unemployed114.  However,  transition  to  employment  seem  to  be  less  frequent  among 
those who were long term unemployed (52.8% are still long term unemployed).  

Where employment experience is gained, it has an effect on employment results. The 
evidence from the public consultation suggests that experience in voluntary services 
or non-remunerated apprenticeships, whilst valuable, is less effective in helping to 
secure sustainable employment than gainful employment (less than 50% of respondents 
believe that these types of experiences help).  

Whilst programme and project monitoring data is limited, the YEI evaluations provide 
further evidence that employment rates can improve over time and be better than those 
for  comparable  control  groups.  In  Italy  for  example,  the  counterfactual  impact 
evaluation concludes that 54.7% of young people who have participated in YEI are in 
employment  18  months  after  YEI  (compared  to  42.4%  of  their  peers,  who  have  not 
participated in the programme). More detailed examples are presented in section 4.1.5.  

Looking  at  the  public  consultation,  organisations’  opinion  on  the  success  of  ESF/YEI 
operations115 was explored in relation to the attainment of 14 different types of results 
(Figure 23 below). 

Overall,  agreement  or  strong  agreement  is  highest  regarding  ESF/YEI 
contribution  to  the  development  of  new  qualifications;  courses  and  training 
programmes; having young people, especially NEETs, (re-)enter education, training and 
actively  seek  employment;  disabled  young  people  to  actively  seek  employment, 
qualification  or  training;  the  improvement  of  the  quality  of  training  and  employment 
services  and  having  young  people,  especially  NEETs,  enter  employment.  There  is  no 
clear  consensus  emerging  based  on  respondents’  opinions  as  to  whether  ESF/YEI 
contribution was successful in improving the quality of  employment  for  young people 
with  more  stable  contracts,  salaries  and  tasks  adequate  to  the  profile  of  employee. 

113 Based on 339 responses (no multiple answers) 
114 The public consultation does not allow to know after how many months these transitions to employment 
took place, as respondents are not asked to specify. They are only asked about their situation at the time 
they received support and their current situation. 
115 It was not possible to separate YEI and ESF youth employment operations 

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Almost 50% of them give a negative assessment (disagree  or strongly disagree) and 
41.3% a positive one (agree or strongly agree, of which only 11.4% strongly agree). 

  Types of results by respondents of the public consultation  

Question: “To what extent do you agree that employment operations by the European 
Social Fund or the Youth Employment Initiative successfully contribute to the attainment 
of the following results?” (no.=385, organisations involved and not involved) 

Source: Final Report, Public Consultation on the Evaluation of the EU Support to Youth Employment by the 
Youth Employment Initiative and the European Social Fund. Study supporting the 2019 evaluation of youth 
employment (VC/2018/0175) 

Examples  of  positive  results  or  good  practices  mentioned  by  responding 
organisations not directly involved in ESF/YEI, mostly referred to the YEI and concerned 
for instance YEI contribution to boosting young people’s motivation, promoting social 
inclusion,  collaboration  among  stakeholders  and  associations,  and  helping  young 
people  entering  the  labour  market  in  general.  Other  examples  mentioned  the 

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adoption of more informal ways to  communicate with young people and inform them 
about support  opportunities such as at  school or college, through websites or instant 
messages. In a Finnish case a youth workshop was established with ESF funding, which 
was  then  adopted  by  a  municipality  and  extended  to  all  unemployed  people  in  the 
municipality, and in a Spanish case young people with social and intellectual disabilities 
were activated for and integrated into employment. 

Respondents from organisations involved in the implementation of ESF/YEI expressed 
broad  agreement  on  the  following  positive  results  of  the  YEI:  promotion  of  new 
partnerships and exchanges, inclusion of marginalised people, development of soft skills 
and  group  work,  youth  empowerment,  increased  connection  with  labour  market 
requirements, increased motivation and integration into society of young NEETs.  

From the YEI  evaluations, a few  examples  can be  extracted  of changing employment 
rates measured for  specific operations at two  points (after exit, after  six months). In 
the majority of cases, employment rates increased over this period (see Table 12). 

  Employment rates by type of operations, after exit and after six months  

Type of operation 

Education/Training 

Recruitment incentives 

Support to 
entrepreneurship 
Guidance services 

Combined activities 

Employment rate  
immediately after exit 

BE-Bruxelles (VDAB training) 
IE (Youthreach) 
PT (Internships) 
IE (JobsPlusYouth) 
PT (Hiring support) 
IE (BTWEA) 

BE-Bruxelles (YEI NL 
guidance) 
LT (Find Yourself) 
LT (New Start) 

37.5% 
10% 
48% 
68% 
79% 
78% 

9.5% 
13-20% 

17-24% 

Employment 
rate  
6 months after 
exit 

65.5% 
14% 
63% 
54% 
80% 
77% 

40.7% 
23-43% 

24-37% 

Source: 2018 YEI evaluation reports 
Note: The shares presented for Lithuania vary according to the target groups (inactive, close to the labour 
market or far from the labour market) 

YEI has a positive impact on sustainable employment that varies between 
regions and social groups (this is also revisited in the section on Sustainability – 
4.6 (EQ 6) 

Supporting  evidence  from  the  case  studies  and  the  YEI  evaluations  strengthened  the 
finding  from  the  data  analysis  that  YEI  has  made  a  positive  impact  on  sustainable 
employment,  reinforced  by  the  qualitative  inputs  from  several  stakeholders.  Some 
specific points can be made: 

  Where evaluations have compared YEI with other interventions, the results from 
YEI are generally stronger (e.g. Spanish 2018 YEI evaluation). The higher intensity 
and focus of YEI, with relatively high financial intervention rates are often cited. 
In Spain, specifically, the National Operational Programme for Youth Employment 
has  been  perceived  as  instrumental  in  bringing  together  positive,  coordinated 
activity  between  ‘actors’.  Evaluations  of  YEI  in  Poland,  Italy  and  Spain  suggest 
that YEI participants had employment rates – after participation – 10 percentage 
points or more than those who had not116. 

  Employment  rates  can  be  increased  –  or  distorted  -  through  more  selective 
targeting of ‘closer to work’ young people at the expense of those from 
more  disadvantaged  groups,  and  a  primary  target  of  the  ESF  and  EU  policy 

116 The measurement periods for ‘after participation’ and comparisons between YEI participants and other 
groups vary limiting what can be concluded 

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more  generally.  However,  in  many  YEI  programmes  there  is  a  central  focus  on 
NEETs  and  harder  to  reach  groups.  Evidence  from  evaluations  (including  Italy) 
shows  higher  employment  rates  for  graduates  compared  to  those  with  middle 
school diplomas, or lower level/no qualifications. In France (Cluster A and D) there 
is  an  assistance  to  graduated  NEETs,  where  the  national  agency  for  the 
employment of managers (APEC) provides intensive support to higher-educated 
young people searching for their first employment. The employment rate for this 
project after six months is 79%.  

  The  YEI  Youth  Guarantee  funded  operations  appear  to  have  had  a  positive 
impact on employment results. This has been shown by the eight CIE that were 
screened (see also section 4.1.5). For example, the CIE for France highlights the 
value of the Youth Guarantee, estimating that at 18 months the employment rate 
for those on the Youth Guarantee would be 33.4%, against 24.3% for those who 
were not117. 

  YEI has helped to address the information needs of participants, especially where 
it has worked closely with public employment service, helping to ensure that young 
people have better access to opportunities, e.g. in Lithuania and Belgium, helping 
in turn to secure employment. 

Macroeconomic effects are small, but positive 

  The  results  from  the  modelling  work  carried  out  by  the  JRC  through  RHOMOLO 
point to the fact that the ESF investments in human capital and education might 
produce comparatively small but “positive macroeconomic returns on  top of the 
direct positive results for participants”.118,119 It is important to stress here that the 
exact figures described below are subject to limitations, as clarified in section 1.3, 
so they need to be treated with caution. In particular, it is important to recall that 
underestimation might arise due to the fact that the model can capture only to a 
limited extent the benefits on participants which are generated by the support.  

  In particular, at EU level, it is found through the modelling that 11 000 “indirect” 
jobs  are  expected  to  have  been  generated  by  2023,  due  to  the  ESF  and  YEI 
investments in youth employment, with long-lasting effects generated by the 
structural policies and the change in productivity. The increase shows persistence 
in  the  long  run  (by  2030)  where  the  GDP  is  still  0.06%  higher  relative  to  the 
baseline and more than 35 000 jobs are expected to have been created.  

This positive but comparatively small value should be read in the light of four key 
facts: (i) that the overall investment is modest compared to the GDP and uneven 
across  regions;  (ii)  that  on  top  of  overall  macroeconomic  effects,  there  are 
additional  direct  benefits  to  those  receiving  support,  which  is  in  line  with  the 
objectives  of  a  redistributive  policy  such  as  cohesion  policy;  (iii)  that  these  are 
just partial estimates given the programmes are still ongoing; and (iv) that the EU 
cohesion policy supports investment in physical capital along with human capital 
through the ERDF to start with. Such investments might have a synergy with those 
from  the  ESF/YEI  in  human  capital  and  its  omission  is  likely  to  lead  to 
underestimation of employment effects.  

117 ROP Languedoc-Roussillon 2014-2020; ROP Nord-Pas de Calais 2014-2020, Counterfactual evaluation of 
3 regional measures financed by YEI in France (Lot 4) 
118  JRC  (unpublished),  Deliverable  1a:  Youth  Employment  evaluation  using  RHOMOLO,  Territorial 
Development Unit, B.3. Regional Economic Modelling Team. Vers. 08/01/2020   
119 In light of the methodology described in the RHOMOLO report just quoted this means that if we focus on 
those receiving support, they see their employment chances increase thanks to the support they receive from 
ESF and YEI, as per the counterfactual impact evaluations discussed above. In addition, even when we look 
at the economy as a whole – which means that we factor in the cost of the support offered and the various 
spill overs of the policy to the environment in which it is implemented as done through RHOMOLO - the effects 
on employment in terms of jobs created for the whole economy are positive. However, “direct” and “indirect” 
effects  should  not be  added up,  as  they  are  the results  of  different  analytical  perspectives  (micro  level vs 
macro level) and are based on different modelling assumptions.  

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The  key  element  here  is  that  the  productivity-enhancing  human  capital 
investments ensure the actual creation of jobs in the medium to long run, and 
although the effects might seem modest at EU level, they are stronger in some 
regions, with a number of regions located in Southern European states with the 
potential to reap most of the benefits, which can be quite important given the size 
of the intervention.  

  The  modelling  work  also  suggests  that  employment  results  are  typically 
focused on the low skilled, in line with the fact that this is the main target group 
of the intervention. However, the increase in the average productivity of the 
labour  force  resulting from  ESF/YEI  investments  in  human  capital  should  then 
increase  employment  opportunities  for  all,  including  the  high  skilled. 
Although  beyond  the  scope  of  the  RHOMOLO  simulation,  it  is  also  worth 
mentioning  that  with  skill  based  technical  change120  and  the  increasing  pace  of 
automation, up- and re-skilling for the low skilled becomes all the more relevant 
for them to enter in or maintain employment.  

  Also  from  the  modelling  work  it  is  found  that  the  productivity  enhancing 
investments, such as those in upskilling support funded through the ESF/YEI for 
youth  employment,  offset  in  most  regions  the  crowding  out  effect  on  private 
investments  that  might  occur  due  to  public  investment.  This  means  that  the 
increased  productivity  stimulates  further  private  investments  more  than  the 
potential  adverse  (displacing)  effect  of  government  consumption  on  private 
investments.  The  key  message  here  is  that  despite  their  costs,  benefits  of  up-
skilling policies such as the ESF/YEI for youth employment are a factor which 
generally spurs private investment rather than discouraging it. 

Differences  across  regions  and  the  reasons  leading  to  these  are  discussed  in  EQ1.5 
below.  

YEI participation has addressed a number of needs of NEETs outside 
employment 

A number of examples have emerged from the research including the positive effects of 
YEI participation in respect of: 

  Benefits  that  are  harder  to  quantify  including  self-esteem  and  positive 

attitudes towards employment. 

  Increased  competencies  which  could  be  used  in  the  future  as  well  as  the 

immediate search for employment. 

  The  ‘mix’  of  services  offered  to  participants  is  important,  in  order  to  meet  a 
variety of needs. For example, the offer of wage subsidies in Slovakia is matched 
with  tutoring  and  guidance.  There  are  several  similar  examples.  By  providing  a 
range of support the participant should be better equipped to access sustainable 
employment. 

  Helping to ensure that once supported NEETs do not return to that group. As 
the  employment  results  show,  not  everyone  is  employed  at  the  end  of  the 
programme,  or  after  six  months,  but  some  participants  go  into  continued 
education  and  training  or  voluntary  activities  that  provide  work  experience.  In 
Poland, the results suggest that project participants do not usually return to the 
NEET  group.  Portugal  has  seen  a  significant  reduction  in  its  NEET  rate  (around 
50%). 

  For some participants, sustainable employment is not an immediate goal and YEI 
is more useful to address vocational and other training needs. For instance, 
in the Greek case, there were participants with limited interest in employment and 
more  interest  in  training  and  certification.  Not  everyone  was  interested  in 

120 See for instance Card, David and John E. DiNardo. "Skill-Based Technological Change And Rising Wage 
Inequality: Some Problems And Puzzles," Journal of Labor Economics, 2002, v20(4,Oct), 733-783. 

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continuing  with  the  practical  training  and  participating  in  employment,  many 
preferred  to  receive  more  training.  This is  very  much  related  to  the  age  group, 
notably, 18-24 years old participants are still in the education phase and prefer to 
improve their skills and enter the labour market at a later stage. 

Based on the public consultation, some 90% of young respondents said that they had 
benefitted from participation in YEI or ESF youth programmes 121. They also mentioned 
that  participation  had  addressed  a  number  of  their  needs  besides  employment, 
such as the development of general skills (38.3%), professional skills and qualifications 
(35.7%) and equipping them with the skills to look for employment (29.5%). 

Based  on  the  self-perception  of  youth  employment  support  recipients,  the  ESF/YEI 
support  would  seem  to  be  relatively  more  useful  than  other  youth  employment 
operations  received  by  respondents,  and  more  focused  on  improving  skills  and 
qualifications rather than in activating young people in looking for a job122. 

A  smaller  share  of  respondents  (approximately  one  in  five  participants)  found  the 
support effective in improving the quality of their position on the labour market and 
in finding a temporary job and (slightly fewer) in getting a permanent job. This view is 
confirmed by responding organisations that perceive the ESF/YEI to be relatively more 
successful  in  developing  skills  and  in  supporting  young  NEETs  re-entering  education 
than in supporting them entering the labour market and finding a stable job.  

4.1.3  EQ 1.3 To what extent were the target groups reached by the 

operations, including disadvantaged persons, those from marginalised 
communities and those leaving education without qualifications? To 
what extent was gender balance achieved?  

In general, the target groups for YEI/ESF have been reached but it is more 
challenging for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups 

In  the  vast  majority  of  cases,  the  operations  reached  the  target  groups  they 
aimed  to  reach,  with  some  exceptions  where  the  most  disadvantaged  have  been 
missed,  notwithstanding  the  possibility  of  under-reporting  in  this  respect.  The  key 
issue  with  regard  to  the  most  disadvantaged  target  groups  was  actually  reaching 
them. The evidence shows that there are several outreach approaches in use that 
offer good practice lessons, many based around social media. This is helping to attract 
and recruit ESF/YEI participants. 

The  primary  target  group  reached  by  YEI  and  ESF  are  the  unemployed  and  the 
inactive.  Some  Member  States  use  the  ESF  to  target  in  particular  the  inactive 
(Belgium, Germany, France,  Luxembourg, and Malta). For both the  ESF and YEI, a 
large majority of participants are low-skilled (ISCED 1-2 and ISCED 3-4)123. However, 
some Member States e.g. Cyprus, Croatia, Portugal and Slovenia, also target the more 
highly  skilled.  The  mix  of  participants  can  have  an  impact  on  the  achievement  of 
participations and results where people with multiple or complex disadvantages are 
targeted.  

Gender balance is achieved in the implementation across OPs but with some notable 
divergences  due  in  part  to  the  structure  of  the  local  labour  market  and  the 
predominance of male  NEETs in some Member States. The best results in terms  of 
female  employment  were  reported  for  the  most  vulnerable  groups  of  women 

121 A base of 431 
122 Comparing these answers to respondents who benefitted from a support, but not from ESF/YEI we find 
that there is a higher share of respondents in this latter group A2 saying that the support helped in looking 
for a job (47.8%). Respondents to this latter group are also on average less satisfied with the support received 
(16.3% found that the support did not help, against 9.4%). 
123 The international standard classification of education. ISCED 1 primary/basic education, 2 lower secondary, 
3 upper secondary, 4 post-secondary/non-tertiary 

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(especially those living in rural areas) perhaps because the supported operations for 
this group are implemented by specialised organisations. 

Regionalised (at NUTS2 level) data used in the RHOMOLO simulations on the progress 
of ESF/YEI expenditure for Youth Employment operations suggests that money was 
allocated to regions where it was more greatly needed, and that in many cases 
the  actual  expenditure  followed  suit.  Nevertheless,  as  shown  by  the  analysis  of 
financial  progress  in  EQ  1.1,  in  some  regions  with  an  unfavourable  socio-economic 
context there is a slower than average pace of implementation.  

The targeting of the NEET group varies between Member States 

Between 2014 and 2018, 3 774 181 participations by young people aged 15-
29  in  ESF  and  YEI  operations  were  recorded.  Over  the  last  few  years  Member 
States adjusted the eligibility criteria for participants, so that now in all YEI programmes 
young  people  up  to  the  age  of  29  are  eligible.  Overall,  about  one  third  of  the 
participations are between 25 and 29 years. In six Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, 
Greece, Lithuania, Portugal, and Slovenia) this share is above 40%. 

For YEI, a total of 2 653 233 participations were reported by the end of 2018 (two thirds 
of the target set, which was 3 880 444), of which 70% was under 25 years old124. Large 
numbers of participations were reported for Spain, Italy, France, Poland and Belgium 
with Spain, France and Italy having more than half of all participations under YEI, which 
is  hardly  surprising  in  view  of  their  larger  budgets  and  populations.  So  far,  very  low 
participation figures are reported in the Czech Republic and Romania. 

According  to  the  2018  YEI  evaluations,  in  Spain,  about  60%  of  participants  (of 
approximately  750  000)  have  not  completed  mandatory  secondary  education,  8%  of 
participants  were  not  Spanish  citizens  (lower  than  their  share  among  youth 
unemployed),  3%  lived  in  households  where  nobody  works  (against  10%  in  total 
population) and less than 1% lived in single parent households (against 14% in total 
population). In France, YEI puts a larger focus on young low qualified people. Inactive 
people  are  under-represented  accounting  for  only  17%  of  YEI  participants  while  they 
represent  43%  of  all  young  NEETs  and  it  is  reported  that  young  migrants,  young 
parents,  and  young  disabled  were  also  under-represented.  At  the  same  time,  in 
Portugal, the report highlights that youth employment operations largely favoured the 
participation of the most qualified young NEETs (74-91% of total participants have at 
least  secondary  education)  and  the  weak  representation  of  groups  who  are  furthest 
away  from  the  labour  market  such  as  foreigners  (with  less  than  2%  of  total  YEI 
participants), single parent families (2.6%) or people with disabilities (0.4%). 

For ESF, a total of 1 120 948 participations were reported by the end of 2018 (which is 
46% of the target set, which was 2 44 094). 70% of the participations were for persons 
younger than 25 years. 787 097 participations were reported of people below 25 years-
old at the end of 2018. T Large numbers of participations were reported for Italy, Poland, 
Belgium,  and  Germany.  The  low  number  of  participations  for  France,  Romania,  and 
Spain is striking compared to total budget allocated.  Except for Romania, this mostly 
seems related to reporting issues rather than implementation issues. In Romania, it is 
to do with calls being cancelled or low numbers of projects submitted as well as delays 
in implementation of projects that have been approved. 

Figure 24 below refers to the clusters (see Chapter 2.3) and shows that the ESF/YEI has 
reached a much higher proportion of NEETs in regions where the labour market situation 
of young people was weak at the start of the programming period compared to those 
starting  in  a  stronger  position,  and  particularly  so  in  those  where  the  situation  has 
continued to be unfavourable i.e. where there has been limited progress.  

124 Participation is not the same as an individual, as individuals may be recorded as multiple participations. 

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The data relate to flows to the initial stock of NEETs. Since people becoming NEET after 
the initial stock was recorded could still be supported in the period over which inflows 
were recorded, a perfect coverage of all NEETs would produce results in excess of 100%. 
Nevertheless, the higher coverage in weaker regions does suggest that the resources 
are appropriately directed to the areas (and people) most in need.  

  Share of NEETs (15-24) supported by ESF/YEI as a proportion of the NEET 

population in 2014 by cluster of regions (in %) 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on September 6, 2019 and Eurostat, Labour Force 
Survey (edat_lfse_22), data extracted on 21 June 2019. 

A  similar  pattern  emerges  if  we  look  at  the  reach  of  the  ESF/YEI  with  regard  to  the 
number of early school leavers, see Figure 25.  

Similar findings are included in the analysis produced by the JRC through the RHOMOLO 
model. There, where the assessment of regionalised (NUTS2 level) data on the progress 
of  ESF/YEI  expenditure  for  Youth  Employment  operations  used  for  the  simulations 
suggests that money went to regions where it was highly needed, although the 
analysis in EQ 1.1 shows that financial progress is more limited in some regions 
with high youth unemployment rates, e.g. Romania, Greece etc. 

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  Number of early school leavers supported by ESF/YEI between 2014 and 

2017 as a proportion of early school leavers in 2014 (in %) 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on September 6, 2019 and Eurostat, Labour Force 
Survey (edat_lfse_16), data extracted on June 21, 2019. 
Note: Early school leavers are defined as participants with lower secondary education (ISCED 0-2). Eurostat 
data on early school leavers cover young people aged 18-24, whereas ESF/YEI monitoring data on low 
skilled young people (ISCED 0-2) cover young people up to 29. Thus, the figure presents an indication of 
the share of early school leavers covered by ESF/YEI operations.  

Evidence  from  the  case  studies  shows  that  some  of  the  differences  in  target  groups 
between  the  regions  could  be  due  to  the  types  of organisations  offering support 
rather than by the type of region, e.g. in Poland, there were differences in the targeting 
methods  of  the  local  labour  offices  and  the  Voluntary  Labour  Corps,  with  the  former 
operating  on  a  first  come,  first  served  basis  for  people  registered  with  the  public 
employment service and the latter targeting NEETs including those not registered with 
the public employment service. They have additional eligibility criteria, including a 
lack of professional qualifications or qualifications not adapted to the needs of the labour 
market,  disabilities,  particularly  difficult  social  situations  (e.g.  people  from  families 
where nobody works, families using social assistance services, incomplete families125), 
people from rural areas and women. In the case of projects addressed to early school 
leavers (ESLs), the criteria were, among others, minimum percentage of school absence 
and low grade point average. 

Most were unemployed or inactive when entering into ESF and YEI support 

The majority of participants in ESF were unemployed or inactive when entering the 
operations. Figure 26 shows that most participations under Investment Priority 8.ii are 
related to unemployed people (59%), followed by the inactive (35%). Only a few are 
self-employed  (6%).  Some  countries  have  targeted  the  inactive  (Belgium,  Germany, 
France,  Luxembourg,  and  Malta).  Only  in  Germany  a  relatively  large  share  of  the 
participations is in the group of (self-)employed. This can be explained by the fact, that 
ESF  in  Germany  targets  employed  persons  (including  apprentices  and  persons  with 
minor employment contracts) for training actions.  

125 Generally understood as families where one parent is not present  

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  Employment status in ESF participation under Investment Priority 8.ii 

(in %) 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on September 6, 2019 

Figure  27  shows  the  distribution  of  employment  status  of  people  benefiting  from  YEI 
operations.  Around  82%  of  YEI  participations  at  EU  level  reached  the  unemployed. 
Countries that report a relatively larger share of inactive amongst YEI participations are 
Ireland (64%), Belgium (56%), Italy (36%) and the UK (33%). 

  Employment status YEI participation (in %) 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019 

Most NEETs have low qualification levels upon entry in ESF/YEI 

The majority of individuals whose participation is counted have a qualification level at 
ISCED 1-2 and ISCED 3-4 (Figures 28 and 29). Some Member States have a different 
focus,  e.g.  Cyprus,  Croatia,  Portugal  and  Slovenia  which  include  a  large  share  of 
participants with ISCED 5-8 (above 30%). For the YEI we see a similar picture across 
countries. 

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  Educational attainment – ESF participation (Investment Priority 8.ii) 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019 

  Educational attainment – YEI participation 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on September 6, 2019 

There is a well-balanced gender participation across ESF and YEI 

As  stated  in  Chapter  3,  across  the  EU,  participation  is  well  balanced  from  a  gender 
perspective, with a broadly equal share of men and women (51% against 49%) reached 
by the operations under YEI, but biased towards males under ESF (54% against 46%) 
(see Figures 30 and 31 below). However, as stated earlier (Figure 8)  women in the 
25-29 cohort are more likely to be categorised as NEET. 

There are considerable differences among Member States. YEI operations in Croatia and 
Greece  predominantly  reached  young  women  (66%  and  63%  respectively  –  YEI  and 
ESF youth employment), while youth unemployment initiatives in Belgium reached  in 
majority  men.  Under  the  ESF,  Belgium,  Germany,  France  and  Sweden  had  male 
participation  rates  of  over  60%.  Cyprus,  Croatia,  Poland  and  Slovenia  had  above 
average female participation rates, although seemingly not the result of a specific focus 
on operations that explicitly target women126.  

126 The employment sector can determine the gender mix with traditionally male/female employment 
sectors often reflected in the gender splits 

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  Gender – YEI participation 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on September 6, 2019 

  Gender – ESF participation (Investment Priority 8.ii) 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on September 6, 2019 

One example of a Member State that has a lower number of women participating than 
men is Germany. This was because the programmes supported mainly work-based and 
apprenticeship schemes which have traditionally been seen as a male domain (such as 
technicians,  mechanics,  construction  workers  etc.).  However,  very  little  on  explicit 
gender oriented actions could be found in the case studies.  

Another example, which provides some insight on differences between gender is shown 
by  the  CIE  evaluation  of  the  Italian  National  Programme  YEI:  For  participants  in 
traineeships net effects related to being in employment after 18 months are higher 
for women than for men (12.1% versus 8.1%). Above that very little evidence could 
be found in the case studies on explicit gender targeting.  

Regarding the achievement of gender balance, there is almost parity in terms of general 
participation in the Operational Programme, which is slightly higher for females than for 
males. Regarding the results, it depends on the specific intervention, as in the case of 
hiring, the results are better for women, while in those of entrepreneurship, they are 
better for males. 

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Not all Member States target specific NEET sub groups  

The  evidence  from  the  case  studies  shows  that  the  targeting  of  the  disadvantaged 
groups varies between the Operational Programmes and, as mentioned above, between 
the organisations implementing the programmes. In Greece, the actions did not have 
a specific focus on disadvantaged groups, but ensured that no one was excluded127. 
In Portugal, the national Operational Programme did not define sub-groups of NEETs, 
specifically  referring  only  to  young  unemployed  and  young  inactive  people.  The 
indicators  did  not  differentiate  participants  further.  Nevertheless,  some  operations 
included  an  increase  in  the  amount  of  the  support  for  vulnerable  groups  such  as  the 
long-term  unemployed,  ex-prisoners,  people  with  disabilities,  etc.  In  the  regional 
Operational  Programme  Azores  (also  Portugal),  all  target  groups  of  disadvantaged 
young people were reached in all the nine islands, with the exception maybe of young 
people with disabilities. 

In Spain, in order to better target people with disadvantages, the Managing Authority 
published  calls  for  proposals  for  organisations  working  in  the  field  of  social 
exclusion  (including  the  Action  against  Hunger  Foundation,  the  Gipsy  Secretariat 
Foundation,  the  ONCE  Foundation  for  people  with  disabilities,  the  Spanish  Red  Cross 
and YMCA), to select operations for these groups. Besides, some organisations working 
with these groups have been selected by the Managing Authority as Intermediate Bodies 
(including  the  Banking  Foundation  La  Caixa  and  the  ONCE  Foundation),  for  them  to 
implement and coordinate part of the Operational Programme as a way to promote the 
participation of these groups of beneficiaries in the interventions. 

There are mixed results in reaching NEETs from more disadvantaged groups 

The  responding  organisations128  to  the  public  consultation  found  that  the  ESF/YEI  is 
relatively more successful in helping the broader target of young NEETs (75.7%) and 
less  successful  in  supporting  young  people  in  rural  areas  or  hard  to  reach  areas  and 
those who are at  risk of poverty or homelessness.  In fact,  ESF/YEI  support to  young 
people leaving education without a qualification is considered to be successful by 56.6% 
of  responding  organisations,  followed  by  young  people  at  risk  of  social  exclusion  or 
marginalisation  (46.9%),  young  migrants  and  minorities  (41.6%),  young  people  in 
disadvantaged or hard to reach areas (41.1%), youth affected by poverty (39.6%) and 
lastly homeless young people for which the share of respondents believing they were 
successfully  supported  is  quite  low  (18%)  and  the  share  of  respondents  believing 
operations were unsuccessful or not successful at all is highest (35.6%). However, for 
the latter target group, the share of respondents who do not know or do not have an 
opinion  is  also  comparably  higher  (46.0%).  For  all  other  target  groups,  the  share  of 
respondents  believing  operations  were  successful  is  higher  than  the  share  of 
those believing they were not. Figure 32 below, presents the results. 

Looking at the categories of disadvantaged recorded in the AIRs, bearing in mind that 
these are not mutually exclusive categories, we can see that across the EU, 11.3% of 
YEI and 13.2% of ESF participations reported so far were young migrants, participants 
with  a  foreign  background,  minorities  (including  marginalised  communities  such  as 
Roma) (CO15) in 2018; 4.5% of YEI and 5.2% of ESF participations were young people 
with disabilities (CO16); 13.7% of YEI and 14.2% of ESF participations were people with 
other disadvantages (CO17); 0.8% of YEI and 0.3% of ESF participations were homeless 

127 Second evaluation of YEI interventions in the OP Human Resource Development, Education and Lifelong 
Learning (HRD, Edu & LLL), 2018 
128 Organisations include both organisations involved in ESF/YEI and organisations not involvedThese can be 
public authorities, NGOs, etc. In this case, regarding young NEETs, the share of respondents thinking 
support was successful is particularly high among organisations involved with 82.1% of them saying support 
was successful for NEETs (56.6% among organisations not involved). In any case, for both types of 
organisations, it is the target group for which the success of ESF/YEI activities is considered highest. In the 
survey this question on successfully targeted groups was only asked to organisations.  

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people or people affected by housing exclusion (CO18); and 19.3% of YEI and 18.7% 
of ESF participations were young people in rural areas (CO19).  

The  latter  two  indicators  should  be  treated  with  additional  caution.  Homelessness 
(CO18) is not a reliable indicator as Member States were only asked to collect survey 
estimates on it in AIR2016 and some continue to report it. The Commission asks Member 
States to report actual counts of homeless people as ‘other disadvantaged’. People are 
counted as living in rural areas if they live in thinly populated areas129. However, if – 
and only if – living in a rural area also qualifies as a disadvantage  and that person is 
also  counted  under  ‘other  disadvantaged’.  Notable  differences  exist  between  the 
Member States, e.g. with Sweden reaching a significant number of migrants (38.7% of 
YEI and 38.6% of ESF compared to an average of 11.3% of YEI and 13.2% of ESF) and 
people  with  disabilities  (69%  of  ESF  compared  to  an  average  of  5.2%).  For  these 
indicators we can expect a high level of under-reporting.  

  Success of youth employment operations by the ESF and the YEI in 

providing support to specific target groups 

Question: How successful were the youth employment operations by the ESF and the 
YEI in providing support to the following target groups? 

no.=399, organisations involved and not involved 

Source: Final Report, Public Consultation on the Evaluation of the EU Support to Youth Employment by the 
Youth Employment Initiative and the European Social Fund. Study supporting the 2019 evaluation of youth 
employment (VC/2018/0175) 

129 Rural areas are defined by an official classification (i.e. more than 50% of the population lives in rural 
grid cells) 

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The main challenge is reaching the target groups furthest away from the 
labour market 

One of the main challenges identified by the evaluation is reaching the target group of 
NEETs,  in  terms  of  identification  and  subsequent  recruitment  to  YEI/ESF  operations. 
Despite high levels of NEETs in a number of countries, actually identifying  individuals 
(with proof of NEET status required) has proven difficult where they are not registered 
with the public employment service, or in education or training.  

When  it  comes  to  the  YEI  target  group  in  particular,  reaching  those  who  are  most 
disadvantaged and furthest away from the labour market or outside the system 
is  a  challenge.  According  to  the  2018  YEI  evaluations,  this  is  particularly  true  for 
disadvantaged groups in Spain, France, Italy and Portugal, where the most vulnerable 
young  people  are  reported  to  be  under-represented,  and  potentially  under–reported 
(which seems to be a more general problem), among YEI participants. This is backed 
up  by  evidence  from  the  public  consultation  which  stresses  the  relative  difficulties  of 
reaching and supporting vulnerable young people in rural areas, those with disabilities, 
ex-offenders, those at risk of poverty and the homeless, with some individuals having 
multiple  disadvantages.  The  situation  varies  between  countries  but  there  are  some 
common patterns. 

  In  Spain,  it  is  recognised  that  with  the  exception  of  the  disabled  and  the  low 
educated  young  people,  YEI  struggles  to  reach  young  people  facing  greatest 
difficulties.  

  In France, the most difficult category to reach is the homeless and people with 
disabilities (respectively 4% and 2% of the total number of participants), which is 
not surprising.  

  In  Slovakia,  difficulties  were  reported  in  reaching  marginalised  groups  or 

minorities such as Roma.  

  In Lithuania, it proved difficult to identify NEETs that were not registered due to 

data protection issues, who are often from the most vulnerable groups  

  In Portugal, public employment services first focused on simply providing offers 
to  those  that  were  registered.  But  gradually  they  changed  the  approach  to 
activating NEETs to participate in actions provided by the Youth Guarantee.  

Member States have developed outreach strategies to overcome these 
challenges  

Member  States  have  used  social  networks,  media,  newsletters  or  more  innovative 
channels, such as organising concerts and placing adverts on fast food trays (Bulgaria) 
to reach young NEETs. Street work has also been used to meet NEETs in public places 
that are frequented by young people, e.g. in parks or shopping centres. Member States 
also invested in developing the experience and skills required to reach the  ‘hardest to 
reach’  NEETs,  working  with  professional  social  workers  who  represent  ground  level 
organisations,  promoting  cooperation  between  the  various  actors  involved,  especially 
vertical  (e.g.  from  ground  level  to  public  employment  service),  going  beyond 
traditional outreach channels. One example is in Germany, where tailored activities 
in the form of support chains and dedicated preventive systems of assisted  transition 
from school to work through systematic cooperation between the relevant stakeholders 
have been successfully established with ESF support. The latter explicitly in North Rhine-
Westphalia (KAoA/KoKo) and Saxony-Anhalt (RÜMSA (regional transition management 
from school to work) and BRAFO. The latter is an early careers orientation initiative that 
provides pupils in all types of schools except grammar schools with one week of career 
orientation.  For  those  pupils  with  greater  disadvantages,  it  offers  two-week  practical 
training in the school holidays. Good practice in outreach strategies is highlighted further 
in Chapter 5. 

A key issue in reaching out to specific target groups is an adequate communication 
strategy.  The  geographical  distribution  of  responses  to  the  consultation  confirms  an 

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overall agreement on the fact that social media campaigns are the best way to inform 
young people. Interestingly the information channels actually used by young people in 
accessing ESF/YEI are slightly different, with the majority of respondents having learned 
about the support through employment services and information centres, followed at a 
distance by word of mouth such as family or friends and a smaller share having heard 
about them from social media. 

Public  consultation  respondents  were  also  asked  if  they  had  any  good  practice  or 
example regarding the effectiveness of youth employment operations that they wanted 
to share with the Commission. Some responses included practices or examples that may 
help in reaching the target groups, such as: 

  Meeting  young  people  at  their  gathering  places  to  convey  information  on 

support options, especially in rural and hard-to-reach areas. 

  Offering scholarships and financial incentives to young people with excellent 
records  not  only  in  academic  terms  but  also  in  terms  of  soft  skills  and  other 
competencies. 

  Increasing collaboration between different authorities and different types 
of  professionals,  e.g.  ‘DurhamWorks’,  a  successful  partnership  programme  in 
the UK focusing on long term individualised support, which is able to target the 
most  disadvantaged  and  encourage  and  support  employers  to  engage  young 
people, or the ‘IdA – Integration durch Austausch’ (Integration through Exchange) 
–  programme  which  was  launched  in  Germany  in  2008  and  continued  in  the 
current period to reach out to disadvantaged young people who are far from the 
labour market. 

The econometric analysis suggests that performance of operations is 
influenced by the characteristics of the NEET group 

The econometric analysis carried out in Annex 4c has sought to test whether increasing 
shares  of  people  with  disabilities,  from  minorities  or  migrants  as  well  as  other 
disadvantaged, are correlated with different indices of performance of the ESF and YEI 
programmes.  The  analysis  supports  the  general  conclusion  that  getting  people  to 
participate  from  disadvantaged  backgrounds  -  and  identifying  them  -  is  the  central 
challenge for YEI and ESF youth employment operations.  

The  results,  which  should  be  treated  with  caution130  given  the  differences  in  national 
definitions clarifying such categories of participants as well as underreporting, indicate 
the following: 

  In terms of financial progress of the programmes, be that implementation rate or 
project  selection  rate,  higher  shares  of  people  with  disabilities  and  other 
disadvantages  tend  to  be  negatively  associated  with  progress.  This  association 
becomes  a  statistically  significant  correlation  when  the  financial  progress  is 
measured in particular through the project selection rate. This is suggestive of the 
fact  that  in  programmes  with  a  strong  focus  on  disadvantaged  participants  the 
design of the support, be that from Managing Authorities preparing the calls for 
proposal or beneficiaries developing the right projects, might be particularly time 
consuming.  

  A similar trend is found for target achievement of output indicators, with increasing 
shares  of  people  with  disabilities  especially,  but  also  other  disadvantaged, 
negatively correlated to the target achievement.  

130  The  coefficients  are  statistically  significant  when  it  comes  to  the  correlation  between  higher  shares  of 
disadvantaged  individuals  and  the  progress  of  financial  and  output  indicators.  If  there  was  strong 
underreporting,  i.e.  disadvantaged  participants  not  registered  as  such  because  their  condition  can  be 
considered  a sensitive data, one  would expect differences  to be smaller,  not  larger. It would be  so  as  the 
‘hidden’  disadvantaged  participants  in  programmes  with  apparently  low  shares  of  them  would  affected 
negatively performance, thus reducing the difference between programmes with high shares of disadvantaged 
participants and those with (apparently) low shares of them.  

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  In  general,  a  higher  presence  of  migrants  or minorities  is  unrelated  with  the 

progress and performance of youth employment operations. 

  The former negative associations and correlations are not confirmed when it comes 
to  target  achievement  of  result  indicators  and  to  success  rates,  potentially 
indicating  that  the  main  difficulties  lie  in  reaching  out  to  these  categories 
rather than helping them obtain a result.  

4.1.4  EQ 1.4 What was the quality and timeliness of the offers received by 

the participants?  

The permanence of the jobs offered and wage levels are key determinants of 
quality and timeliness  

A  majority  of  participants  received  an  offer  of  employment,  continued  education, 
apprenticeship  or  training  after  completion  of  (or  during)  the  programme,  and  (for 
those consulted) were generally satisfied with the job offers received through YEI and 
ESF  support. Although there is no standard definition of satisfaction  or quality, the 
permanent  character  of  the  job  and  the  wage  offered  are  factors  usually  used  as 
criteria in this regard.  

The level of remuneration was an issue for at least six Member States, insofar as it 
was too  low. Another issue, impacting negatively on the quality of the offers, and 
raised in the case studies is that a downside of employment offers was the tendency 
towards  temporary  or  short  term  contracts  (as  high  as  92%  in  Spain),  often 
associated  with  lower  than  average  wages.  In  contrast  some  countries  offered 
employment with training opportunities (60% in Portugal).  

The  intangible  benefits  and  soft  results  achieved,  e.g.  that  young  people  gain 
self-esteem and confidence,  know how to present themselves  and be  punctual and 
reliable  employees.  They  have  also  managed  to  get  some  work  experience  for 
enriching their CV, are also very important as they contribute to the quality of life and 
professional prospects of the young people concerned. 

Overall, the quality of specific aspects of the YEI programmes can improve further so 
as to increase the possibilities of successful positioning of unemployed in the labour 
market in a sustainable and effective manner.  

Permanent jobs are highly valued by YEI/ESF participants 

As mentioned above, the YEI support should provide young people with a good-quality 
offer  of  either  employment,  continued  education,  an  apprenticeship  or  a  traineeship 
within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or of leaving formal education. 
The Annual Implementation Reports assessed the quality of employment offers received 
by YEI participants. 

The 2018 YEI evaluation reports reveal high proportions of participants being proposed 
a job, an internship or education/training after participation in the programme in 
different Member States: 84% in Poland, about 75% in Croatia, Bulgaria and Portugal 
and 63% in UK-England. At the same time, only 18% of participants received a job offer 
in Greece (immediately after completing the programme for most of them).  The very 
low success rate in Greece reflects the overall labour market situation which offers low-
skilled  jobs  with  flexible  timetables  and  low  remuneration,  illustrating  the  general 
implementation  areas.  (More  specifically,  most 
business  environment 
employment  posts  were  fixed  term  and  short-term  contracts,  with  salaries  between 
EUR 301 and EUR 600 respectively).  

in  the 

For the majority of the OPs for which data on quality of job offers is available, over a 
third of the offers received involved ‘permanent’ employment contracts in the sense 
that they were for an indefinite period of time. The proportion of such job offers was 

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over 60% in Bulgaria (63%) and well over 50% in Greece (56%).  Conversely, it was 
only 14% in Poland (see Figure 33 below). 

  Share of job offers proposing permanent contracts 

Source: 2018 YEI Evaluation reports  
Data for FR relate to 3 national operations (‘Accompagnement APEC’, FR-GJ: ‘Garantie Jeunes’, FR-Priority 
Axis: ‘Parcours Autonomie’). 
Data for CY relate to ‘Acquisition of work experience for young unemployed graduates’. 
Data for ES refer to the situation 12 months after exit, and 6 months for UK-England.  

Most of the job offers,  though mostly fixed-term  employment in nature, were  for  full 
time rather than part-time positions. For instance, in Portugal, around 60% of the job 
offers accepted by participants involved a guarantee that the person concerned would 
have the possibility of training. 

At the other end of the spectrum (see Figure 33 above), Poland offered few permanent 
contracts. The Labour Offices’ support is unevenly distributed throughout the year and 
the type of support depends on the date of joining the project. Participants in the later 
months of the year receive shorter periods of support or none at all and have to wait 
for  the  next  year  to  be  included  in  the  support  again.  The  seasonality  of  support  is 
probably due to the availability of funds and the method of accounting for projects by 
the  Labour  Offices.  The  Operational  Programme  Knowledge  Education  Development 
support  is  often  implemented  on  an  annual  basis,  which  means  that  funds  from  this 
source must be settled by the end of the year. Projects implemented by the Voluntary 
Labour  Corps  and  competition  projects  are  more  comprehensive  than  Labour  Offices’ 
projects. Most participants receive support in the form of training and internships, while 
Labour Offices usually offer only one form of support.  

In Spain, the YEI has achieved better results than labour market trends, although only 
8%  of  contracts  in  Spain  are  permanent  and  92%  are  temporary,  which  is  not ideal. 
However,  this  also  reflects  the  overall  labour  market  situation  in  Spain.  The  findings 
from a counterfactual evaluation (in Spain) show that the proportion of participants in 
‘Training and apprenticeship contracts’ who were in full-time temporary contracts after 

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18 months, was larger among those supported by the YEI than for those not supported 
(i.e. the control group - 68% against 52%)131.  

There is general satisfaction with job offers but with varied responses from 
different countries 

According  to  the  YEI  evaluations,  participants  are  generally  satisfied  with  the  job 
offers  received,  with  satisfaction  rates  close  to  70%  in  Croatia  and  Slovenia.  In 
Slovenia, the 2019 evaluation of the ESF ‘PUM-O programme’ (which provides training 
and education for young NEETs in order to facilitate their entry onto the labour market) 
shows that more than 25% of participants found a job, but the most important effect 
according to the participants is in terms of  self-esteem and self-image.  In France, 
the  report  indicates  that  job  offers  broadly  match  the  qualification  levels  of  the 
participants and most find them interesting. 

In Italy surveyed participants are on average more satisfied with the support received 
through  the  YEI  than  participants  in  other  employment  support  operations.  There  is 
however  a  general  agreement  among  stakeholders  that  the  quality  of  the  offers 
should and could be further improved. A critical element in this respect is the low 
percentage of participants who receive a certification of competencies at the end of the 
intervention.  An  element  which  deserves  particular  attention,  is  the  quality  of  the 
traineeships that represent the most frequent operation offered. This is a critical element 
for assessing the quality of the YEI as highlighted by several stakeholders. The synthetic 
index developed by the Italian national evaluation132 points to a relatively good quality 
for at least half of the traineeships, including some very high scores (subject to the fact 
that composite indicators can mask variances). This is particularly the case for younger 
participants  (under  25)  and  for  those  with  a  good  education  (at  least  high  school 
diploma). 

In France, the quality of job offers is varied, with 75% of offers being full time. The 
quality  of  the  training  offers  would  seem  to  be  more  satisfactory,  with  participants 
receiving a training in line with their qualifications and which they find valuable. 

Several YEI evaluation reports highlight that for the majority of participants the  level 
of the wages on offer was an issue. This is for instance the case in Bulgaria (in the 
large majority of cases the salary proposed was equivalent to the minimum wage), in 
Croatia, Cyprus and in Lithuania. In France, the average wage offered was slightly below 
the minimum wage133, while in Greece, just over half of the job offers proposed a salary 
of EUR 300-600 a month (and 23% less than this), whereby the minimum wage was 
EUR 511 (gross) for a full-time job (see above).  

In  Belgium  Wallonia,  although  the  surveyed  participants  reported  that  the  ESF/YEI 
action matched their expectations, most of the jobs obtained were precarious (fixed-
term  contracts,  temporary  agency  work,  contracts  under  ‘Titres  services’,  etc.). 
Nonetheless, almost half of participants were working with an open-ended contract after 
42 months, i.e. 3.5  years after their exit. Belgium used two indicators in a survey to 
measure subjective and objective quality of transition from one labour market status to 
the other, mostly to employment or training. This can be considered good  evaluation 
practice. 

131 The control group is composed of individuals not participating to YEI measures (but registered under the 
Youth  Guarantee),  but  sharing  similar  characteristics  with the  YEI participants  (such  as  sex,  year of  birth, 
education  level,  labour  market  status).  Using  propensity  score  matching,  the  situation  of  both  the  treated 
group  (receiving  YEI  support)  and  the  control  group  is  then  compared  to  assess  the  net  effect  of  YEI. 
http://www.mitramiss.gob.es/uafse/es/fse_2014-
2020/evaluaciones/Informes_Evaluacion/Informe_II_Evaluacixn_IEJ_2018.pdf 
132  Based  on  whether  the  participant  received  some  form  of  tutoring,  whether  it  was  in  line  with  her/his 
qualification,  whether  a  certificate  was  released  and  the  employment  outcomes  upon  completing  the 
intervention 
133 Business wages rather than official institutions 

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Results from the public consultation seem to suggest that ESF/YEI participants who took 
part in the consultation and that entered support as unemployed are more likely to have 
transitioned to full time employment rather than part time. In fact, among respondents 
who had been unemployed for less than 12 months, 39.7% became employed full time 
and  3.5%  employed  part  time,  with  32.6%  remaining  unemployed  after  receiving 
support.  However, among those who  were long-term unemployed,  only 19.5%  found 
full  time  employment  after  support,  7.3%  part  time  and  one  in  two  remained 
unemployed. When looking at responses from all types of participants (including those 
who did not start as unemployed), however, there are more respondents reporting that 
they found a temporary job (20.9% of all ESF/YEI participants) than a permanent one 
(16.8%). 

4.1.5  EQ 1.5 Which types of interventions were the most effective and most 
sustainable, for which groups and in which contexts (e.g. more 
developed, less developed and transition regions; urban and rural 
areas etcetera)? 

Public  consultation  results  indicate  that  remunerated  apprenticeships  are 
considered to be the most effective type of intervention by organisations involved 
in  ESF/YEI,  together  with  vocational  education  and  training  and  basic  skills 
training.  The  latter  are  considered  useful  for  most  target  groups,  including  the 
most disadvantaged,  such as young people affected by poverty, young people who 
are at  risk of social exclusion, migrants, homeless and leaving education without a 
qualification.  This  is  generally  supported  by  the  evaluations  and  the  case  studies, 
which provide project specific examples  

Socio-economic  context  seems  to  partly  influence  the  results  of  different  types  of 
operations,  though  this  is  apparent  mainly  when  looking  at  disadvantaged  regions 
and at longer term results. Net effects are typically not disaggregated by regions, but 
in Italy, where this is done, net  effects are higher in central and southern  regions. 
ESF/YEI is relatively less successful in supporting young people in rural and/or remote 
areas, especially where there are organisational constraints (e.g. travel to and from 
islands, less ‘critical mass’ to organise effective operations etc.) (see also EQ1.6). 

Concerning  characteristics  of  participants,  monitoring  data  analysed  through 
econometric  modelling  show  that  the  share  of  inactive,  low  skilled  and  people 
over  25  years  of  age  have  a  negative  correlation  with  employment  success 
rates. This is valid both in the short as well as longer term. However, we have strong 
evidence that the monitoring data (especially on result indicators) are under reported, 
especially for soft outcomes.  

This  limits  the  analysis.  In  addition,  the  lack  of  disaggregated  evidence  from 
counterfactual impact evaluation hampers a final judgment on this issue, as in some 
cases  it  was  found  that  people  with  greater  distance  from  the  labour  market  have 
higher net employment effects, despite lower nominal employment rates.   

The effectiveness varies by types of operation 

In the framework of this evaluation, we categorised the youth employment operations 
according to types of operation and target groups. This screening exercise went beyond 
the investment priority level and analysed – where possible – information at the level 
of individual operations. However, for the analysis of the effectiveness and sustainability 
of  the  operations,  it  was  not  possible  to  link  results  to  types  of  operations  as  the 
SFC2014 does not go down to this level. Therefore, we are reliant on information from 
the counterfactual evaluations of youth employment at national level as well as on the 
econometric  analysis  of  the  results  and  on  qualitative  information  from  the  public 
consultation and the case studies.  

To answer the question on the effectiveness of which types of operations were the most 
effective  for  which  groups  and  in  which  contexts,  we  draw  mainly  from  the 

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counterfactual  impact  evaluations  identified  by  the  DG  REGIO/DG  EMPL  Evaluation 
Helpdesk, including the counterfactual impact evaluations carried out in the context of 
the  compulsory  YEI  evaluations134.  There  are  seven  reliable  counterfactual  impact 
evaluations  (see  Annex  4  for  details  on  the  studies)  from  France  (one135),  Croatia 
(one), Italy (three), Poland (one) and Sweden (one).136 Additional evaluations including 
counterfactual  elements  are  also  included  from  Bulgaria,  Hungary,  Latvia  and  Spain. 
There is also the evidence from the public consultation where respondents were asked 
to comment on different operations. 

All  of  the  evaluation  studies  cover  the  period  2014-2020  and  analyse  –  with  the 
exception of Italy and France – one Operational Programme. For Italy, we have three 
studies relating to Regional Operational Programmes from different regions, e.g. ’ROP 
Piemonte  ESF’  (from  2015  and  2016)  or  ’ROP  Friuli  Venezia  Giulia  ESF’.  While  all 
programmes naturally cover youth unemployment in some way, they all have slightly 
different  target  groups,  e.g.  long-term  unemployed  or  at  risk  of  becoming  long-term 
unemployed, aged 15-29 years or under 26 years, and implement a variety of different 
operations,  e.g. guidance and  counselling, work-based learning, start-up subsidies or 
training actions.  

Apprenticeships, traineeships, training and career support are generally 
perceived to be most effective, according to the public consultation 

When  looking  at  the  public  consultation  results,  most  organisations  agree  on  the 
effectiveness  of  remunerated  apprenticeships,  traineeships  and  internships 
(90%), vocational education and training (88.2%), basic skills training (87%), 
and guidance and career support (86%). Overall, respondents are more sceptical 
on  the  effectiveness  of  operations  such  as  community  and  voluntary  work  or  non-
remunerated  apprenticeships,  traineeships  and  internships.  Figure  34  below  presents 
the results. 

Within  the  group  of  organisations  involved  in  the  management  or  implementation  of 
ESF/YEI,  the  operation  on  which  agreement  on  effectiveness  is  highest  are  the 
remunerated apprenticeships (92.7%), whereas within the group of organisations not 
involved it is vocational education and training (82.8%). 

134 Counterfactual impact evaluations (CIE) aim to assess the impact of a policy (YEI in the present case), i.e. 
what the situation would have been had this policy not been implemented. Of all the YEI evaluation reports 
submitted in 2018-2019, only 9 include CIE. 
135 One counterfactual impact evaluation (national OP) plus 3 CIEs for specific interventions (regional OPs) 
136 Details of these studies including title, thematic objective and methods are included in Annex 4. 

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  Effectiveness of operations related to quality and sustainable employment 

Question: To what extent do you agree/disagree that the following measures have been 
actually effective in helping young people  enter quality and sustainable employment? 
(no.=399, organisations involved and not involved in ESF/YEI delivery) 

Source: Final Report, Public Consultation on the Evaluation of the EU Support to Youth Employment by the 
Youth Employment Initiative and the European Social Fund. Study supporting the 2019 evaluation of youth 
employment (VC/2018/0175) 

The  following  sections  summarise  the  available  evidence  on  groups  of  operations 
bringing  together  information  from  the  public  consultations  and  the  evaluations  with 
some illustrative examples from the case studies.  

Apprenticeship, work based learning and first job experience are very 
important steps for young people to enter the labour market 

Apprenticeships, traineeships and internships were perceived by the organisation in the 
public consultation to be the most effective operation in helping young people enter 

90 

44491011241301121361561131381161631641691871391481611611591781671581961741991801831831726289715263666146454549312929251158554493436293139362818191510392812131376866774350%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%Non-remunerated apprenticeships/traineeships/internshipsCommunity or voluntary workJob mobility measuresStart-up support for youngentrepreneurs and self-employmentSupport measures aimed atovercoming situational barriersto getting employedStructural support for strengtheninginstitutional capacity of one or moretypes of interventionsSecond chance educationEmployment incentives for employersAwareness raising and informationactions (school to work transition)Subsidies to employers forapprenticeships/traineeships/internshipsSkills assessmentGuidance and career supportBasic skills trainingVocational orientededucation and trainingRemunerated apprenticeships/traineeships/internshipsI strongly agreeI agreeI don't know / I don't have an opinionI disagreeI strongly disagree 
 
 
Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

quality  and  sustainable  employment,  if  remunerated  (359  organisations  strongly 
agreed/agreed  that  this  type  of  operation  was  effective  in  helping  young  people  into 
quality and sustainable employment – 90%) but the lowest ranked if not remunerated. 
Work experience in its different guises is generally a very positive step for young 
people, and especially those seeking to break into their first paid job. The interface with 
the employer, who might be in a position to provide paid employment, is a critical factor 
as experience gained through community and voluntary work was generally perceived 
as being less effective.  

From  the  case  studies,  it  appears  that  traineeships  in Italy increase  the  marginal 
probability  of  finding  a  job  by  more  than  100%  within  the  next  2-3  months. 
In Portugal, professional traineeships are the most effective and sustainable operation. 
In Spain,  traineeships  are  effective,  especially  if  combined  with  labour  market 
experience. The success of this type of intervention in several countries is due  to the 
accumulated experience as it has been in place, through different names and models, 
for  over  20  years  in  Europe.  Apprenticeships in Greece are  considered  to  work  better 
than  internships  or  traineeships  due  to  their  two-year  duration  (as  opposed  to  six 
months for the others) which improves employability in the longer term, so participants 
remain in the labour marker, even if they do not remain in the same company. Other 
reasons for effectiveness of this operation include its content (combining practical and 
theoretical training, with the theoretical training being closely linked with the practical 
experience  acquired  in  the  enterprise)  and  its  delivery  (an  electronic  register  of 
enterprises,  that  facilitates  the  matching  between  students  and  enterprises).  An 
important  conclusion  from  the  above  could  be  that if  the  duration  of  traineeships 
increases to match the apprenticeship type of operation, the overall effectiveness of 
policies may increase. 

The impact of work based learning on employment in Croatia 

Under  the  ‘ESF  Operational  Programme  Efficient  Human  Resources  2014-2020’  in 
Croatia five different operations were implemented all targeting NEETs aged 15-29 years 
at  risk  of  being  long-term  unemployed.  The  largest  operation  (in  terms  of  planned 
funding  under  YEI  phase  1)  was  SOR  (acquisition  of  professional  experience  in  the 
workplace  –  occupational  training  without  commencing  employment),  followed  by 
subsidy for youth employment. While the SOR had a small positive effect – persons who 
entered the operation in 2015 were more likely to be employed six months after leaving 
the  operation  (66%)  than  persons  who  were  not  in  the  operation  (60%)  –  the  most 
successful  operation  was  the  employment  support.  The  net  effect  of  the  operation 
ranges  from  23  to  30  percentage  points  depending  on  the  year  of  entry  into  the 
operation. 

Positive effects on employment are also recorded in Bulgaria (8% higher chance of being 
in  employment  after  participation).  In  Latvia,  the  proportion  of  participants  in 
employment after at least six months is generally higher than in the control group for 
most  of  the  YEI  supported  operations.  None  of  the  activities  supported  in  Latvia  is 
estimated to have a positive effect on the wages of those supported in comparison with 
the control group. In Spain, 97% of participants in training and apprenticeship contracts 
were in employment 18 months after participation as compared with 60% of the control 
group (after two years, the gap narrows but remains significant, the respective rates 
falling to 72% and 47%).  

Evidence from the case study in Germany show that additional support for young people 
in apprenticeships has positive effects on their remaining in the companies and gaining 
essential skills, e.g. language skills for young migrants. Particularly helpful in the work 
of companies with young people was the support of the ‘Ausbildungsbegleitenden Hilfen’ 
(help  for  trainees  during  their  training)  and  the  ‘Assistierte  Ausbildung’  (assisted 
training). Communication with the counsellors helped motivating the young people and 
this help was appreciated by the companies. 

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Effects of work based learning in Poland 

Under  the  ’Operational Programme  Knowledge  Education  Development  2014-2020’  in 
Poland  two  actions  were  run  with  slightly  different  target  groups.  The  participants  in 
Voluntary Labour Corps projects were more often disadvantaged than those of Regional 
Employment Offices projects, being more  often from rural areas, disabled or living in 
households  with  no  working  members.  Almost  all  Voluntary  Labour  Corps  projects 
participants  took  part  in  career  guidance,  psychological  counselling,  and  a  course 
allowing them to learn specific job qualifications. After the course, all participants aged 
18-24 years took part in an internship and received job search assistance and around 
half of the participants received educational and vocational counselling as well as legal 
aid. Regional Employment Offices projects provided ‘harder’  forms  of  support,  mainly 
internships  or  work  practice  (2/3  of  participants),  subsidies  for  starting  their  own 
business (14%), training and courses (10%) or vouchers137 for settlement. An in-depth 
analysis  suggests  that  the  net  effects  of  the  support  were  larger  among  the 
disadvantaged  groups  of  people.  The  support  was  particularly  effective  among  those 
who remained unemployed for more than 12 months. The net effects were also larger 
among people with lowest education levels (lower secondary and lower), people living 
in  rural  areas  and  people  who  were  unemployed  at  least  once  before  the  ongoing 
episode. 
A positive factor in the action was that around half of the apprentices were being trained 
in professions where there was a lack of qualified people (known as top bottleneck jobs). 
Therefore, their job prospects after finishing their training were better than average. 

Vocational training helps young people to enter into quality and sustainable 
employment 

Vocational  orientated  education  and  training  was  rated  2nd  in  the  public  consultation. 
352 organisations strongly agreed/agreed that  this type  of  operation  was  effective in 
helping young people into quality and sustainable employment (88.2% and as high as 
96.9%  in  Portugal,  and  still  high  in  Spain  at  85.7%  of  organisations,  the  lowest 
percentage  for  this  type  of  operation  in  terms  on  the  national  breakdown  of 
correspondents).  Basic  training  was  just  behind  vocational  education  and  training 
ranked third (87%). The evaluations generally report positively in respect of vocational 
and basic training.  

The impact of training on employment rates in Italy 

For  Italy,  we  can  examine  the  effects  of  two  regional  Operational  Programmes  – 
‘Regional Operational Programme (ROP) Piemonte ESF’ and ‘ROP Friuli Venezia Giulia 
ESF’ – and the national ‘Operational Programme Youth Employment 2014-2020’. 
The Operational Programme in Piemonte offered vocational training either in the form 
of basic training or specialist training and the effects are measured in two comparable138 
counterfactual studies on the sample of those exiting from support in 2015 and 2016 
respectively. Both actions are not restricted to youth, but the results are disaggregated 
by  age  or  by  operation  (but  unfortunately  not  by  age  and  operation  limiting  the 
usefulness  of  the  results).  For  those  younger  than  25  attending  and  successfully 
concluding basic and specialist training courses, leads to higher employment rates by 
almost 13 percentage points around 12 months after exiting support for the 2015 cohort 
and  8  percentage  points  for  the  2016  cohort.  The  impact  of  vocational  training  is 
therefore  positive  overall.  Specialist  training  for  the  overall  sample  is  slightly  more 

137 Vouchers are an instrument of active labour market policies that may be used for various services, like 
training, settlement, internships. The recipient of a vouchers usually receives information on the objective of 
the action, and details on duration, and other relevant issues. The actual choice of the service provider is 
with the recipient of the voucher. Thus a voucher is supposed to increase the choice and personal 
responsibility of the participants in such actions.  
138 In fact, for the sample of participants exiting from support in 2015, there is one additional measure 
which is tested, namely basic training for sanitary professions, excluded from the 2016’s estimates. 

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effective than basic training (but we do not know whether this is also true for the young 
participants). Looking at participants’ characteristics, for the 2015 sample the effect is 
lower for non-EU nationals, lower for long-term unemployed (more than two years) and 
larger with courses for social workers.  
The ‘ROP Friuli Venezia Giulia ESF’ targeted adults and young people (NEETs, inactive 
and unemployed, employed at risk to be unemployed) aged 15-64 years both inactive 
and  unemployed  at  all  levels  of  education.  The  Integrated  Plan  of  Employment  and 
Labour  Policies  (PIPOL)  was  adopted  by  the  Friuli  Venezia  Giulia  Region  in  2014  and 
provides  traineeships,  VET  (off-the-job  training)  and  a  combination  of  both.  The  net 
impact of PIPOL for those younger than 30 years is 5.8 percentage points, meaning that 
PIPOL recipients are more likely than the control group to be employed at the beginning 
of 2018 (at least one year after the end of the intervention). While the average effect is 
positive,  the  evaluation  study  also  shows  some  interesting  heterogeneity  across  the 
different operations with positive effects for traineeships (+10.4 percentage points) and 
the combination of traineeships and VET (+8.6 percentage points), but negative effects 
for VET only (-2.4 percentage points).  
The  national  ‘Operational  Programme  Youth  Employment  2014-2020’  operated  in  all 
regions (except the Province of Bolzano) and targeted young NEETs aged 15-29 years 
(since  end-2017,  it  involves  also  young  unemployed  in  less  developed  and  transition 
regions)  inter  alia  with  extra-curricular  traineeship,  training,  community  service  and 
accompanying  paths  towards  self-employment.  Some  56%  of  participants  had  upper 
secondary  education,  24%  a  low  secondary  education  and  19%  higher  education. 
Considering the programme as a whole, the average effect of the treatment increases 
with  the  distance  from  the  time  at  which  participants  commence  the  supported 
intervention. The actual participation in the intervention means that in the first semester 
lock-in  effects  are  dominant  and  participants  are  in  employment  less  frequently  than 
their  counterpart  (control  group).  At  18  months  after  the  start  of  the  support 
(approximately  one  year  after  the  end  of  the  support),  average  cross-operation 
employment effects for those younger than 30 years are positive and range between 4 
percentage  points  (in  Northern  Regions)  and  17.1  percentage  points  (in  Central 
regions).  Heterogeneity  is  found  also  according  to  the  form  of  support  provided: 
traineeships  are  by  far  the  most  effective  form  of  support  (+9.5  percentage  points) 
whilst results are estimated as negative for VET (-9.2 percentage points) and community 
service (-2.4 percentage points).  

Guidance and career support lead to a better transition to work 

Guidance  and  career  support  was  ranked  4th  in  the  public  consultation  exercise  by 
organisations  either  involved  or  not  involved  in  ESF/YEI  delivery  (343  organisations 
strongly agreed/agreed that this type of operation was effective in helping young people 
into  quality  and  sustainable  employment  –  86%).  Also,  highly  rated  in  the  public 
consultation were operations that provided awareness raising and information in schools 
to  help  the  transition  to  employment.  Evaluations  suggest  that  enhanced  levels  of 
support  are  effective,  but  also  those  operations  that  target  the  long  term 
unemployed, providing the individual with the support and often the confidence to get 
back into the labour market. 

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The impact of enhanced support in France 

The  French  programmes  were  addressed  at  young  NEETs.  A  variety  of  different 
operations were implemented, including, at national level (i) an autonomy programme, 
(ii) enhanced support for young graduates from higher education who have barriers to 
hiring (e.g. no job  search method, lack of trust or no defined career  plan) and (iii) a 
youth guarantee (Garantie Jeune) which provides intensive support to employment for 
a period of one year that can be extended by six months if necessary.  
For  ‘Parcours  autonomie’  (autonomy  programme),  which  was  only  assessed  in  Nord-
Pas-de-Calais and Champagne-Ardenne, a net effect on employment, a small one, was 
only found in Nord-Pas-de-Calais (32% of participants being in work after six to eight 
months  as  against  28%  for  the  control  group  and  35%  as  against  32%  after  12-16 
months). The impact of enhanced support is visible mainly upon exit from support. After 
six  months  treated  individuals  do  not  have  a  higher  probability  of  being  employed 
(compared to the control group), but the probability of having an open-ended contract 
is 10 percentage points higher. The effects are stronger for the Youth Guarantee, which 
is  estimated  to  increase  the  chances  of  getting  a  job  18  and  24  months  after  the 
registration date of eligible young people by 9.1 and 7.3 percentage points, respectively. 
In other words: At 18 months, the employment rate of eligible young people would have 
been  24.3%  without  the  introduction  of  the  Youth  Guarantee  instead  of  33.4%.  The 
intensive accompanying of young people done by the Pole Emploi seems to lead to a 10 
percentage point higher probability of being in employment after eight months, and 5 
percentage points of being in stable employment. Participation in the regional operation, 
‘Cap avenir/métiers’ in Languedoc Roussillon is estimated to increase the probability of 
being in employment one month after exit by 9 percentage points. The same is the case 
for  participants  in  ‘Accompagnement  renforcé’  (63%  of  whom  were  in  employment 
immediately after completing the programme compared to 37% for the control group), 
but after six months, the employment rates are similar. 

Financial incentives (for employers and for self-employment) make a 
significant difference for bringing young people to employment/self-
employment 

Financial  incentives  to  employers  may  take  various  forms:  wage  subsidies  for 
employment, for apprenticeships, traineeships or internships, vouchers for employment 
or  support  for  self-employment.  Overall  positive  effects  of  these  operations  can  be 
observed.  The  public  consultation  addresses  these  operations  in  several  questions139, 
which rank 6th and 8th  compared to  others. Examples from the case studies highlight 
effective operations where businesses can claim remuneration. Given the low (bottom) 
ranking  in  the  public  consultation  for  non-remunerated  apprenticeships,  traineeships 
and  internships  (see  Figure  34)  we  can  conclude  that  financial  incentives  make  a 
significant difference in both engaging employers and young people and in subsequent 
results.  

Positive  effects  on  employment  are  recorded  in  Hungary.  In  the  YEI  programme 
participants received different types of support, mostly wage subsidies and training, in 
combination with guidance, not only work based learning. This leads to a 15% higher 
chance of being in employment after participation, but only 6% after six months. 

From the case studies, some general and specific observations can be made.  

  Wage  subsidies for  supporting  the  first  job  experience  and  self-employment 
were most effective in Slovakia in terms of employment. However, the operation 
Employment  opportunities  for  young  people  (wage  subsidy  for  long-term 

139 Subsidies to employers for apprenticeships, traineeships and internships was ranked 6th in the public 
consultation (312 organisations strongly agreed/agreed that this type of operation was effective in helping 
young people into quality and sustainable employment) with employment incentives for employers ranked 
8th (314 organisations, but a lower number of strongly agreed) 

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unemployed with the tutoring aspect) appears to be less effective. This could be 
due to the fact that it mostly targets young people who are long term unemployed 
(registered  at  the  Labour  Office  for  at  least  12  months)  and  as  such  face  more 
difficulties entering the labour market. 

  Self-employment/entrepreneurship  was  less  present  in Spain, but  it  was 

effective.  

  Vouchers,  especially  in  the  tourism  sector  in  Greece,  was one  of  the  most 
effective operations for the following reasons: the choice of the sector (one of the 
main ‘employers’ in Greece, even if it supports seasonal jobs), the high degree of 
specialisation offered to participants and the high interest of enterprises evident 
in the number of offers for the practical training of participants.  

Employment effects of financial incentives in Slovenia and Croatia 

In Slovenia, participants in the ‘First Challenge 2015 programme’ are estimated to have 
an  employment  rate  31  percentage  points  higher  than  non-participants  immediately 
after leaving the programme (79% against 48%). In Croatia, YEI employment subsidies 
are  estimated  to  have  had  the  largest  positive  effect  on  employment,  increasing  the 
rate by 27% for those concerned as compared with the control group.  

Detailed  results  for  each  target  group  of  the  public  consultation  can  be  found  in 
Annex 2, paragraph 5.4. 

The characteristics of the target groups impact on effectiveness 

There are indications that some features of the target groups have a bearing on target 
achievements.  However,  this  is  difficult  to  analyse  for  the  following  reasons:  the 
effectiveness of different operations by target  groups are difficult to present, as very 
limited  information  is  available,  if  we  discount  gender  and  active/inactive  splits,  on 
which specific target groups participated in which types of operations. This only could 
be  achieved  through  the  analysis  of  micro-data.  To  overcome  this  we  have  used  the 
econometric analysis of data at programme level, as explained in Annex 4, information 
from SFC and the results of some YEI evaluations.  Another source of information are 
success  rates, which show the proportion  of participants  who have obtained a result, 
measured  by  the  ESF/YEI  monitoring  system.  Still  there  are  some  caveats  in  the 
interpretation140. So overall, there are very few and scattered results, which do not point 
in the same direction in all cases.   

First  we  identify  different  levels  of  effectiveness  at  the  level  of  unemployed  and 
inactive persons:  

  Out of the 1.47 million YEI participants who were unemployed a total of 700 000 
have received an offer for employment, continued education, apprenticeship 
or traineeship upon leaving. This is an achievement of 47%, against a target set 
of  58%  (for  women  it  is  53%).  880  000  (59%  against  a  target  achievement  of 
60% – for women it is 51%) were in education/training to gain a qualification, 
or in employment/self-employment.  

  For  long-term  unemployed,  200  000  received  an  offer  of  employment, 
continued education, apprenticeship or traineeship upon leaving (42.5% against a 
target  achievement  of  66%–  for  women  53%)  and  250  000  were  in 
education/training (53% against a target achievement of 72% – for women 51%).  

140 Success rates need to be interpreted with caution as: (i) there might be a time lag between the entry to 
the operation and the materialisation (and reporting) of the result which is likely to generate under 
reporting of results and artificially low success rates; and (ii) there might be spontaneous dynamics 
affecting them, i.e. results which would have been achieved even in absence of the intervention, which is 
likely to overestimate the success rates. The latter might be stronger for some target groups, notably those 
closer to the labour market. 

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Net effects by labour market status in Piedmont 

In  the  Italian  region  of  Piedmont,  results  of  a  counterfactual  impact  assessment  are 
broken down by labour market status. Net effects141 are found to be slightly higher for 
those  with  an  unemployment  spell  of  one  to  two  years  than  under  one  year,  but  are 
slightly lower for the inactive and unemployed for more than two years. Differences are 
however modest. 

Second there are some differences by age group:  

  Target achievements for result indicators appear to be lower in programmes with 
high  shares  of  participants  that  are  above  25  years  of  age142,  as  shown  by  the 
econometric analysis.  

  This is also in line with the correlation of success rates and target groups. Here we 
can see that success rates for employment results are lower for the group older 
than 25 years.  

  However, the YEI evaluation in the UK observed higher levels of employment for 

older participants.  

Skill levels also influence the results:  

  Target achievements for result indicators appear to be higher for programmes in 
which  the  shares  of  low  skilled  are  higher  (following  the  econometric  analysis). 
Also the analysis of success rates indicates better results for lower skill levels.  

  A counterfactual impact evaluation in Poland found that the net effect for young 
people having left unemployment support is higher for the low skilled than for the 
high skilled.  

  In the Italian region of Friuli, the net effects of the PIPOL programme143 are of 7.5 
percentage points for the low skilled, 5.5 percentage points for the medium skilled 
and 1.5 (not statistically significant) for the high skilled.  

  In the Slovakia case study it was shown, that better educated participants (with a 
University degree) are more likely to be employed shortly after the completion of 
the practice.  

  The  Poland  case  study  reported  on  differentiated  by  skill  level  and  type  of 
operation:  people  with  lower  secondary  education  used  the  training  vouchers 
more, while people with higher education used grants for starting up business and 
settlement vouchers.  

Disadvantaged  persons:  The  success  rate  for  the  share  of  migrants  and  other 
disadvantaged tend to be positively correlated with the indicator ‘any results’,144 which 
might be due to the fact that for these target groups often interventions aim at further 
education or up-skilling or just starting to look for a job – and not directly employment. 

141  In  simple  terms,  the  net  effect  is  calculated  as  share  of  individuals  receiving  support  who  are  in 
employment minus share of individuals from their control group (who have not received support) who are in 
employment.  
142 Following the econometric analysis for each additional percentage point of people aged above 25 years 
old in a programme, the econometric analysis indicates a reduction of 0.44 points of target achievement 
143 The PIPOL programme is a programme funded by the ESF under TO8 in Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italian region) 
which targeted both young as well as older inactive and unemployed through the provision of support in the 
form of: (i) vocational and educational training; (ii) work-based learning and (iii) a combination of the two.  
144 This is the sum of all 4 common immediate result indicators, with the exception of CR05 – which indicates 
the share of disadvantaged having achieved a result and it is thus focused on a sub sample of the participants.  

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4.1.6  EQ 1.6 What main factors (geographical, socioeconomic, 

organisational…) had the biggest impact in the effectiveness of ESF 
and YEI operations in respect of youth employment, by type of 
operation? 

Socio-economic  factors,  including  lack  of  employment  opportunities,  in  addition  to 
the administrative capacity of the Managing Authorities and beneficiaries as well as 
the  composition  of  the  target  audience  (e.g.  presence  of  harder  to  reach  individuals) 
have  been  cited  as  factors  that  can  affect  negatively  the  progress  of 
implementation  as  well  as  results  achieved  by  participants  at  the  end  of  the 
operations, although the analysis from the YEI evaluations is less clear-cut. Geographic 
factors  have  some  impact  on  the  effectiveness  and  efficiency  of  operations,  with 
interventions in rural areas tending to be more difficult and costly to implement but the 
evidence of employment effects varying between region types is limited. 

In  macroeconomic  terms  and  based  on  the  experimental  simulation  from  RHOMOLO, 
effects  in  the  medium  to  long  run  appear  to  be  stronger  in  regions  that  (i)  are  net 
receiver  of  EU  support,  (ii)  have  larger  labour  supply  and  (iii)  have  stronger 
export orientation. Caution should be taken in interpreting them as they might also 
reflect  the  situation  that  operations  are  still  ongoing  and  data  might  be  affected  by 
under-reporting. However, changes in input data should strongly affect these dynamics. 

Several factors influence the overall effectiveness of YEI and ESF youth 
employment operations 

In  this  section  we  review  a  range  of  factors  that  have  the  biggest  impact  on  the 
effectiveness  of  YEI  and  ESF  youth  employment  operations.  Our  starting  point  is  the 
public  consultation  exercise  where  organisations  were  asked  which  factors  had  the 
greatest impact on effectiveness, with the integration of YEI/ESF operations in general 
youth  policies  (including  national  policies)  as  the  highest  rated  in  terms  of  strongly 
agree/agree to the presented statement  (see Figure 35). Organisations were asked a 
slightly different question  – naming the factors that hindered the achievement  of the 
objectives  of  the  ESF  and  YEI  in  the  field  of  youth  employment  (Figure  36)  with 
difficulties to reach out and structural problems (e.g. lack of employment opportunities, 
educational calibre of participants) as the two main factors). 

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  Factors contributing to the success of youth employment operations funded 

by the ESF or the YEI 

Question: To what extent do you agree or disagree that these factors contributed to the 
success of youth employment measures funded by the ESF or the YEI? (Group C and D, 
no.=277) 

Source: Final Report, Public Consultation on the Evaluation of the EU Support to Youth Employment by the 
Youth Employment Initiative and the European Social Fund. Study supporting the 2019 evaluation of youth 
employment (VC/2018/0175) 

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  Main factors hindering the achievement of the objectives of the ESF and 

the YEI in the field of youth employment 

Question:  In  your  experience,  which  are  the  three  main  factors  hindering  the 
achievement of the objectives of the ESF and the YEI in the field of youth employment? 
(Group C and D, no.=399) 

Source: Final Report, Public Consultation on the Evaluation of the EU Support to Youth Employment by the 
Youth Employment Initiative and the European Social Fund. Study supporting the 2019 evaluation of youth 
employment (VC/2018/0175) 

Geographical factors influence effectiveness 

The  main  geographical  factor  to  emerge  as  having  an  influence  on  effectiveness  of 
operations  was  the  difference  between  urban  and  rural  areas.  The  responding 
organisations  to  the  public  consultation  found  that  the  ESF/YEI  is  relatively  less 
successful  in  supporting  young  people  in  rural  and/or  remote  areas.  The  case 
studies provide examples where this is the case.  

In Spain, actions taking place in large cities were considered more effective than those 
in rural areas, in particular as actions in rural areas generally tend to be more expensive 
due to the larger distances and lesser infrastructure. Cost differences due to travel were 
evident in Portugal Azores, where the cost of traineeship varies between islands, for 
both trainees and trainers who may have to travel from one island to another to receive 
or  give  the  training.  In  mainland  Portugal  there  were  also  some  cost  differences  in 
regions where trainees had to travel to another location, when there were not enough 
participants to justify a training in the place where they live. 

The socio-economic context has a greater impact on results than outputs 

ESF and YEI are focused on regions with higher than average youth unemployment as 
opposed to regions that had favourable youth employment figures in 2014 and further 
improved since then (Cluster A). This shows how ESF as well as YEI has been targeted 
at clusters of regions where youth unemployment is highest (clusters B, C and D). 
While  the  econometric  analysis  has  shown  that  the  socio-economic  context  does  not 

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seem to play a major role in the achievement  of targets for  output indicators for the 
YEI,  regions  with  less  favourable  economic  contexts  show  comparatively  lower 
achievement  rates  for  ESF.  ESF  in  regions  with  a  weak  start  and  limited  progress 
(Cluster D) had more difficulties to reach the targeted number of individuals whereas 
ESF investments in regions with improvements in the socio-economic context advanced 
more  steadily  towards  their  targets.  This  suggests  that  the  socio-economic  context 
affects the achievement of targets for result indicators to a larger extent than for that 
of output. A high share (47.4%) of organisations responding to the public consultation 
consider structural problems (such as lack of employment opportunities, low education 
of  participants)  a  hindering  factor  to  the  achievement  of  ESF  and  YEI  objectives,  in 
addition  to  a  lack  of  flexibility  to  adapt  the  operations  to  changing  socio-economic 
contexts. 

The  characteristics  of  the  young  person  are  also  important  determinants  of 
effectiveness (see also section 4.1.5) 

Those  from  disadvantaged  groups  perform  less  well  in  achieving  sustainable 
employment. For some in this group, employment entry is not an immediate objective 
or option, whereas confidence building, gaining qualifications and some experience (not 
just employment) are key outcomes. Indeed, the targeting of YEI participants has a 
significant impact on results and to the extent to which comparisons can be made. 

However, one should also be wary that higher results shown by people closer to 
the  labour  market  might  well  just  reflect  the  employment  chances  they  would 
have  had,  even  in  absence  of  support.  Unfortunately,  comparative  evidence  from 
counterfactual analysis by target group collected to date is scarce. This makes it hard 
to formulate a judgment. Two evaluations in Poland and in one region in Italy (Friuli) 
warrant  attention  as  net  effects  were  larger  for  those  at  a  greater  distance  from  the 
labour market and lower employment rates in these cases. The occurrence of stronger 
net  effects  for  the  low  skilled  is  however  in  line  with  cumulative  evidence  from  the 
literature on Active Labour Market Policies.  

Management capacity, partnership working and good governance contribute 
to effectiveness 

As we saw in the section answering evaluation question 1.1 above, structural challenges 
relate  not  only  to  the  socio-economic  context  but  also  to  the  capacity  of  Managing 
Authorities and beneficiaries to deal with complex programming requirements, including 
eligibility criteria for the NEETs under the YEI and engaging with relevant stakeholders, 
particularly  in  regional  programmes  where  the  successful  implementation  of  projects 
depends on the collaboration between the various governance levels and actors.  

The 2018 YEI evaluations reveal that prior experience and continuity is a contributing 
factor to effective management. In some case studies experience in managing similar 
actions  was  reported  to  have  facilitated  the  implementation  of  YEI  in  the  Brussels-
Capital region Operational Programme and in Cyprus. Experience in managing similar 
actions was also highlighted in Portugal in the case of professional traineeships and in 
Germany for the work-based learning operations. In Ireland, the long history of some 
actions (like the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance, which has existed since 1993 or 
‘Community  Training  Centres’)  is  considered  to  contribute  to  the  success  of  YEI.  In 
Croatia, the fact that the actions supported were already in existence before (but used 
to  be  financed  from  the  national  budget,  IPA  or  the  ESF)  was  considered  to  be  an 
important success factor.  

Good  governance  was  widely  seen  as  an  essential  success  factor  in  the  YEI 
evaluations. This is illustrated in Sweden, where the high quality implementation of the 
operations (the competence of staff, and the low staff turnover) is regarded as a major 
success factor. The  same  applies to the case  in Italy, where the reform  of the  public 
employment service in 2015 was critical in improving the way services were organised 
and led to more staff being available to provide support across the country. In Lithuania 

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as  well,  the  experience  and  competences  of  the  YEI  coordinators  were  considered  as 
critical factors for the performance and implementation of the programme. 

Partnership was also mentioned in several of the YEI evaluations as a crucial element 
supporting implementation, as well in the public consultation exercise. For instance, in 
Brussels-Capital  Region,  cooperation  between  Actiris  and  other  partners  improved 
access to support for low qualified young people or those living in jobless households. 
In  Flanders  and  Wallonia  the  partnership  between  NGOs,  local  authorities  and  civil 
society are crucial to reaching young people who are furthest from the labour market 
and do not register with the public employment service.  

The  Managing  Authorities  analysed  how  to  better  reach  and  identify  NEETs  and 
concluded  that  setting  common  objectives  to  work  together  in  the  field  allows 
beneficiaries to consider themselves as partners rather than competitors. In Germany, 
as shown by the case  study, regional networks were also set up to better  coordinate 
services for young people with quite some success. In UK-England, the importance of 
developing a partnership with Jobcentre Plus was stressed, while in Bulgaria, partnership 
with  NGOs  and  municipalities  was  considered  an  essential  element.  Cooperation  as  a 
success  factor  for  the  effectiveness  of  programmes  was  also  mentioned  in  Spain 
between  the  public  employment  service  and  NGOs  and  in  Malta  between  the  public 
employment  service,  the  National  Youth  Agency,  the  National  Agency  for  Children, 
Families  and  the  Community  and  youth  centres.  In  Poland,  labour  offices  throughout 
the country and  Voluntary Labour  Corps and their regional networks  cooperated with 
local institutions (schools, work centres, clinics and others). As the analysis in the region 
of Emilia Romagna in Italy shows, a key element for the success of the operations is a 
strong partnership among all territorial stakeholders, public and private alike.  

The Managing Authorities participating in the EU-level focus group also confirmed that 
cooperation among actors, in particular among employers and employment services 
is  key  to  an  efficient  implementation  of  youth  employment  operations.  This  can  only 
happen if the training offer is in line with the skills needs of companies or when there is 
a financial incentive for companies. 

The ability to reach and support target groups also determines the 
effectiveness of operations 

Reaching the target groups is frequently mentioned, e.g. in the public consultation, as 
having the single biggest impact on effectiveness (see Figure 36). Approximately six out 
of ten organisations responded to the public consultation that the main hindering factor 
was the difficulty to reach out to target groups followed by structural problems such as 
lack  of  employment  opportunities  and  low  education  of  participants.  Outreach  has 
already been discussed under EQ 1.3 but it should be mentioned here that successfully 
reaching target groups has an impact on the effectiveness of the programmes. This was 
also  confirmed  at  the  EU-level  focus  group  where  Managing  Authorities  agreed  that 
reaching those furthest from the labour market, i.e. young NEETs, was essential to the 
success of the programmes. Three main elements were identified as essential: outreach 
work on the ground, the staff on the ground having the right qualifications and skills, 
and the use of innovative channels to reach young people.  

Young NEETs are a very heterogeneous group, with a variety of specific barriers to 
participation in the labour market. In order to achieve the goal of decreasing the overall 
rate  of  young  NEETs,  policies  and  operations  must  be  supported  by  a  better 
understanding of the NEET population, and the specific challenges they face. The greater 
involvement of youth organisations is key in this regard.  

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The RHOMOLO model suggest regions that are net receivers of EU support, 
have larger a labour supply and have stronger export orientation may benefit 
more from YEI and ESF operations in the medium/longer-term 

Some  evidence  on  factors  which,  from  a  macroeconomic  perspective,  can  affect  the 
overall macroeconomic impacts of support of the ESF/YEI for youth employment in the 
medium to long run (up to 2030) are discussed in the simulation carried out through 
RHOMOLO. Although the model relies on several simplifying assumptions as anticipated 
in section 1.3, some key insights can be drawn from it.  

In general, it was found that effects in the medium to long run are stronger in regions 
that (i) are net receivers of EU support, (ii) have larger labour supply and (iii) have 
stronger export orientation. This is particularly apparent if one looks at multipliers 
in terms of euros generated per euro invested.  

In geographical terms this means that regions such as the north of Italy, the north of 
Spain, and the area of Brussels might be well placed to reap the benefits of the youth 
employment  support,  given  the  combination  of  high  funding  in  view  of  the 
(comparatively) high youth unemployment rates but also strong export orientation and 
capacity  to  attract  workers  also  from  other  regions.  Conversely,  regions  with  higher 
level of imports and low labour intensity may risk not benefitting in the long run from 
these productivity enhancing investments in human capital as they cannot satisfy the 
increased demand through internal resources. In addition, the newly upskilled workforce 
in  regions  with  low  labour  intensity  might  be  attracted  in  regions  where  salaries  and 
employment opportunities are higher. The level of displacement of private investments 
due to public investments is also higher in regions with lower labour participation. 

However, the sensitivity analysis carried out by the JRC on these results also shows that 
multipliers  are  significantly  affected  by  the  unit costs of the operations,  which,  as 
explained  below  in  EQ2  (efficiency)  are  subject  to  great  volatility  given  the  ongoing 
nature  of  data  entry.  In  addition,  whilst  unit  costs  might  differ  in  relation  to  the 
specificity  of  support  provided,  to  keep  the  analysis  tractable  some  simplifying 
assumptions are used in RHOMOLO. These mean that results of the simulations might 
not  entirely  reflect  the  actual  increases  in  participants’  productivity  linked  to  slightly 
different  forms  of  support  with  different  unit  costs.  Thus,  such  analyses  should  be 
replicated in the future if more granular145 data becomes available.  

4.1.7  EQ 1.7 To what extent YEI and ESF contributed to structural changes 

in national education systems, vocational training systems, public 
employment systems or youth policies?  

YEI and the ESF have contributed in some cases (as regards the YEI, indirectly as it 
is targeted towards individuals and not systems), to structural changes in national 
systems  of  education  and  training  and  public  employment  systems.  The 
influence  on  youth  policies  is  perhaps  more  evident  as  YEI  and  ESF  contributed  to 
raising  awareness  of  the  challenges  facing  young  people,  especially  those  further 
away from the labour market, to access training and the labour market, and to create 
interventions to support them. 

The programmes have raised awareness of youth, in particular NEET, issues and, as 
a  consequence,  provoked  changes  in  strategic  approaches  and  services  for  young 

145 It would be necessary, to start with, to have a disaggregation by labour market status and skill level of 
the participants to support linked to the results recorded for them. In very simple terms it would be necessary 
to know whether a given level of employment rate belongs, e.g. to the inactive or unemployed and if they 
were inactive, were they low or high skilled, in which exact region and so on. But, on the other hand, it is also 
a matter of data of better quality. Quality means for instance granular data on net effects from counterfactual 
impact evaluations (not just employment rates) as well as granular data on costs which are reliable enough. 
In the future one can expect further efforts to make the data more granular (i.e. through the consolidation of 
micro-data) and of better quality (i.e. more  counterfactual impact evaluations, more stable information on 
unit costs, as the operations come to an end). 

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people.  According  to  59%  of  respondents  from  organisations  in  the  public 
consultation, employment operations by the ESF or the YEI successfully contributed 
to  the  promotion  of  structural  reforms  in  employment,  education  and  training 
systems. 

The ESF/YEI has brought about some significant changes in the strategic approach 
of  public  employment  services  and  other  bodies  to  youth  unemployment,  including 
cooperation between different actors in the field and adjustments in services. 

The support from the ESF and YEI has contributed positively to structural 
reform in employment, education and training systems 

According to more than half of respondents  from organisations (59.0%) in the public 
consultation,  employment  operations  by  the  European  Social  Fund  or  the  Youth 
Employment Initiative successfully contributed to the promotion of structural reforms in 
employment, education and training systems (although it was not a specific objective 
of YEI). We also draw examples from the case studies.  

The  main  impact  of  YEI  and  ESF  funding  for  young  people  across  Operational 
Programmes has been a change in the way public employment services and other actors 
involved in employment policy work and approach the youth employment issues. The 
effectiveness  of  a  multi-stakeholder  and  governance  system  (e.g.  increasing 
collaboration among different organisations and types of professionals) is mentioned by 
several respondents in the public consultation, as a factor that can help to increase the 
quality of work through mutual learning.  

Similar  evidence  has  been  obtained  from  the  case  studies.  In  Saxony-Anhalt  and 
North-Rhine-Westphalia, the two initiatives RÜMSA and KAoA, which bring together 
all  the  relevant  actors  in  the  field  of  youth  employment  in  the  region,  are  bringing 
about a system change by coordinating support offered to young people. KAoA 
has potential to spin-off into a broader municipal policy making and coordination tool. 

In Italy, the national YEI Operational Programme introduced several innovative 
elements in the way active labour market policy for young people is provided 
(e.g.  profiling,  standard  costs,  strengthening  of  the  public  employment 
services). These are contributing to the implementation of active labour market policy 
reforms  that  have  been  introduced  in  the  past  years.  Furthermore,  the  multi-level 
governance approach between the national and the regional levels has introduced an 
innovative way of working, with the central level setting up tools and systems and the 
regional  level  implementing  and  customising  the  operations.  This  approach  was 
particularly useful in ensuring an adequate level of implementation of the national YEI 
Operational  Programme,  thanks  to  a  close  monitoring  by  the  central  level  and  the 
provision of accompanying operations. 

In  Portugal,  the  implementation  of  the  Youth  Guarantee  through  the  YEI 
helped to speed up and expand the public employment service’s intervention, 
reaching a more diverse target group of young people, enhancing territorial coverage, 
introducing new outreach channels (e.g. a specific position was created in job centres 
to assist companies and universities). The solid new network of partners in the context 
of the Youth Guarantee allowed the capturing of inactive young people (who were not 
registered at the public employment service). The change in the Azores programme of 
the  local  public  employment  service  from  employment  centres  to  agencies  for 
qualification and employment is a positive step towards this paradigm shift within public 
employment services. 

In  Poland,  the  project  experience  introduced  some  changes  -  introduced  in 
June  2019  -  that mean  that  statutory  forms  of  support  that  were  previously 
not allowed can now be offered to young people. Consequently, labour offices have 
much  more  freedom  when  choosing  a  form  of  assistance  offered  to  the  unemployed, 
based on a more personalised support and not following predefined profiles. In addition, 

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steps were taken to prevent employment in the form of fixed term contracts that do not 
provide full benefits and employee protection. 

In Belgium Wallonia and in Greece, thanks to the YEI, NEETs are to become a 
cross-cutting issue in the national/regional public policy. In Greece, it is expected 
that  in  the  coming  years,  thematic  youth  strategies  will  take  into  account  the 
implementation  and  approaches  of  YEI.  A  typical  example  is  the  introduction  of  the 
concept  of  'quality  employment'  in  the  updated  version  of  the  Greek  Action  Plan. 
Likewise, the 'Youth 2017-2027' framework is inspired from the YEI actions, as a vehicle 
for  adapting  European  decisions,  directives  and  priorities  for  young  people  in  Greece 
over a 10-year period. At the same time, the new generation of integrated interventions 
for training, certification, internships and subsidies for new jobs in sectors such as agri-
food, processing, circular economy, ICTs, economic science and theoretical sciences is 
expected to be funded and based on the experience of the YEI. A similar effect can be 
detected  in  France,  where,  despite  the  difficulties  of  adapting  to  a  ‘new’  definition  of 
NEETs,  the  YEI  has  contributed  to  raising  the  awareness  and  the  knowledge  of  the 
heterogeneity of this group. Likewise, in Italy policy makers and  employment service 
providers  have  increased  their  knowledge  and,  most  importantly,  their  capacity  to 
answer to the needs of the NEETs and new tools and instruments have been deployed. 

4.2 

Efficiency 

EQ 2. Efficiency: How efficient has the YEI, and other youth-employment 
operations funded by the ESF, been in the achievement of their objectives? 

The assessment of efficiency is drawn from various strands of evidence, all 
of which have their limitations, not the least of which is that the assessment of cost- 
effectiveness  at  this  stage  –  and  especially  in  respect  of  results  -  with  incomplete 
operations  and  often,  incomplete  data  or  under-reported  results,  is  likely  to 
underestimate the true cost-effectiveness of youth employment operations.  

What we can observe from the evidence is that: 

  Vocational  education  and  training  (VET)  is  the  operation  most  frequently 
mentioned  as  a  cost-effective  youth  employment  operation,  from  the  public 
consultation  of  organisations  delivering  ESF/YEI  and  other  organisations, 
whereas community and voluntary work is the least cost effective (and 
also  the  least  effective  based  on  the  same  consultation).  Other  evidence 
highlights  the  cost-effectiveness  of  VET,  if  linked  to  work  experience  and/or 
closely  linked  to  employer  needs,  although  we  do  have  some  contradictory 
findings  from  some  of  the  YEI  evaluations.  These  evaluations  highlight 
integrated pathways and work based learning as being more cost effective than 
other operations. 

  Cost-effectiveness is not determined by costs alone. Indeed, vocation education 
and  training  can  involve  high  costs,  but  has  also  shown  to  be  effective  in 
different contexts, when linked to work experience, justifying higher costs. 

  Measures of unit costs are flawed, with too great a degree of variation, but an 
overall benchmark is helpful in guiding policy and the allocation of resources. 
Using  the  available  evidence,  the  average  unit  costs  are  within  the 
expected norms (e.g. broadly comparable with analogous past programmes). 
However, if the unit costs are too low this may suggest that resources are being 
spread too thinly and/or with more limited impact.  

  There  is  little  differentiation  between  YEI  and  ESF  among  countries  (the 
nature  of  the  operations  and  their  intensity/duration  is  what  primarily 
determines costs). 

  The visibility of ESF/YEI employment operations can be improved. This will 
also  help  outreach  and  the  recruitment  of  participants.  Member  States  have 
employed  a  variety  of  approaches  from  social  media  campaigns  to  more 

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effective  partnering  with  public  employment  services,  but  more  needs  to  be 
done to increase visibility and raise awareness. 

4.2.1  EQ 2.1. To what extent were operations cost-effective? What types of 

operations were more and less cost-effective? In what contexts? 
What were the determining factors? 

There are wide variations in costs and costs/participation or costs/result. The 
type of operation is a key determinant although varying durations of operations limits 
comparisons. There are also examples of high cost but highly effective operations that 
can be perceived as more cost-effective than some low cost but relatively ineffective 
operations.  

The  public  consultation  provides  some  of  the  strongest  evidence  and  highlights 
vocational  education  and  training  as  the  most  cost-effective  operation  and 
community and voluntary work as the least effective, mirroring the assessment 
of  effectiveness  in  the  same  consultation  exercise.  The  former  is  seen  as  a  more 
worthwhile investment in terms of getting young people into employment, especially 
where such training is strongly related to employers. 

However,  vocational  training  will  not  suit  all  elements  of  the  NEET  client  group, 
especially those furthest away from work. For these groups, basic skills training and 
guidance and related support is ranked highly as being cost effective from the public 
consultation exercise. 

The methodologies for ‘calculating’ cost-effectiveness have their limitations 
meaning it is important to draw evidence from multiple sources 

Measuring  cost  effectiveness  represents  the  greatest  challenge  for  this 
evaluation study. A review of unit costs (participations/results vs. cost of inputs) has 
several methodological limitations. The data are sometimes incomplete and results do 
not generally cover the full story, either the period by which operations are completed 
and results obtained (a problem for a mid-term evaluation) with ongoing operations.  

We have already seen in the preceding sections that results can improve over time and 
that  there  is  under-reporting  of  results  including  soft  outcomes.  As  explained  in 
Annex 4a, a sufficiently precise estimate of unit costs remains problematic. Likewise, 
a reliable estimate of cost-effectiveness can only be provided after this information gap 
has been closed, and ideally where data have been provided for interventions for which 
matching impact evaluations have been found. 

A further complication is the nature of the operation and the client group. Even broadly 
similar operations can be quite different in execution and duration which could lead to 
an unfair comparison of ‘apples’ and ‘pears’. Nevertheless, with these caveats in mind 
and if we avoid inter-country comparisons – given wide variations in figures that cannot 
be simply explained - we may observe some patterns that can be tested further 
in a full ex-post evaluation.  

We  therefore  include  some  figures  from  the  SFC2014  database,  the  Simplified  Cost 
Options study146 which provides some possible benchmarks, and the evidence from the 
case studies and the evaluations which pin point some specific examples and give some 
indication of cost effectiveness. The evaluations provide some interesting evidence but 
ideally we would need to have a significant number of comparable counterfactual impact 
evaluations across the Member States and types of operation, which are not available. 

We have also discussed earlier – and return to in Chapter 5, Lessons Learned and Good 
Practice – that the focus on outreach to vulnerable and hard to reach groups has meant 
that effective operations require a significant investment in identifying, recruiting and 

146 Study on Developing “off-the-shelf” Simplified Cost Options (SCO) 

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supporting – often with a high level of intensity  – those from vulnerable and hard to 
reach groups, which implies additional costs. This is pertinent given earlier statements 
in this report that inactive NEETs are an increasing proportion of all NEETs.  

Based  on  the  public  consultation,  vocational  education  and  training  was 
mentioned  most  as  a  cost-effective  operation  for  both  YEI  and  ESF  youth 
employment operation, with community and voluntary work the lowest 

Another  source  of  information  is  the  public  consultation  where  cost  effectiveness  is 
defined as resources invested being proportionate to the results achieved.  

The  public  consultation  received  209  responses  from  organisations  involved  in  the 
implementation of ESF youth employment and 206 for YEI, as shown in Figure 37 and 
Figure 38 below. The public consultation is a key source for a qualitative assessment of 
the types of operations perceived to be more cost effective.  

Starting with the public consultation there are broadly similar responses for ESF and YEI 
with  most  respondents  from  organisations  involved  in  the  management  of  ESF/YEI 
agreeing on the highest level of cost-effectiveness for vocational education and 
training activities (87.6% ESF, 83% YEI%) followed by apprenticeships, traineeships 
and internships (83.3% ESF, 82.5% YEI), basic skills training (80.9% ESF, 79.1% YEI) 
and  guidance  and  career  support  (80.4%  ESF,  76.7%).  In  common  with  the  public 
consultation  responses  on  effectiveness,  voluntary  and  community  work  was 
ranked  the  worst  in  respect  of  cost-effectiveness.  Variations  between 
countries were not deemed significant.  

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  Cost-effectiveness of activities implemented through ESF 

Question:  To  what  extent  do  you  agree  or  disagree  that  the  following  activities 
implemented through the ESF were cost-effective? (Group C, no=209) 

Source: Draft Final Report, Public Consultation on the Evaluation of the EU Support to Youth Employment by 
the Youth Employment Initiative and the European Social Fund 

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  Cost-effectiveness of activities implemented through YEI 

Question:  To  what  extent  do  you  agree  or  disagree  that  the  following  activities 
implemented through the Youth Employment Initiative were cost-effective? (Group C, 
no.=206) 

Source: Draft Final Report, Public Consultation on the Evaluation of the EU Support to Youth Employment by 
the Youth Employment Initiative and the European Social Fund 

The responses generally correspond with those for effectiveness but for one variation – 
the  cost-effectiveness  of  financial incentives,  be  this  support  for  the  remuneration  to 
business  through  employment  subsidies  and/or  support  to  businesses  in  delivering 
apprenticeships,  traineeships  and  internships.  Whilst  there  were  relatively  few 
responses to the open question ‘could you explain why you consider these activities not 
cost effective?’, 23 in the case of ESF and 19 for YEI, some patterns emerge.  

Respondents mentioned that sometimes companies hire young people primarily to gain 
short-term  subsidies,  sometimes  at  the  expense  of  building  longer  term  capacity 
through vocational training focusing on vocational training. However, there were also 

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suggestions  that  cost  subsidies  to  employers  came  with  considerable  administrative 
costs – and that the processes were overly complex – or that incentives were too short 
term, rendering them less attractive to employers. In addition, the consultation exercise 
highlighted  the  relative  –  limited  -  utility  of  subsidies  for  the  more  disadvantaged 
groups, who require more intense support, often over a longer time period. 

Unit  cost  data,  albeit  with  limitations,  shows  that  ESF  and  YEI  youth 
employment  operations,  whilst  higher,  are  broadly  in  line  with  other 
‘benchmarks’ 

With  the  above  caveats  in  mind  the  results  of  comparing  the  number  of  individual 
participants registered against the total eligible expenditure declared are presented in 
Table 13 below147.  

Overall,  the  table  shows  an  average  cost  per  participation  in  ESF  8.ii  (the 
sustainable integration into the labour market of young people) investments 
of EUR 1 854, and EUR 2 035 for YEI, which is higher than the average unit cost for 
TO8  (thematic  objective  –  promoting  sustainable  and  quality  employment  and 
supporting local mobility) overall (at EUR 1 390). These figures are also higher than the 
unit costs that were found in the update of the ex-post evaluation of ESF 2007-2013 for 
Access  to  Employment  (EUR  1  215),  for  youth.  The  aggregated  figures  mask 
significant differences across Member States but as stated earlier the figures are 
provided  here  for  context  and  to  help  guide  future  evaluations,  rather  than  deeper 
scrutiny at national level. 

147 The total number of participants is calculated by summing common output indicators 1, 3, and 5, which 
present exclusive and complete types of output indicators for individuals participating in an operation. 

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Study for the Evaluation of ESF Support to Youth Employment 

  Eligible expenditures declared to EC per participation 

ESF 

MS 

Total participation 
8ii 

Expenditure 
declared 8.ii 
(xEUR million) 

Overall unit cost 
8.ii 
(EUR) 

Overall unit 
costs TO8 
(EUR) 

Total 
participation 

YEI 

Expenditure 
declared 
(xEUR million) 

Overall unit 
cost 

BE  
BG  
CY  
CZ  
DE  
ES  
FR  
EL  
HR  
HU  
IE  
IT  
LT  
LU  
LV  
MT  
PL  
PT  
RO  
SE  
SI  
SK  
UK  
EU  

 109 080  
 8 208  
 1 653  

 -    

 83 675  
 5 478  
 36 650  

 -    

 9 646  
 70 468  

 -    

 458 166  

 -    

 4 208  

 -    

 2 632  
 190 948  

 -    

 617  
 14 706  
 10 235  

 -    

 114 578  
 1 120 948  

 33.8  
 142.7  
 6.2  

 -    

 341.2  
 4.5  
 123.8  

 -    

 47.5  
 136.7  

 -    

 450.6  

 -    

 5.0  
 7.0  
 1.8  
 373.9  
 177.6  
 1.1  
 81.8  
 33.1  

 -    

 259.6  
 2 228.1 

 310  
 17 711  
 3 727  
- 
 4 078  
 805  
 3 748  
- 
 4 925  
 1 940  
- 
 1 017  
- 
 1 184  
- 
 680  
 1 958  
- 
 1 557  
 5 564  
 3 235  
- 
 2 265  
 1 854  

 698  
 16 035  
 3 664  
 2 831  
 3 009  
 626  
 1 498  
 2 748  
 4 136  
 2 188  
 7 717  
 691  
 1 678  
 1 402  
 955  
 1 551  
 1 885  
 456  
 2 154  
 6 759  
 2 806  
 1 847  
 1 706  
 1 390  

 142 993  
 46 529  
 5 133  
 4 059  

 -    

 751 704  
 459 125  
 60 893  
 24 220  
 40 001  
 12 043  
 494 178  
 61 321  

 -    

 29 498  

 -    

 266 308  
 59 276  
 1 268  
 28 764  
 2 985  
 88 044  
 74 891  
 2 653 233  

 39.7  
 76.7  
 15.9  
 20.6  

 -    

 1 466.3  
 623.0  
 157.6  
 115.1  
 120.2  
 117.3  
 1 273.9  
 62.7  

 -    

 59.3  

 -    

 536.4  
 332.5  
 0.9  
 101.4  
 19.3  
 90.1  
 169.0  
 5 397.8  

 278  
 1 648  
 3 088  
 5 084  
- 
 1 951  
 1 359  
 2 588  
 4 754  
 3 005  
 9 738  
 2 578  
 1 023  
- 
 2 012  
- 
 2 014  
 5 609  
 715  
 3 524  
 6 449  
 1 023  
 2 257  
 2 035  

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019. The EU averages are weighted to reflect total expenditures. Bulgaria is not included in the EU 
average unit costs for 8.ii. We believe there is an anomaly that is being investigated by the Managing Authority.  

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The  DG  EMPL  study,  “Developing  ‘off-the-shelf’  Simplified  Cost  Options  (SCO)  under 
Article 14.1 of the European Social Fund (ESF) Regulation” had the purpose to support 
the Commission in its efforts to establish EU level SCOs. One of the three policy areas 
for  which  SCOs  should  be  established  was  training  of  the  unemployed.  This  was 
calculated  based  on  the  cost  of  a  successful  exit  from  an  intervention,  whereby 
‘successful  exit’  refers  to  “a  participant  leaving  an  intervention  and  obtaining  a 
certificate, accreditation or other national operation providing sufficient assurance that 
his/her  training  was  successfully  completed  (based  on  national  practice  of  a  Member 
State)”148. The main source of data used was the Labour Market Policy (LMP) database. 
The study came up with potential unit cost rates for training of all unemployed, not only 
young people149. Comparative data from the SCO study, this study and the work on TO8 
is included in Table 14. 

Interestingly, we have similarly higher than average rates for Germany, Ireland and 
Sweden150  in  the  SCO  study  as  in  this  youth  employment  study.  For  Germany,  the 
explanation given is that typical interventions in Germany are characterised by a long 
duration for participants (12 months and over). In Ireland, specific target groups, such 
as the socially excluded, long-term unemployed, and youth are targeted. For Sweden, 
we do not have a specific reason although other variables including type of operation 
and duration come into play.  

In most cases, the costs do not readily compare, even between TO8 averages and 
the SCO, although Greece has broadly similar unit costs. They can, as they are intended 
in the SCO study, be taken as an indication of average costs but with the caveat that 
there  may  be  significant  variations  depending  on  reporting  and  timing  as  highlighted 
above. 

148 Developing “off-the-shelf” Simplified Cost Options (SCO) under Article 14.1 if the European Social Fund 
(ESF) Regulation, PPMI for DG EMPL, April 2018 
149 The study concludes that “considering the rigorous data verification process that the data in the sample 
has  undergone,  […]  that  these  unit  costs  reflect  the  specific  training  practices  in  those  Member  States”. 
Extrapolated  unit  cost  values  were  established  for  seven  Member  States  using  the  ‘ordinary  least  squares 
(OLS) regression’ model to predict missing values based on the available data. 
150 Luxemburg is a significant outlier for which no explanation is given in the report so we also leave it out. 

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  Comparison of unit costs between different data sources (in EUR) 

8.ii 

TO8 

Overall 

Overall  

National 

ESF co-
funded 

active 
population 

active 
population 

MS 

BE 

BG 

CY 

CZ 

DE 

ES 

FR 

EL 

HR 

HU 

IE 

IT 

LT 

LU 

LV 

MT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SE 

SI 

SK 

UK 

ESF monitoring 
data  

310 

698 

 17 711 

 16 035 

 3 727 

- 

 4 078 

805 

 3 748 

- 

 4 925 

 1 940 

- 

 1 017 

- 

 1 184 

- 

680 

 1 958 

- 

 1 557 

 5 564 

 3 235 

- 

 2 265 

 3 664 

 2 831 

 3 009 

626 

 1 498 

 2 748 

 4 136 

 2 188 

 7 717 

691 

 1 678 

 1 402 

955 

 1 551 

 1 885 

456 

 2 154 

 6 759 

 2 806 

 1 847 

 1 706 

 YEI 
monitoring 
data 

 YEI 
evaluations 
2018 

 LMP database 2017 

SCO 
study1)  

SCO  
study2)  

278 

 1 648 

 3 088 

 5 084 

- 

 1 951 

 1 359 

 2 588 

 4 754 

 3 005 

 9 738 

 2 578 

 1 023 

- 

 2 012 

- 

 2 014 

 5 609 

715 

 3 524 

 6 449 

 1 023 

 2 257 

1 278 

3 000 

1 602 

224 

3 680 

5 700 

2 500 

700 

5 900 

14 500 

4 300 

4 000 

800 

2 500 

4 800 

6 000 

5 700 

5 400 

5 500 

3 351 

596 

2 696 

521 

6 959 

2 772 

6 274 

4 299 

1 818 

16 800 

17 800 

11 119 

3 900 

3 600 

16 000 

700 

8700 

3 500 

2 500 

1 400 

15 100 

6 300 

5 800 

45 700 

4 200 

5 600 

3 300 

4 800 

4 200 

2 200 

1359 

19 302 

756 

594 

994 

53 

7303 

854 

424 

2 064 

689 

3 676 

2 256 

583 

5 863 

EU  

 1 854  

 1 390  

 2 035  

Sources: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019. The figures for BG are subject 
to the same caveats as in the previous table 
YEI 2018 evaluations. LMP database  
Data compiled by PPMI based on data extracted from the LMP database and provided by Member States for 
training of all unemployed 
1)  based on LMP database; 2) based on extrapolated data from LMP database 

The use of the econometric analysis is limited but reinforces the lack of 
significant differences between YEI and ESF youth employment operations 

To provide a further level of analysis we have turned to econometric analyses based on 
micro data from six countries, but which varied in depth and comparability. In essence 
what was tested is the potential correlation between unit costs and the socio-economic 
context  (represented  by  the  clusters  as  well  as  some  specific  indicators)  and/or  the 
composition  of  the  audience  of  participants  addressed  (roughly  represented  by  the 
shares of inactive, low skilled, disadvantaged participants within each programme, by 
category of region). It was decided to only use operations with at least 75% of financial 
implementation  as  only  those  can  be  expected  to  have  more  or  less  balanced 
expenditure declared and participations. The latter are the basis on which we calculate 
the unit costs. 

The econometric estimates themselves can neither make up for the ongoing nature 
of reporting on costs and participants, nor can they account for the inherent variation 
due to the different types of operations carried out. The lack of consistent micro data 

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across  the  EU151  and  a  sufficiently  large  sample  of  operations  make  it  impossible  to 
meaningfully  take  this  into  account  (see  Annex  4  for  details  on  the  micro-data).  In 
addition, the low numbers of individual observations on ESF/YEI programmes mean that 
it becomes less likely to obtain statistically significant results.  

Bearing  these  limitations  in  mind,  and  after  having  duly  removed  outliers,  the 
econometric analysis nevertheless suggests that:  

  There is no statistically significant difference between the unit costs of the 
YEI and ESF programmes. Thus, although the costs of YEI interventions are on 
average  slightly  higher,  the  difference  should  not  be  taken  as  a  statistically 
significant one.  

  The socio-economic context does not play a statistically significant role in 
determining differences in the average cost per participant. These remain modest 
even if parity of purchasing power is applied to unit costs. However, using costs 
discounted for parity of purchasing power increases the explanatory power of the 
model. In addition, there are some notable findings which should be mentioned: 

-  In  programmes  belonging  to  the  spatial  cluster  with  strong  starting 
position  and  good  progress  (which  applies  to  Luxembourg  and  Ireland) 
costs tend to be higher, whereas in areas with stronger need of support the 
costs are comparatively lower. 

-  Programmes implemented in areas with higher values of the index ‘quality of 

government’ are correlated in a statistically significant manner with lower unit 
costs, in the range of EUR 500 less each, 10 percentage of higher value of the 
index of quality of government152. 

  The composition of the audience (different shares of inactive, low skilled, 
disadvantaged  participants,  as  well  as  participants  from  minorities  and 
with disabilities) are overall not strongly correlated with unit costs, with 
the  exception  of  programmes  in  which  there  are  high  shares  of  inactive 
participants, which show statistically significant lower unit costs153 although this 
would appear to contradict other sources of evidence which highlight more intense 
levels  of  provision 
from  more  disadvantaged 
backgrounds154.  

for  those  young  people 

151  In  the  framework  of  the  case  studies,  the  contractors  asked  the  Managing  Authorities  to  provide 
aggregated micro-data in order to make more precise estimates of costs. Data was received from Belgium, 
France, Germany, Greece, Poland and Portugal. We were provided with a stock of 872 operations with more 
than EUR 1 960 billion eligible costs, EUR 1.189 billion expenditure declared, and more than 918 000 entries. 
Not  all  the  data  were  aligned  with  the  template  provided  and  could  be  easily  cleaned  to  fit  the  template. 
Therefore, not all could be used for the unit cost analysis.  
152 The quality of the government index states the lower the unit costs of support offered. As for the other 
findings  of  the  econometric  analysis,  when  we  identify  a  correlation  this  also  takes  into  account  other 
underlying differences (i.e. the features of the participants, the cluster, changing unemployment rates and so 
on). So “all other observable things being considered” and based on the econometric analysis we find that the 
higher the quality of government index the lower the costs.  
153 Students are by definition inactive, so when we find high shares of inactive in a programme it might just 
be high shares of students. More broadly, by definition YEI supports people with some degree of distance from 
the LM. Being low skilled or being inactive does not necessarily mean being among those at a greater distance 
from  the  LM  among  YEI  participants.  In  addition,  basic  skill  training  and  job  guidance  is  arguably  cheaper 
than  specialised  training  for  the  high  skilled.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  offer  relatively  low-cost  guidance  to 
inactive participants, to get them ‘into the system’ 
154 This is to some extent relative as all participants in youth employment programmes have some 
disadvantages in terms of integration with the labour market 

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The analysis of micro-data provides some further insights.  We can see from Table 15 
below that there are some gaps, where intervention types and region type apparently 
are not matched by any operations, based on available information155. 

  Expenditure per entry: expenditure minimum-rate threshold of 75.1 % - 

breakdown by region and intervention type 

Work based learning or first 
job experience 
Education and Training 
Prevention strategies for early 
school leaving 
Guidance and support for 
individuals 
Structural support for 
strengthening institutional 
capacity … 
Financial incentives to 
employers and unemployed  

Overall 

YEI 

more 
developed 
regions 

in 
transition 
regions 

less 
developed 
regions 

4 383 

4 006 

5 906 

1 000 

6 340 

7 869 
964 

1 027 

12 295  Data gaps   Data gaps  
964  Data gaps   Data gaps   Data gaps  

469 

457 

904 

537 

Data gaps   Data gaps   Data gaps   Data gaps   Data gaps  

2 344 

3 088 

2 003 

2 169 

2 585 

Source: Micro-data and own calculations, based on operations completed to 75% or more 

However, we can say that: 

 

‘Education and Training’ is the most expensive intervention type. This high cost 
is  not  surprising,  given  that  (professional)  education  and  training  can  be  an 
intensive  intervention.  This  is  the  case  as  well  in  terms  of  time  spent  per 
participant,  as  per  infrastructures  and  materials  needed,  in  particular  when  it 
comes to job training in industrial or high-level services.  

 

‘Work based learning or first job experience’ are the second most expensive, 
typically requiring additional socio-pedagogic support and/or mentoring.  

  Third  are  ‘financial  incentives  to  employers  and  unemployed’,  such  as  for 
instance  provision  of  additional  work  or  apprenticeship  places,  sometimes  also 
comprising accompaniment and mentoring. 

  Guidance  and  support  for  individuals  are  half  as  expensive  as  ‘prevention 

strategies for early school leaving’.  

  Prevention  strategies  for  early  school  leaving  can  be  considered  an  early 

intervention and less expensive than more intensive curative interventions. 

The 2018 YEI evaluations also highlight higher costs for vocational training 

A  further  source  of  information  on  unit  costs  are  the  2018  YEI  evaluations.  The 
evaluations also give significant variations between countries and also by intervention 
type  ranging  from  guidance  to  NEETs  in  Cyprus  (average  cost  per  participant  of  EUR 
300 in graduate training (also in Cyprus) and training centres in Ireland, around  EUR 
10 000 per participant. Ireland also has schemes where the cost per participant is as 
high  as  just  under  EUR  19  000.  We  provide  these  values  to  illustrate  the  significant 
variations in figures, for which explanations are often lacking.  

If  we  accept  that  the  intensity  of  support  is  a  key  factor  (e.g.  guidance  can  range 
considerably  in  its  content  and  depth)  there  are  nevertheless  some  interesting 
observations, namely: 

  Training  leading  to  qualifications,  and  especially  higher  level  training  for 
graduates and higher skilled participants carries cost of infrastructure and other 
costs (tutors, equipment etc.) and has amongst the highest costs per participant, 

155 The application of a threshold for ‘completed’ operations is sensible but reduces the number of observable 
operations 

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in  contrast  to  lower  skill  training  (e.g.  driver  training  in  Latvia)  or  informal 
training.  

  There  are  very  varied  unit  costs  within  countries  that  do  not  readily  match  the 
national  averages.  This  suggests  balanced  portfolios  of  programmes  at  Member 
State level with some higher cost interventions averaged out by those with lower 
unit  costs  (e.g.  work  experience,  general  guidance),  in  effect  the  lower  cost 
operations providing a ‘subsidy’ for higher cost operations, although not as explicit 
objective. 

  Financial interventions (such as employment incentives) tend to fall between 
the two extremes as does support for entrepreneurs, although this can be towards 
the higher end. 

  There  is  some  limited  evidence  of  higher  unit  costs  where  participants  require 
more  support  and  are  further  away  from  the  labour  market  however,  there  are 
also higher costs for operations targeted at those closer to the labour market (e.g. 
higher level training targeting graduates). 

The 2018 YEI evaluations highlighted some other points of interest, namely: 

  Relative variations in unit costs: In Lithuania, services provided to participants 
close  to  the  labour  market  are  estimated  to  be  more  cost-effective  than  those 
provided  to  young  unemployed  not  ready  for  the  labour  market.  In  Spain, 
according  to  the intermediary  bodies  and  direct  beneficiaries,  the  most  efficient 
YEI interventions are  reported to be extra bonuses for some working contracts, 
workshop schools as well as individualised guidance. 

  Comparisons between YEI unit costs and those of national programmes: 
Such comparisons are not available for many countries. In some Member States, 
the costs were similar to those of existing national operations, which is the case 
for instance in Cyprus (for ‘Acquisition of work experience for young unemployed 
graduates’, the unit cost of support is estimated at EUR 4 681 per person). The 
counterfactual  evaluations  provide  a  modelled  approach  to  the  relative  costs  of 
YEI and comparable provision, through the use of control groups. In Latvia, after 
six months, cost-effectiveness in terms of participants employed (and number of 
days worked) is estimated to be higher for  YEI participants than for the control 
group  for  all  operations.  ‘Developing  skills  for  work  in  the  non-governmental 
sector’  is  estimated  to  be  the  most  cost  effective  operation  (both  in  terms  of 
participants  in  employment  and  number  of  days  worked).  Conversely,  cost-
effectiveness in terms of average wages in Latvia (i.e. the difference between the 
estimated ‘counterfactual’ impact of the operation on the average wage and the 
cost  of  support)  is  lower  for  YEI  participants  than  for  the  control  group  for  all 
operations except for ‘First job experience’ (both after six and 12 months). This 
can be interpreted that the YEI participants show better employment results, but 
with lower wage levels.  

  Variations between actual and programmed costs: In some Member States 
(such as Greece and Portugal for traineeships and recruitment support), the actual 
costs were higher than the programmed costs, though this  does not necessarily 
mean that the programmes were not cost effective. In Slovakia, the unit cost of 
the operations is also higher than programmed (EUR 3 680 per person rather than 
EUR  2  230)  but,  in  this  case,  cost-effectiveness  is  estimated  to  be  twice  that 
expected (the cost per person placed in a job being half that expected: EUR 4 065 
per participant who finds employment as against EUR 8  303). The conclusion in 
Spain is that the real costs are in line with what was planned, but when they are 
not,  this  is  due  to  longer,  more  intense,  more  personalised  and  more  costly 
interventions required to address the needs of vulnerable groups. 

France carried out an evaluation of costs by type of operator. These costs are shown in 
Table 16 below. We can see that the costs for young people (‘missions locales’ for under 
26 year-olds) are higher than those of the ‘Pole Emploi’ (Public Employment Service).  

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  Cost by type of operator, expected cost and real cost, National Operational 

Programme France  

Total 
amount 
in million 
EUR 

Number 
of inter-
ventions 

SMA: adaptive 
military service 

56.4  

5 

Number 
of 
partici-
pants at 
entry 
time 
5 640 

Number 
of 
partici-
pants at 
ending 
time 
3 413 

Expected 
cost by 
partici-
pant1) in 
EUR 

Real cost 
by 
partici-
pant2) in 
EUR 

7 387  

10 004 

Missions locales 
(PES for people 
under 26) 
Pole Emploi 
(PES) 
GIP, Greta 
(training 
centres) 
Other 

3.4  

26 

5 075 

4 668 

672  

942  

24.5  

1.3  

1.6  

1 

5 

9 

55 257 

27 728 

57  

5 092 

5 092 

331  

442  

260  

1 588 

1 261 

1 042  

1 017  

Source: “L’efficience des opérations des PON FSE et IEJ: analyses, 1ers résultats et éléments de méthode” 
(2017), DGEFP report, p. 16. 

1)  Programmed ; 2) Certified 

The changing characteristics of the NEET group partly explain higher unit 
costs in the current programme period, when compared to 2007-2013.  

The case studies provide another layer of evidence and in particular some rationale for 
varying  unit  costs  and  in  particular  some  reasons  for  the  increased  unit  costs  for 
Investment Priority 8.ii and YEI in this programming period, namely: 

  Most case studies highlight higher costs for hard to reach/disadvantaged groups 
(especially the long-term unemployed) for comparable forms of support, to cover 
outreach  work  and/or  to  provide  tailored  and/or  longer  term  interventions.  In 
Germany for example, greater resources are needed to train disadvantaged young 
people, be it due to their language barriers or lack of social and cognitive skills or 
inability to follow a structured working week. However, it is not so ‘clear cut’ as 
vocational education and training orientated to NEETs closer to the labour market 
can also attract high costs, although not necessarily higher than in the 2007-2013 
programme period. 

  The changing labour market post-crisis was also highlighted in most case studies. 
The hypothesis raised was that in increasingly ‘tight’ labour markets, and more so 
in  countries  like  Germany  than  others,  there  was  more  focus  on  the  long  term 
unemployed, and the costs of recruitment of participants (in a relatively smaller 
pool) increased. The Portugal case study also highlighted issues of increased travel 
costs  for  participants  as  YEI  training  became  more  specialised  and  focused  on 
specific sub-groups (e.g. trainees travelling from the islands and countryside to 
urban centres where it can be more efficient to deliver operations).  

  Some examples were given of increased costs linked to  regulatory requirements 
(e.g.  new  monitoring  requirements).  There  were  also  examples  of  increased 
operational costs (e.g. increased costs of tutors).  

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Average unit costs per result are around EUR 4 000 based on published data, 
slightly higher than ESF overall 

An  analysis  has  been  performed  to  analyse  the  costs  of  immediate  individual  results 
(obtaining employment, qualifications, entering education or searching for jobs)156. Also, 
for  this  analysis  declared  expenditures  are  compared  with  the  immediate  individual 
results reported in the annual implementation reports.  

With unit costs per result, we face the problem of not yet completed implementation for 
ongoing projects. We also found  systematic multi-reporting of results, i.e. more than 
one result being reported per participant (for instance, a former participant ‘gaining a 
qualification’  can  also  be  counted  for  the  result  ‘starting  to  look  for  a  job’,  etc.).  The 
indicator settings for results under ESF have not been prepared in a way to specify only 
a single result (at least as a major or main result) for a given participant from a given 
activity.  However,  we  also  have  the  under  reporting  of  results  in  respect  of  soft 
outcomes. 

With these caveats in mind the results of this analysis are presented in Table 17 below. 
Note that the costs declared for investment priorities are compared with the immediate 
results  achieved.  Overall  costs  per  short  term  result  for  the  Member  States  in  the 
analysis amount to EUR 4 062 for Investment Priority 8.ii, which is slightly higher 
than average costs per results for TO8 overall (EUR 3 833). Investments in YEI has on 
average to have slightly higher costs per result (EUR 4 157) than ESF.  

Behind these values are substantially larger variations among Member States than found 
in the analysis of costs per output (see Table 13 above), mainly caused by the relatively 
fragmented  way  of  reporting  individual  short  term  results  in  the  System  for  Fund 
Management in the European Union (SFC) so far, which should improve in the coming 
years. However, a unit cost analysis of results (similar to the analysis of the unit costs 
per participation) can be helpful with regard to the extent to which results and eligible 
expenditure  are  registered  onto  the  System  for  Fund  Management  in  the  European 
Union (SFC) database in relatively equal shares. When used for this purpose, unit costs 
do  not  necessarily  tell  us  much  about  efficiency,  but  rather  about  the  balance  in 
reporting between results and financial progress. Table 17 below shows how many 
Member States still report relatively small numbers of results in relation to their budgets, 
particularly  in  Bulgaria  and  Croatia  (ESF),  and  Cyprus,  Czech  Republic  and  Slovakia 
(YEI).  

156 The total number of individual results was calculated by summing common result indicators 1-4, which 
all present exclusive types of results in terms of improved labour market position of individual participants 
that may be reached. CR05 was not included as it is not an exclusive category from common result 
indicators 1-4; it would introduce double counts and therefore taint the analysis. Nevertheless, the figures 
presented should be read with some caution, since participants could achieve more results at the same 
time. 

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  Costs per result - Eligible expenditures declared to EC per immediate result 

achieved 

MS 

Total 
results 
8.ii 

Expenditure 
declared 8ii 
(million 
EUR) 

ESF 

Overall unit 
cost 8ii 
(EUR) 

Overall costs 
per result 
TO8 
(EUR) 

BE  
BG  
CY  
CZ  
DE  
ES  
FR  
EL  
HR  
HU  
IE  
IT  
LT  
LU  
LV  
MT  
PL  
PT  
RO  
SE  
SI  
SK  
UK  
EU  

 30 781  
 4 576  
 551  

 -    

 56 232  
 4 826  
 23 894  

 -    

 3 985  
 30 412  

 -    

 33.8  
 142.7  
 6.2  

 -    

 341.2  
 4.5  
 123.8  

 -    

 47.5  
 136.7  

 -    

 90 824  

 450.6  

 -    

 813  

 -    

 2 204  
 144 525  

 -    

 39  
 6 653  
 3 275  

 -    

 5.0  
 7.0  
 1.8  
 373.9  
 177.6  
 1.1  
 81.8  
 33.1  

 -    

 -    

 71 679  
475 269  

 259.6  
2 228.1  

 1 098  
 31 631  
 11 181  
- 
 6 068  
 914  
 6 023  
- 
 11 921  
 4 495  
- 
 3 578  
- 
 6 130  
- 
 812  
 2 587  
- 
 24 628  
 12 299  
 10 109  
- 
 3 621  
 4 062  

 1 978  
 32 368  
 6 141  
 4 475  
 4 249  
 2 151  
 3 438  
 13 978  
 8 097  
 4 306  
 12 378  
 2 482  
 3 415  
 7 657  
 2 250  
 2 509  
 3 891  
 2 194  
 18 041  
 16 534  
 9 486  
 15 424  
 3 142  
3 833  

YEI 

Expenditure 
declared  
(million 
EUR) 

Overall 
costs 
per 
result 

 39.7  
 76.7  
 15.9  
 20.6  

Total 
results 

 32 066  
 22 122  
 983  
 2 029  

 1 239  
 3 466  
 16 127  
 10 171  
- 
 5 593  
 2 636  
 7 120  
 9 253  
- 
 13 265  
- 
 2 724  
- 
 4 337  
- 
 2 441  
 12 779  
- 
 5 123  
- 
 2 852  
 6 285  
4 157  

 -    

 -    

 262 182  
 227 148  
 22 129  
 12 444  

 -    

 8 841  

 -    

 23 032  

 -    

 13 683  

 -    

 219 763  
 26 017  

 -    

 19 787  

 -    

 31 573  
 23 395  
947 194  

 1 466.3  
 623.0  
 157.6  
 115.1  
 120.2  
 117.3  
 1 273.9  
 62.7  

 -    

 59.3  

 -    

 536.4  
 332.5  
 0.9  
 101.4  
 19.3  
 90.1  
 169.0  
  5 397.8  

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019. A dash (-) means that no 
results / declared expenditure has been reported at this stage. Empty fields signal that no funds were 
allocated by that Member State to the respective fund and that no results are to be expected as well.  

Based on econometric modelling there is no significant difference in cost per 
results for ESF and YEI 

As  previously  undertaken  in  the  case  of  average  costs  per  participation,  econometric 
modelling  was  used  to  make  the  most  of  the  available  monitoring information  with a 
view to identifying possible patterns affecting the variation of cost per results, despite 
the  above  mentioned  limitations.  This  has  allowed  a  slightly  clearer  view  on  the 
determinant of costs per result although their interpretation continues to be affected by 
the  low  explicative  power  of  the  models.157  Some  general  trends,  which  should  be 
treated with due caution, could nevertheless be observed, including:  

  No statistically significant difference  between cost per result in YEI and 

ESF funded interventions (within Investment Priority 8.ii). 

  Slightly  lower  costs  per  result,  including  that  of  participants  finding 
employment,  in  regions  with  higher  need  of  support  (unfavourable  labour 
market  condition).  Differences  persist  but  become  not  statistically  significant 
looking  at  longer  term  result  indicators.  However,  the  costs  are  higher  in  a 
statistically  significant  way  in  areas  with  a  smaller  reduction  of  unemployment 
rates  between  2014  and  2018,  showing  the  importance  of  the  dynamics  in  the 
labour market in determining the volume of ESF/YEI results.  

157 Between 15% and 20% of the variance in the data is explained by the factors tested in the analysis. 

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  The composition of the participants addressed does not seem to affect in a 
statistically significant manner costs per results, with the exception of increasing 
shares of migrants and minorities which are coupled with lower unit costs. 

There is additional evidence from the case studies: 

  Unit costs need to be related to effectiveness and higher unit costs can be justified 
if the investments lead to positive outcomes. In Greece for example, where the 
average cost per result is EUR 7 120 for YEI, work experience and guidance for 
the unemployed is more effective if it is directly linked to specific employers and 
specific  opportunities  in  cutting  edge  sectors  of  the  Greek  economy,  related  to 
smart specialisation strategies. Italy focuses on how best to achieve integration of 
young  people  by  designing  training  that  is  in  line  with  job  opportunities/skills 
needs; in this respect, cooperation with local partners is key. Their experience is 
that standardised training is not conducive to finding a job, but placements in local 
companies are. 

  Some  case  studies  made  an  interesting  observation  that  different  activities 
should be viewed collectively in respect of cost effectiveness as complementarity 
operations. The specific example was given of monies for delivery capacity with 
few if any direct results. However, the delivery capacity is required to deliver the 
YEI programmes. 

  The delivery of vocational training was reported as having some of the highest 
costs  per  result,  especially  where  training  does  not  lead  to  an  employment 
outcome.  However,  where  vocational  education  and  training  is  linked  to  work 
experience and/or specific employer needs the positive results can justify the costs 

  Activities to increase participation and results can improve cost effectiveness. 
In Latvia and Hungary an emphasis on provision tailored more directly to the needs 
of  participants  (shorter  courses,  working  with  youth  associations  to  recruit 
participants) have proved to be more effective.  

According to the RHOMOLO model the benefits of operations will outweigh 
the costs in the longer terms 

There are also additional findings from the macroeconomic simulation carried out with 
RHOMOLO, which focus on the overall macroeconomic effects of the programmes. These 
should be read bearing in mind the limitations highlighted in section 1.3, but tend to 
indicate that: 

  In the long run (by 2030) the  benefits of the support should outweigh the 
costs and especially so in several regions targeted by the policy in view of their 
youth unemployment levels. This is not a trivial finding as public investment is in 
general likely to displace private investment (crowding out effect). In addition, it 
might be that up skilled workers displace those not benefitting from the support. 
The  costs  of  the  support  might  also  exert  downward  pressure  on  the  economy, 
given the related tax increases. So RHOMOLO seems to confirm that investment 
in human capital for young people under the ESF/YEI is generally cost-effective in 
at least part of the areas where it is needed.  

  The  factors  driving  differences  in  cost-effectiveness  tend  to  be  similar  to  those 
driving effectiveness. In essence, the capacity of a region to make the most of 
the increase production and demand with internal labour and its export orientation 
(the stronger the better) are significant factors affecting the sign and magnitude 

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of the multipliers.158 Conversely, the presence of a comparatively  larger public 
sector might reduce cost-effectiveness due to crowding out effects of public 
investment on private investment.  

Concluding comments on cost-effectiveness 

So, what do these multiple layers of advice tell us given the caveats provided? We can 
conclude with a few points: 

  Managing  Authorities  and  other  organisations  involved  in  ESF/YEI  delivery 
mentioned  –  more  than  for  other  operations  -  vocational  education  and 
training  as  cost-effective  in  the  sense  of  costs  being  proportionate  to  training, 
but to be cost effective it needs to impact on employment outcomes given high 
costs that can arise. The combination of evaluations, and the application of micro 
data also point to higher unit costs for this type of operation, given the preparation 
costs, tutor costs etc. 

  The average unit cost of around EUR 1 500 to 3 000 per participation are 
not inconsistent with previous studies (we think it is too early to benchmark the 
cost effectiveness of results, given ongoing operations). There are no significant 
variations between YEI and ESF youth employment operations. This masks wide 
variations  and  simply  provides  a  general  benchmark.  High  unit  costs  can  be 
justified where the operation is effective and deemed necessary to identify, recruit 
and  support  a  young  person  through  to  a  result.  Equally,  low  unit  costs  can  be 
seen with some suspicion inferring a relatively low level of support that may not 
have great impact on the integration of young NEETs into the labour market (e.g. 
generalised guidance rather than individualised support). 

  The inability, in many cases to fully record – and therefore under report – results, 
including soft outcome  impacts negatively on  estimates  of cost effectiveness.  If 
cost effective analysis is to be used more frequently as a monitoring tool it requires 
an  improvement  in  the  recording  of  results  by  Managing  Authorities  and 
beneficiaries, combined with guidance from the EU. 

  There is mixed evidence in respect of financial subsidies. It helps to attract 
employers  and  supports  participants  (remunerated  v.  non-remunerated 
traineeships,  internships  and  apprenticeships)  but  there  was  criticism  from 
organisations in the public consultation that subsidies create a situation where the 
interest is in the subsidy rather than the participant.  

  Whilst  efficiency  should  not  drive  decisions  on  operations  given,  other 
considerations  should  offer  possible  ways  to  improve  cost  effectiveness  that 
can  be  considered  by  reducing  recruitment  costs  (e.g.  working  more  closely 
with public employment services, youth groups etc.) or increasing the prospect 
of positive results (e.g. linking training to employers in growth sectors, working 
closely  with  employers,  targeting  provision  to  the  local  context  and  the  specific 
needs of participants). 

158  “Multiplier”  denotes  by  how  much  the  GDP  increases  for  each  Euro  spent  through  ESF.  Multipliers  are 
calculated for each  region  and  are reported  as  the ratio  of  absolute  (discounted)  changes  in  output  to  the 
additional  expenditures  introduced  to  the  economy. It  is  important  to  note,  that  the  cost  per participation 
remains a key driver of differences in the multipliers, all the more so as the RHOMOLO simulations cannot 
distinguish between the micro-level effects of interventions which are similar in nature but might be associated 
with different costs and effects due to the lack of detailed data on both sides. But this is rather an issue for 
the simulation than a finding of the study. Several additional limitations apply to such estimates, as highlighted 
in section 1.3 as well as previous paragraphs discussing RHOMOLO results. 

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4.2.2  EQ 2.2. Are there significant cost differences between Member 

States/Regions in the implementation of the operations? What are 
these differences related to? 

Whilst  the  unit  cost  data  presented  in  EQ2.1  suggests  that  there  are 
significant cost differences between Member States, the same caveats need 
to  be  applied  and  direct  comparisons  treated  with  caution,  given  the  wide 
range of variables e.g. incomplete operations, different economic and target group, 
different  balance  of  operations  etc.  In  some  cases,  there  are  differences  regions, 
within  Member  States,  which  are  probably  ultimately  due  to  the  heterogeneity  of 
the content, length and target groups of the actions.  

There is however, evidence of some variations in labour costs between regions within 
some Member States and in particular between urban and rural/more remote areas 
with additional costs of delivery, often greater for rural/more remote areas. 

From  the  responses  to  the  public  consultation  no  significant  variations  were 
noted between countries  

Organisations  consulted  did  not  perceive  significant  inter-country  differences  in  costs 
and unit costs. Whilst the tables of unit costs in the preceding section show some wide 
variations  in  average  costs  between  countries  we  need  to  be  careful  in  making  any 
conclusions  given  different  contexts  (higher  levels  of  unemployment,  including  non-
NEET  unemployment  in  some  Southern  European  countries);  different  NEET  groups 
(e.g.  Roma  in  some  countries  but  not  in  others)  and  different  approaches,  either  in 
terms of types of operations or in their implementation (e.g. different levels of intensity 
and duration of operations). There are data gaps as well which hinder comparisons (e.g. 
we have micro data for six countries but not others). Ideally a counterfactual evaluation 
of similar operations in different countries would be needed for robust comparisons. 

The large differences can partially be explained by the  timing of the reporting and 
partly  by  the  type  of  operations  and  target  groups,  i.e.  the  longer  and  more 
intensive  operations  are  more  expensive  than  shorter,  less  intensive  ones.  Some 
evaluations have also shown that the further from the labour market the targeted young 
people  are,  the  costlier  the  support159.  The  national  monitoring  data  provided  by  the 
Member States did not go into enough detail to assess whether this is true throughout.  

The  case  studies  offer  some  explanations  for  the  variations  as  there  are  also  some 
differences in costs also across regions, e.g. in Spain. Here, there are significant cost 
differences among the regions related to labour costs and the different levels of 
prices in each autonomous community. Besides, cost differences have been highlighted 
between  urban  and  rural  areas,  with  higher  costs  in  rural  areas  where  reaching 
beneficiaries requires more effort. This was the case in the Azores (Portugal) where cost 
differences due to extra effort in terms of travelling times were evident. The cost of a 
traineeship  varies  between  islands,  for  both  trainees  and  trainers  who  may  have  to 
travel from one island to another to receive or give the training. In mainland Portugal 
there  were  some  cost  differences  in  regions  where  trainees  had  to  travel  to  another 
location when there were not enough participants to justify training in the place where 
they live. 

However,  there  are  also  Member  States  that  do  not  show  significant  cost 
differences between regions. In Germany, there are no differences between similar 
operations in the Operational Programmes examined by the case study although there 
are also rural and urban areas in the Operational Programme region. This can partly be 
explained by the regions having adapted accordingly and by the fact that there no longer 

159 For example, the Action 1 in the ESF OP Bayern subsidises companies which take on disadvantaged young 
people  on  the  assumption  that  these  young  people  need more  support  than  average  apprentices  and  that 
companies will be more willing to take them on if they receive some compensation. 

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exist  such  large  cost  differences  between  regions,  and  also  by  the  use  of  simplified 
cost options with standardised unit costs.  

4.2.3  EQ 2.3. To what extent were the organisational arrangements, 

including management and control systems at all levels conducive to 
the effectiveness of operations? Was there an administrative burden, 
in particular gold plating involved? 

There  is  a  generally  positive  story  on  the  organisational  arrangements  and 
administrative burdens that derives from different sources of evidence, including 
the  public  consultation  exercise  where  a  significant  number  of  respondents  from 
organisations,  both  Managing  Authorities  and  other  agencies,  felt  that  the 
administrative processes were appropriate.  

As might be expected, there have been some implementation challenges and 
some limited examples of gold-plating but in the context of a generally positive 
position.  Essentially,  both  the  public  consultation  and  the  case  studies  noted 
improvements  since  the  previous  programming  period  and  support  for  the  EU’s 
simplification agenda, which will take time to deliver all of the anticipated benefits.  

It  is  the  reaction  to  challenges  –  and  the  priority  afforded  to  improve 
arrangements  where  necessary  –  that  is  critical,  and  in  that  respect  the 
experience and  capacity with Managing Authorities and other agencies is especially 
important. 

Administrative arrangements deemed appropriate 

The  ESF  Regulation  states  that  it  is  “important  to  ensure  the  sound  financial 
management  of  each  operational  programme  and  its  implementation  in  the  most 
effective and user-friendly manner possible. Member States should refrain from adding 
rules  that  complicate  the  use  of  funds  for  the  beneficiary”160.  The  latter  is  commonly 
known as gold-plating which is defined as the “administrative obligations going beyond 
the requirements set at EU level. It encompasses  an excess of norms, guidelines and 
procedures  accumulated  at  European,  national,  regional  and  programme  levels 
interfering  with  the  expected  policy  objectives”.  Gold-plating  tends  to  increase 
administrative costs and burdens and should therefore be avoided.  

Overall, the public consultation showed that the majority of respondents (based on 300 
responses  from  organisations)  found  the  administrative  arrangements  for  the 
implementation of projects appropriate (see Figure 39 below).  

The evidence from the public consultation, the 2018 YEI evaluations and the case studies 
provides  some  indications  that  in  some  Member  States  the  administrative  burden 
was high in some instances, but lower where there was a lot of accumulated 
experience in the implementation of the Structural Funds including the ESF and 
YEI. 

The  types  of  administrative  arrangement  that  are  more  often  considered  to  be 
appropriate relate to the implementation of projects (65.3%), the selection of projects 
(64%), communication (62.7%), evaluation (61%), reporting and monitoring (55.7%), 
setting  up  of  standard  cost  options  (51.3%)  and  audits  (50.3%).  With  regard  to  the 
setting  up  the  management  and  control  systems,  46.3%  judge  it  appropriate.  Some 
20%  of  respondents  judge  as  burdensome  audit  reporting  (20.7%),  and  monitoring 
(23.3%) and setting up the management and control systems (28%). Overall, the share 
of respondents who said that administrative arrangements were insufficient only rises 
above 10% in one case (communication arrangements – 15.3%). 

160 REGULATION (EU) No 1304/2013 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 
of 17 December 2013 on the European Social Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006 

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If  Managing  Authorities  are  excluded  from  the  analysis,  the  public  consultation 
responses  are  still  positive  with  the  majority  of  respondents  judging  administrative 
arrangements  to  be  appropriate.  These  range  from  the  implementation  of  projects 
(64.6%),  the  selection  of  projects  (61.5%),  communication  (61.1%),  evaluation 
(58.8%),  reporting  and  monitoring  (54.9%),  setting  up  of  standard  cost  options 
(51.4%),  setting  up  management  and  control  systems  (45.5%).  The  case  studies 
reinforced positive comments about simplified cost options. From the case studies, the 
use of SCOs is generally recognised to contribute to a smoother functioning of 
management  control  systems  and  reduced  administrative  burden,  by 
accelerating the payment process. The use of simplified cost options was found to be 
useful in Malta, Belgium Flanders, Spain, Italy and Germany. In Malta, where this model 
is more widely used, it was  found that the establishment of SCOs involved a lengthy 
learning curve for both beneficiaries and stakeholders due to  a change in methods of 
payment resulting in initial delays in payments. However, there was a positive effect in 
the medium to long term as this model eventually accelerates payments. 

There is limited evidence from the public consultation of variations in responses between 
Member States, although comparisons are presented for Bulgaria and Spain with broadly 
similar  levels  of  percentages  agreeing  that  administrative  arrangements  are 
appropriate (66.1 and 67% respectively), although with some significant variations in 
respect of communication (Bulgaria 67.7%, Spain 58%) and those respondents stating 
that audits were burdensome (Bulgaria 11.3%, Spain 23.9%), reporting and monitoring 
arrangements as insufficient (Bulgaria 9.7%, Spain 29.5%) and setting up monitoring 
and control systems (Bulgaria 9.7%, Spain 35.2%). By way of explanation the Spanish 
case study stakeholders interviewed agreed that the administrative burden of YEI and 
ESF  were  very  high,  although  it  is  lower  than  in  previous  programming  periods.  In 
particular,  it  was  stated  that  the  control  systems  that  guarantee  the  eligibility  of  the 
declared expenses and the application of increasingly exhaustive and strict controls and 
audits from different organisations increase the administrative burden.  

  Assessment of administrative arrangements for ESF and YEI 

Question:  How  would  you  qualify  the  following  administrative  arrangements  for  the 
implementation of youth employment operations by the ESF and YEI? 

Source: Draft Final Report, Public Consultation on the Evaluation of the EU Support to Youth Employment by 
the Youth Employment Initiative and the European Social Fund 

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Administrative inefficiencies rather than gold-plating 

From the public consultation 66.1% of respondents from organisations 
agreed that solid management and implementation experience by Managing 
Authorities and beneficiaries is an important factor to achieve the success of 
youth employment operations.  

Respondents to the public consultation were asked if they could provide some examples 
of gold-plating or  excessive administrative burden that they have  experienced in this 
context through the open question (with 38 responses)161. However, these do not seem 
to be deliberate on the part of public administrations or ESF/YEI operations, but more 
due to inefficiencies, either the result of implementing EU regulations, or incompatibility 
in national systems. 

A few of the YEI evaluations highlighted administrative burdens, for example:  

  The 2019 evaluation of the 'Work-related youth social work' operation financed by 
the ESF in the Bayern region (which targets socially disadvantaged young people 
and  aims  at  providing  them  with  training  and  at  acquiring  key  competencies) 
highlighted  that  participation  was  affected  by  the  burdensome  administrative 
requirements. This matter was raised by about half of the involved companies and 
referred  to  the  programme  start  in  2015,  where  the  applications  were  first  on 
paper but then had to be transferred into the electronic system. There was also a 
combination of online and written applications until the electronic signatures were 
introduced.  All  these  factors  added  up  to  the  quite  heavy  process.  The  proof  of 
expenditure was also found burdensome. That said, half the companies found the 
effort appropriate. 

  The  2018  YEI  evaluation  for  Belgium  (Wallonia)  found  the  limited  number  of 
characters  (i.e.  space  to  fill  in)  in  the  System  for  Fund  Management  in  the 
European  Union  (SFC2014),  and  the  manual  encoding  of  data  related  to  the 
indicators (Belgium Wallonia) burdensome. 

Conclusions from the YEI evaluations together with observations from case studies 
(the caveat being that observations often come from a small number of ‘actors’) offer 
aspects of administration for potential improvement including the following: 

  Simplifying  the  evidence  requirements  to  be  classified  as  a  NEET:  an 
evidential  system  is  important  but  can  be  cumbersome  where  multiple 
documentation  is  required  (e.g.  as  mentioned  in  Slovakia)  and  could  deter 
applicants. However, some of the problems encountered were linked to the start-
up of YEI/ESF youth employment operations, with new systems being developed 
and implemented. 

  Developing efficient and functioning IT systems: this was not highlighted in 
the public consultation but was mentioned in some of the case studies, and can 
also be linked to the previous experience of Managing Authorities. Problems with 
the  IT  systems  were  also  mentioned  by  some  Member  States,  e.g.  Portugal, 
Germany and Slovakia. In Portugal, the previous IT system worked well but was 
replaced by a new one which caused delays and increased burden and stress. The 
integration  of  databases  and  of  relevant  instructions,  can  also  be  challenging 
(mentioned  especially  in  Slovakia).  These  issues  can  normally  be  resolved  by 

161 Two respondents to the public consultation, one from Bulgaria and one from Spain, mentioned that 
registration processes for participants are too long and discourage participation, asking for too much data, 
too often. Two respondents from Germany and the UK mentioned that proof requirements are too strict. The 
respondent from Germany explained that these changed since the outset and evidence is needed to be 
gathered retrospectively to fulfil all requirements, which was said to be very challenging and labour-
intensive. The excessive amount of documentation to fill in is also mentioned by two respondents from 
Latvia and Italy (the Latvian – and also one from Spain- respondent also mentioned that monitoring reports 
were required with too great a frequency). Two respondents from Spain and Portugal stated that indicators 
required are too complex and not adapted to the reality of the operations. 

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expert  inputs  and  the  prioritisation  afforded  by  Managing  Authorities  given  the 
importance  of  efficient  IT  systems  for  all  aspects  of  programme  delivery  (e.g. 
registrations, monitoring, payments etc.).  

  Improving the application of grant procedures: In Slovakia organisational 
arrangements for some calls for projects (for grants) led to a low number of 
successful calls. The evaluation report of the Ministry of Labour looked at the call 
‘Supporting entry of the selected groups of young people in the labour market’162 
where only one project was contracted and eventually was terminated, since it did 
not  fulfil  the  aims  of  the  Operational  Programme  Human  Resources.  In  the  call 
‘New  and  innovative  programmes  on  enhancing  self-employment  of  young 
people’163,  nine  projects  were  contracted.  Nevertheless,  five  out  of  these  nine 
projects  were  terminated,  suggesting  inadequacies  in  the  selection  process  and 
potential poor communication between applicants and the Intermediate Body. The 
latter  was  responsible  for  the  call  for  proposals  (publication,  workshops  for 
applicants,  evaluation  of  proposals,  communication  with  applicants  and 
beneficiaries) 

  Improving 

communication  between  Managing  Authorities  and 
Intermediary  Bodies,  and  potential  applicants:  Sometimes  prospective 
applicants  do  not  understand  the  aims  of  ESF/YEI  which  either  impacts  on  the 
procurement process or could lead to termination of contracts with applicants, as 
has been the case in Slovakia164.  

4.2.4  EQ 2.4. In particular, how timely and efficient were the procedures for 

reporting and monitoring?  

The  procedures  for  monitoring  and  reporting  were  generally  timely  and 
efficient, following the initial set up issues. Some problems persist though including 
following up participants, data privacy, compatibility between  regional and national 
monitoring  systems,  and  inconsistent  use  of  indicators.  IT  systems  appear  to  be 
working well in most cases although not without some initial implementation issues.  

The  common  outputs  and  result  indicators  are  useful  for  aggregating  data 
across  Member  States,  but  inconsistencies  exist  at  the  level  of  specific  operations. 
The implementation of the annual implementation reports is in most cases efficient 
and timely. 

The system for Fund Management in the European Union appears to be 
working well 

Member States are required to transmit electronically structured data for each priority 
axis broken down by investment priority at the same time as the annual implementation 
reports (AIR).  

Every year since 2015 a small number of annual implementation reports (less 
than 10%) are submitted sometime after the deadlines defined by the Regulation. 
On  average,  one  month  after  the  initial  deadline  a  first  version  for  every  AIR  was 
generally  submitted.  Even  though  this  contributed  to  some  minor  delays  in  the 
interpretation of data and analysis of the AIR by the European Commission, these have 
been largely inconsequential. It is therefore concluded that the reporting and monitoring 
through  the  annual implementation  reports  as  well  as  the  structured  data  have  been 
timely.  Member  States  have  mentioned  that  there  are  sometimes  too  few  characters 

162 In Slovak: Podpora vstupu vybraných skupín mladých ľudí na trh práce. 
163 in Slovak: Nové a inovatívne programy na zlepšenie samozamestnania mladých ľudí 
164 The Intermediary Body with delegated tasks is responsible for call for proposals (publication, workshops 
for applicants, evaluation of proposals, communication with applicants and beneficiaries - all these steps are 
carried out by the Intermediary Body named Implementation Agency of the MOLSAF) 

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allowed in the system or that the system is not entirely adapted to the programmes and 
actions but overall, there are few comments on the system.  

Common indicators provide data to aid comparisons  

Data  concerning  common  output  and  result  indicators  are  consistent  across  Member 
States,  which  has  been  useful  for  the  evaluation.  The  programme  specific  indicators 
provide  useful  additional  information.  However,  monitoring  data  at  the  level  of  the 
operations and information on these is again not standardised across the EU and needs 
to be extracted from various sources.  

The  case  studies  highlighted  some  concerns  over  the  administrative  burden  of 
indicators and more so with YEI with additional requirements (Annex I and II have 
to be reported). As previously highlighted there are gaps in the data due in part to some 
inadequacies  in  the  national  monitoring  systems  (see  below),  and  in  measuring  the 
persistence  or  sustainability  of  operations  some  Member  States  (e.g.  Belgium)  go 
further in monitoring results after the six months statutory period. 

National databases and monitoring systems are generally working well but 
there have been set up and operational delays  

As stated in response to EQ 2.3 the majority of organisations that participated in the 
public  consultation  were  generally  positive  about  the  administrative  arrangements. 
Specifically,  in  respect  of  databases  and  monitoring  systems  the  case  studies 
demonstrate  that  in  most  cases  systems  are  considered  to  be  working  well  – 
sometimes after initial implementation problems - and providing information as needed 
and on time. However, as already highlighted the linking of information from different 
national databases on clients (which can help with tracking and providing a pathways 
approach)  has  been  problematic  due 
to  systems  managed  by  different 
ministries/departments and also data security issues (protecting personal data).  

There  have  been  some  delays  in  establishing  fully  operational  monitoring 
systems  were  mentioned  including  in  Ireland,  Hungary,  Portugal,  Romania  and  UK-
Scotland,  impacting  on  the  ability  to  undertake  evaluations,  but  incompatibility  in 
monitoring systems (as in France between the Member State and its regions) have also 
led to inefficiencies. An example of how the evolution of monitoring systems over time 
has  increased  their  efficiency  is  found  in  the  German  Operational  Programme. 
Monitoring  systems  there  have  benefitted  from  standardisation  of  data-requirements 
that also had been used to reduce data sets. Online data-entry and coupling of payment 
flows  to  data-entry  on  outputs  and  achievements  led  to  more  up-to-date  data 
availability.  

Data availability is sometimes restricted due to privacy restrictions 

There is  evidence  that  privacy legislation, implemented for  protecting private data165, 
has  a  negative  impact  on  the  ability  of  Managing  Authorities  to  collect  and  analyse 
monitoring data and especially potentially sensitive personal details.  

Difficulties  in  contacting  participants  once  they  have  left  the  programme  were  also 
reported.  In  France,  for  example,  the  analysis  of  the  long-term  impact  of  ‘Cap 
avenir/métiers’ was not possible because of the lack of data for the control group six 
months after the supported group had completed the programme and a survey was not 
possible because access to personal data was refused by the National Commission for 
Data Protection and Liberties (CNIL). Similar issues have been found in Spain, Portugal 
and elsewhere.  

165 including GDPR compliance 

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The Youth Guarantee reports do not pose significant additional administrative 
burdens 

The implementation of the Youth Guarantee promoted a new approach to data collection 
and  monitoring  of  participants  with  the  elaboration  of  swift  and  frequent  monitoring 
reports  that  represent  an  important  tool  for  assessing  the  implementation  of  the 
programme  and  identifying  critical  areas  of  intervention,  without  posing  additional 
excessive  administrative  burden.  This  enabled  employment  services  to  expand  the 
standards used for the Youth Guarantee to all the active labour market operations and 
the creation  of an information system for monitoring and policy analysis.  This should 
lead  to  the  establishment  of  an  ‘employee  dossier’  containing information  concerning 
his working history, subject to data protection laws. 

4.2.5  EQ 2.5. How visible were YEI and other ESF-funded youth 

employment operations? 

The  public  consultation  showed  a  good  general  awareness  of  YEI  and  ESF 
youth employment operations which could be further improved 

The public consultation shows that there is some way to go to raise the visibility 
of ESF and a little more so for YEI. More than half of respondents are familiar or have 
an idea of the goal and scope and know at least one activity funded by the ESF or 
YEI,  or  both.  This  percentage  excludes  respondents  from  organisations  directly 
involved in the implementation of ESF/YEI for obvious reasons.  

The case studies, evaluations and the focus group all point to a range of methods that 
are being used including the use of media, newsletters and social networks, websites 
(a dedicated one in Belgium Wallonia) as well as YouTube. Some innovative methods 
were  also  used  to  raise  awareness  (concerts,  advertising  in  fast  food  restaurants) 
which has also worked well in some cases. However, a mix of approaches, including 
a greater role for PES in promoting ESF/YEI (especially effective in Bulgaria) appears 
to work best. 

The visibility of the YEI and ESF is a requirement in the ESF regulation  

The  visibility  of  YEI  and  ESF  is  important  at  different  levels  and  throughout  the 
implementation period, whether it is ensured at the beginning of the programme, during 
implementation  or  afterwards.  It  is  an  important  part  of  outreach  (in  order  to  help 
attract  participants),  a  requirement  during  implementation  (the  beneficiaries  must 
ensure that those taking part in an operation are specifically informed of the YEI support 
provided  through  the  ESF  funding  and  the  specific  YEI  allocation),  and  afterwards  in 
reporting on results and achievements. 

The public consultation provides the strongest  evidence for this question.  The  results 
presented in Figure 40 show the overall answers to the question “How familiar are you 
with the European Social Fund and the Youth Employment Initiative?”, which was asked 
to all groups except organisations involved in the management of the ESF/YEI.  

Results show that  in combination,  34.9% of respondents have a familiarity with 
both the ESF and YEI or one of the two. Among this group, most of them (22.7%) 
have familiarity with both. Some 25.1% of all respondents have an idea of the goal and 
scope and know at least one activity funded by the ESF or YEI, or both. Almost a quarter 
of respondents (23.2%) only have a general idea of their goal and scope. Overall, there 
is a 16.8% of respondents who never heard of ESF or YEI before, mostly among 
respondents in group A2 (31.4% of them never heard of ESF/YEI before).  

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  Familiarity with ESF and YEI 

Question:  How  familiar  are  you  with  the  European  Social  Fund  and  the  Youth 
Employment Initiative? (1,024 respondents) 

In  particular,  it  is  interesting  to  compare  two  groups  of  young  respondents  (33  or 
under), i.e. those that  

  have  participated  or  are  participating  in  YEI  or  ESF  youth  employment 

operations with (A1) and  

  others being individual citizens 33 years-old or under, who did not take 
part in the ESF/YEI, took part in some other support scheme not funded 
by the ESF/YEI,  or took part  and  do not  know  if  it was ESF/YEI funded 
(A2) –  

Out of 92 respondents166, 49 were not aware if their support was from ESF or YEI). In 
addition, there is a third group, citizens over 33 (B) and 80 organisations (D) who are 
not engaged in delivering ESF/YEI. 

Table 18 provides an analysis from the public consultation based on 336 responses for 
A1, 430 for A2 178 for B and 80 for D.  

The gap between the groups in terms of their awareness of ESF youth employment or 
YEI is quite marked. For example, familiarity with both funds ranges from 36.6% of 
respondents within A1, 33.7% within B, 23.8% within D and only 7% within 
A2.  

The  older  group  (B)  has  relatively  high  levels  of  awareness  and  only  9.6%  was  not 
familiar of YEI or the ESF. The biggest differences are between A1 and A2 with 31.4% 
(A2) not familiar with YEI and ESF, compared with 3.3% for A1 (the group that has or 
is participating in YEI/ESF). From the A2 group 37% had only a general idea of the goal 

166 that answered the question “Could you please tell us which type of support you have received or are 
currently receiving?” 

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and scope of YEI/ESF, compared to 11.6% for A1 and 20% for B (those groups having 
a greater degree of awareness).  

The  table  also  illustrates  some  differences  between  YEI  and  ESF  with  marginally less 
awareness – and greater visibility issues - for YEI. Overall, of the four groups 8.6% had 
an idea of the goal and scope of ESF, and knew of at least one activity, compared to 
6.05% for YEI. This is followed by 10.44% of respondents who have an idea of the goal 
and scope and know at least one activity funded by the ESF or YEI, or both, relatively 
modest.  

These results show that there is work to be done to raise the awareness of both the ESF 
and YEI. 

  Familiarity with ESF/YEI by group of respondents, absolute and relative 

frequency 

Familiarity with ESF and YEI 

Familiar with both 

Familiar with the ESF 

Familiar with the YEI 

Never heard of them before 

Have an idea of the goal and scope and 
know at least one activity (ESF-funded) 
Have an idea of the goal and scope and 
know at least one activity (YEI-funded) 
Have an idea of the goal and scope and 
know at least one activity (both ESF and 
YEI) 

Only a general idea of their goal and scope 

Total  

N. of respondents by group, absolute 
value (% of column total in brackets) 

A.1 

A.2 

B 

D 

Total 

123 
(36.6) 
11 
(3.3) 
46 
(13.7) 
12 
(3.6) 
36 
(10.7) 
31 
(9.2) 
38 
(11.3) 

30 
(7.0) 
14 
(3.3) 
14 
(3.3) 
135 
(31.4) 
21 
(4.9) 
19 
(4.4) 
37 
(8.6) 

60 
(33.7) 
17 
(9.6) 
12 
(6.7) 
17 
(9.6) 
24 
(13.5) 
8  
(4.5) 
17 
(9.6) 

19 
(23.8) 
8 
(10.0) 
3 
(3.8) 
8 
(10.0) 
7 
(8.8) 
4 
(5.0) 
15 
(18.8) 

39 
(11.6) 
336 
(100)  

160 
(37.2) 
430 
(100)  

23 
(12.9) 
178 
(100)  

16 
(20.0) 
80 
(100)  

232 
(22.7) 
50 
(4.9) 
75 
(7.3) 
172 
(16.8) 
88 
(8.6) 
62 
(6.1) 
107 
(10.4) 

238 
(23.2) 
1,024 

Respondents could make one choice 
Source: Draft Final Report, Public Consultation on the Evaluation of the EU Support to Youth Employment by 
the Youth Employment Initiative and the European Social Fund 

The visibility of ESF youth programmes and YEI can be improved by a range 
of approaches, including social media, information services and specialist 
agencies 

The visibility of the YEI and other ESF funded youth employment operations was tackled 
by the public consultation. Respondents were asked to express their opinion on the best 
channel to inform young people about youth employment initiatives.  

Social  media  campaigns  were  the  best  channel  in  the  view  of  all  respondents.  In 
particular,  76.1%  of  ESF/YEI  participants  believe  so,  and  76.9%  of  all  respondents 
including  organisations  involved  and  not  involved.  Social  media  are  followed  at  a 
distance by youth networks, clubs and online groups (42.7% overall) and word of mouth 
(36.5% overall). 

Nevertheless,  the  majority  of  respondents  learned  about  the  support  measures  they 
benefited  from  through  employment  services  and  employment  info  centres 
(52.9%), followed at a distance by word of mouth, family or friends and a smaller share 
having learned of them from social media (26.2%). The percentage of respondents who 
learned  about  YEI  and  ESF  support  through  employment  services  and  information 
centres is highest in Bulgaria (82.1%). This suggests the potential for a greater role for 

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PES  in  raising  awareness,  if  the  Bulgarian  figures  can  be  replicated,  but  as  part  of  a 
broader  strategy  that  includes  the  use  of  social  media  and  partnership  working  with 
schools,  community  organisations  and  front  line  services  (e.g.  dealing  with  health, 
homelessness etc.). Good practice in this area is covered in Chapter 5. 

Looking  at  respondents  to  the  public  consultation  that  did  not  take  part  in  ESF/YEI 
programmes, most respondents (48%) say that it was because they were not aware of 
them, but also that they did not know where to ask for information (22%). When asked 
about what is the best channel to inform young people about these initiatives, they also 
mostly (71.1%) replied social media campaigns.  

All in all, these results may suggest that the target population could be made more 
aware  of  youth  operations  and  that  potentially  more  efficient  channels  like  social 
media campaigns were not exploited enough given that most ESF/YEI participants did 
not learn about the support opportunities through this channel. 

The YEI evaluations also provided some insight into communication channels although 
the  information  was  not  complete  across  Member  States.  Different  approaches  have 
been used as well as a mix of approaches within Member States. There is evidence from 
the YEI evaluations in Belgium Wallonie, Spain, Portugal and Germany that social media 
campaigns can be effective. They all used the media, newsletters and social networks, 
websites (a dedicated one in Belgium Wallonia) as well as YouTube. 

The 2018 YEI evaluations and case studies also suggest that direct contact with the 
target groups through meetings, outreach and local networks was very helpful. As part 
of a wider strategy. Indeed, it was stressed that in order to increase visibility amongst 
the target groups, the most effective actions are street work, face to face meetings with 
potential  participants  and  working  with  youth  associations  and  street  workers,  as 
illustrated in Belgium Wallonia and Spain or using local networks (Portugal). In Germany 
an effective tool to promoting ESF in particular to enterprises was the coordination and 
cooperation networks of stakeholders as well as the role of social workers and chambers 
as multipliers of information on ESF support. 

Elsewhere,  Bulgaria  has  used  innovative  outreach  operations  such  as  organising 
concerts at which the public employment service was then present to inform and collect 
contact details from young NEETs. Portugal advertised the services on the paper place 
mats on the fast food restaurant trays as well as placing teasers in some of the subway 
stations  in  Lisbon,  to  mention  a  few  of  the  innovative  ways  to  reach  young  people 
mentioned at the EU level focus group. The number of visits to the Portuguese public 
employment  service  website  has  increased  substantially  every  time  an  action  or 
campaign took place. 

4.3 

Relevance 

EQ 3. Relevance: How relevant is the YEI, and the other ESF-funded youth 
employment operations? 

YEI and the other ESF-funded youth operations are relevant for addressing 
the needs of young people.  

The  efforts  of  Member  States  to  address  these  needs,  combined  with  a  general 
economic  uplift  following  the  ‘crisis’  have  yielded  positive  results.  YEI  and  ESF 
supported  actions  have  contributed  to  this  positive  evolution,  some  of  which  were 
found to have helped young people improve their skills and enter the labour market. 
Notably,  actions  related  to  training,  job  placements,  information,  guidance  and 
support for acquiring work experience stand out as most relevant.  

In addition to specific YEI/ESF actions, the way in which these actions were designed 
and implemented, i.e. the YEI/ESF approach or strategy is also relevant, for instance, 
starting from a needs analysis focused on targeting or a step-by-step implementation. 

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The relevance of the youth employment operations is also evident in the capacity of 
programmes to adapt to changing conditions, such as the drop in the number of 
NEETs,  by  changing  budget  allocations  or  shifting  operations  to  focus  on  certain 
regions or target groups that were most in need. It is notable that as a consequence 
of the design of YEI operations, the support for youth employment focused on those 
regions with the highest youth unemployment. In addition, the design of programmes 
proved to be  flexible enough to accommodate any  required  changes  without major 
reprogramming in most cases.  

There is scope for improvement as some actions were less useful, due to limited 
identification  of  needs  or  insufficient  targeting  of  the  actions.  Some  needs  were 
difficult to address due  to limited capacity (e.g. lack  of specialised social workers), 
eligibility conditions or the situation of extreme vulnerability of target groups. There 
is also scope to improve employment offers, in some cases (duration and wage levels) 

YEI operations are designed to target beneficiaries that need the support the most; 
there is however scope for improvement in the definition of NEETs to allow for more 
preventive operations. 

Finally,  improvements  are  also  possible  in  incorporating  gender  issues  at  the 
implementation  stage  (currently  the  gender  balance  is  considered  in  programming 
and design stages and less so in implementation), through the  use of more gender 
specific  indicators  and  the  development  of  relevant  targets  for  gender.  This  is 
discussed further in Chapter 5. 

4.3.1  EQ 3.1. To what extent were the objectives and the operations funded 

by the YEI relevant to the needs of young people in Europe? To what 
extent were the objectives and operations of other ESF funded youth 
employment operations relevant for them?  

Based on the evidence available to date, the YEI/ESF was found to address the 
needs  of  young  people  in  most  cases  and  contribute  to  improve  their  labour 
market situation. 

Several youth employment operations were found to be useful for improving skills 
and  helping  young  people  enter  the  labour  market,  notably  activities  related  to 
training, while also job placements, information and guidance were useful. Local and 
regional cooperation is a key factor for designing relevant interventions. 

Youth employment operations were not only useful because of their content but also 
because  of  their  design  and  implementation  approach.  For  example,  designing 
operations based on a thorough needs assessment, adopting a step-by-step approach 
based  on  distance  from  the  labour  market  or  targeting  specific  target  groups  and 
needs are all approaches that contribute to the relevance of the YEI/ESF. 

Despite all the efforts and improvements, there is still scope for improvement if we 
take  into  account  what  has  worked  well  and  what  has  worked  less  well,  e.g.  most 
successful  operations,  less  useful  operations,  difficulties  encountered  in  addressing 
needs, while building on existing experience where efforts to improve relevance have 
been implemented. 

Member States have undertaken successful efforts to address the needs of 
young people 

Member States have reacted to the labour market situation in 2014, which depicted a 
very  high  proportion  of  NEETs  in  South  Europe,  with  high  rates  of  inactive  and 
unemployed  NEETs,  high  early  school  leaving  rates  and  limited  possibilities  to  find 
employment for those outside education. The results of these efforts are evident both 
in  the  evolution  of  the  labour  market  situation  and  in  the  results  of  the  Operational 
Programmes. The analysis of the evolution of the labour market situation between 2014 
and 2017 shows a decrease of the NEET rate (mainly due to the decrease of young 

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unemployed  NEETs)  and  a  decrease  of  the  early  school  leaving  rates  and  of  the 
proportion  of  early  school  leavers  who  are  not  in  employment.  In  addition,  the 
proportion  of  NEETs  in  households  at  risk  of  poverty  and  social  exclusion  has  also 
decreased.  The  results  of  the  OPs  analysed  above  under  the  effectiveness  sections, 
confirm the improvement of the labour market situation for the participants.  

The relevance of Member States' efforts to address the needs of young people is further 
confirmed in the analysis of the implementation of Country-Specific Recommendations 
(CSR)167. Annex 1 on mapping provides details on this. 

A previous study analysing the outcome of the negotiations concerning the Partnership 
Agreement  and  the  ESF  Operational  Programmes  for  the  2014-2020  programming 
period168  concluded  that  the  Country-Specific  Recommendations  related  to  youth 
employment are generally well addressed by ESF investment under Investment Priority 
8.ii.  It  is  in  2014  that  the  highest  number  of  recommendations  linked  to  youth 
employment  (23  in  total)  is  observed.  Since  then,  the  numbers  dropped  significantly 
(eight in 2015, three in 2016, one in 2017, two in 2018 and one in 2019), reflecting 
both the improvement of the socio-economic situation and the fact that Member States 
made efforts to try to comply with the recommendations. 

Youth employment operations were useful and relevant to help young people 
improve their skills and enter the labour market 

What stands out based on the various sources of information is the usefulness of actions 
related to training, such as traineeships and other activities aiming to improve skills. 
The public consultation revealed that training for general skills, support in overcoming 
barriers  to  work/training,  as  well  as  training  for  qualifications  were  considered  by 
participants amongst the most useful actions. The large majority of organisations (over 
90%) in the public consultation exercise considered the following actions as relevant or 
very  relevant  to  help  young  people  enter  quality  and  sustainable  employment: 
vocational oriented education and training, guidance and career support, remunerated 
apprenticeships/ traineeships/ internships as well as basic skills training. 

Training activities proved to be very relevant in the case studies too. For example, in 
Portugal, the YEI/ESF operations are generally considered to have provided a concrete 
and decisive response to the high youth unemployment and NEET rates. In particular, 
traineeships proved very relevant in the peak of the crisis where many young people 
did  not  even  search  for  a  job  but  rather  for  an  opportunity  to  improve  their 
employability. In Poland also most participants declared that the support was tailored 
to their needs, especially those whose needs were taken into account upstream in order 
to  match  them  with  the  most  suitable  type  of  support.  This  ranged  from  training 
activities addressing skill improvement needs to more innovative activities addressing 
the need to improve self-esteem. 

Furthermore, as outlined at the EU-level Focus Group, training is more relevant if it is 
practical and matched with job opportunities. Latvia for instance, highlighted that 
short, practical training programmes are more successful in engaging young people than 
long-term  education  programmes.  In  addition,  Italy  focuses  on  how  best  to  achieve 
integration  of  young  people  by  designing  training  that  is  in  line  with  job 
opportunities/skills  needs  and  in  this  respect  cooperation  with  local  partners  is  key. 
Their  experience  is  that  standardised  training  is  not  conducive  to  finding  a  job,  but 
placements in local companies are. 

167 The Country-specific Recommendations (CSR's) are documents prepared by the European Commission for 
each country analysing its economic situation and providing recommendations on measures it should adopt 
over  the  coming  12  months.  The  CSRs  are  prepared  for  each  country  in  response  to  the  annual National 
Reform Programme. More information on Country-specific Recommendations and the European Semester for 
2016 can be found on the European Commission website. 
168 https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/b2c01d15-ffef-11e6-8a35-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en  

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Cooperation as a key factor is also stressed in the German case study where local and 
regional partnership coordination (not only for youth operations) provide considerably 
to the relevance and needs-focused implementation of ESF. 

Another  type  of  action  that  was  found  useful  for  the  improvement  of  skills  was  job 
placements.  In  the  Italian  case  study  for  instance,  participants  showed  good 
satisfaction  rates  with  the  services  received,  especially  with  active  policy  or  job 
placement allowing them to find new opportunities, increasing their individual autonomy 
and increasing their skills. 

Furthermore,  information  on  job  opportunities,  guidance  and  tutoring  and  support  to 
find  work  experience  were  amongst  the  most  useful  actions  identified  in  the  public 
consultation.  

In addition to specific actions, the YEI/ESF approach and strategy were also 
relevant and suitable for responding to the needs of young people 

Different sources allow us to infer that what counts is not only the actions themselves 
but  the  way  in  which  they  are  designed  and  implemented,  for  instance  following  a 
thorough needs analysis, focusing on specific target groups based on identified needs 
or implemented on a step-by-step basis which is based on needs or distance from the 
labour market. For instance,169 YEI projects developed in the  Operational Programme 
for England are successfully targeting and engaging young NEETs facing challenges to 
access  the  labour  market  (72%  of  the  participants  were  disadvantaged).  Another 
example is Sweden, where the YEI strategy is based on a relevant needs analysis. It 
can be concluded, that YEI actions have largely reached the intended target group and 
YEI meets the needs of the participants.  

In the German case study, relevance is ensured by the mainly gap-plugging function 
of  ESF  by  supporting  very  specific  target  groups.  German  programmes  (in  particular 
with regard to young people) have a strong focus on chains of support, offering step-
by-step  support  for  those  far  from  the  labour  market.  They  also  start  early  with 
preparatory and preventive operations at the transition from school to work. The gap-
plugging function is also evident in the Italian case study where the introduction of a 
new priority axis in the national youth employment Operational Programme focusing on 
the most disadvantaged NEETs (i.e. those living in households that have registered for 
the recently introduced minimum income operation) contributes to filling a gap in the 
operations offered and in the groups targeted. In addition, the step-by-step approach 
was also used in Spain170, by profiling participants as a first step and identifying at which 
stage of the intervention pathway they should be placed, as a second step. 

Finally,  the  design  of  operations  based  on  different  needs  is  evident  inter  alia  in  the 
Malta  case  study  where  all  four  types  of  Youth  Guarantee  initiatives  are  assessed  as 
relevant, as each one was designed to address different needs. For example, different 
types  of  classes  are  organised  for  different  types  of  needs:  revision  classes  for  early 
school leavers, remedial classes over the summer for those who failed their exams, ICT 
courses for those who want to boost their chances of successful employment. 

In order to further improve relevance, more can be done to improve the 
identification of needs 

While the public consultation identified the actions that were the least useful in terms 
of  support  to  get  a  good  job  (back-to-school  support  and  support  in  finding  a  job/ 
non-remunerated 
experience 
apprenticeship/internship  and  community/  voluntary  work  for  organisations),  the 
evaluations carried out in Member States explain, how the limited relevance may be due 
to the lack of a proper identification of needs.  

respondents, 

individual 

abroad 

for 

169 Based on the available evidence from evaluations of youth employment operations in Member States 
170 Based on findings from the EU Focus Group 

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For instance, in the evaluation carried out in Lithuania it is estimated that for a relatively 
large proportion of participants (between 25% and 50%) their needs could not be met 
by the supported actions. It is reported that many participants were involved in activities 
irrespective  of  their  actual  labour  market  or  education  needs  or  were  only  proposed 
services  that  were  still  available,  suggesting  that  their  needs  were  not  fully  met.  In 
particular,  the  proposed  services  were  not  exhaustive  enough  and  did  not  meet  the 
needs of the most disadvantaged youth such as disabled young people, those with family 
obligations, with addictions or low levels of education.  

At the same time, it is important to take into account not only actions related to skills 
aiming to labour market integration, but also those that help as a first step to improve 
the individual/personal skills and build confidence and self-esteem. This can be 
inferred from the results of the public consultation where some respondents suggested 
training in social skills and psychological support as potentially useful additional actions. 
The EU Focus Group also supports this argument, where the United Kingdom, Hungary 
and Lithuania stressed the importance of soft outcomes (e.g. improved self-confidence, 
self-esteem)  that  are  hard  to  measure  but  they  contribute  to  improve  labour  market 
participation. 

Other difficulties in addressing needs relate to eligibility issues, capacity issues or 
merely  the  fact  that  the  situation  of  extreme  disadvantage  of  some  target  groups 
makes it very difficult to find a suitable intervention, notably: 

  In relation to eligibility, in Greece (case study), the most pressing need of young 
people  is  to  improve  their  skills  (rather  than  to  get  a  job)  but  many  students 
cannot do so in the context of YEI as students are not eligible for support; it has 
to  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  this  issue  cannot  be  addressed  under  the 
current modalities of the YEI; 

 

in  relation  to  capacity,  in  Slovakia  (case  study),  specific  focus  is  placed  on  the 
marginalised Roma community and the main difficulty in addressing the needs of 
this target group is the lack of trained and specialised social workers; 

  the challenge and the difficulty of identifying and reaching the NEETs (especially 
the  most  vulnerable  ones  or  the  inactive)  was  underlined  in  the  evaluations  of 
some  countries  (such  as  Belgium,  France,  Spain,  Croatia,  Latvia,  Hungary  and 
Portugal), stressing again the importance of having specialised social workers to 
this end; 

 

in  relation  to  the  situation  of  disadvantage,  in  Portugal  (case  study)  there  is  a 
cohort  of  young  people  for  whom  it  is  difficult  to  find  the  most  suitable  type  of 
intervention as they are poorly qualified, sometimes even lacking basic and soft 
skills and not easily or successfully engaged into qualification processes. 

In view of the above difficulties, a good example of efforts to increase the relevance of 
the  youth  employment  related  operations  can  be  found  in  Slovakia  (case  study). 
Notably,  the  eligibility  age  limit  was  raised  to  29  years  to  address  the  changing 
situation in the labour market and the needs of young jobseekers. The eligibility criterion 
related  to  the  duration  of  registration  as  unemployed  was  also  relaxed  (for  the  age 
group 15-24 from three to one month, and in the age group 25-29 from six to three 
months) in order to support young jobseekers right after they complete  education or 
leave a job and prevent them from falling in long-term unemployment. Furthermore, 
tutoring activities were integrated in YEI.  

Notwithstanding the above and in spite of the good performance of programmes, the 
situation of young NEETs remains critical and youth employment operations remain 
very much needed and relevant. These are needed in particular in countries that still 
face high youth unemployment rates (e.g. in Southern and Eastern Europe) especially 
through types of  operations related to training, jobs placements and information and 
support on job opportunities, guidance and tutoring. 

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4.3.2  EQ 3.2. To what extent were OPs flexible and able to adapt to changes 

in the implementation context, notably the evolution in the situation 
of youth employment? 

Operational Programmes were flexible and well able to adapt to changes in the 
implementation  context,  such  as  in  regions  facing  improvements  regarding  youth 
employment, as well as the changing composition of the NEET group since 2014. Most 
Member States defined specific objectives and target groups in a relatively broad way, 
as a  result of which minor annual adjustments to programming did not have to go 
through formal Operational Programme amendment procedures.  

The  additional  budgets  made  available  to  YEI  did  require  formal  Operational 
Programme  amendments.  This  provides  evidence  of  how  the  legal  amendment 
procedures  were  flexible  enough  to  allow  the  programming  of  additional  budgets 
where  necessary  and  facilitated  the  adjustment  of  formal  targets  defined  in 
programmes.  Cooperation  between  programme  stakeholders  was  a  factor  that 
contributed to the flexibility of programmes. 

Most  programme  adaptations  are  related  to  a  more  focused  regional  targeting, 
broadening target groups and types of actions, while a limited number of programmes 
undertook changes related to content. 

Operational Programmes were able to adapt to changes in the 
implementation context. This is supported by all available evidence, pointing 
mainly to the flexibility of OPs as a result of the broad formulation of 
objectives 

The public consultation, the mapping analysis, evaluation reports and case studies, all 
indicate that the Operational Programmes were able to adapt to changes, driven mainly 
by the need to focus on regions where no major improvements in youth unemployment 
were observed.  

The majority of responding organisations (57%) in the public consultation believe that 
YEI/ESF programmes were able to adapt to the evolving socio-economic context and 
the needs of young people since 2013-2014 (when the programmes were prepared and 
launched). They stressed the ability of programmes to pay attention to contextual and 
geographical  differences  and  to  the  socio-economic  context  and  increasing  attention 
towards upskilling. Some 22% did not think the programmes have been able to adapt 
but no explanation was provided in the public consultation and 21% did not know.  

Better explanations of the ability to adapt to changes were given in the YEI evaluation 
reports. Many of these reports highlight the fact that the situation of young people 
in their respective countries or regions improved during the programming period. In 
regions where this was the case, this had implications for achieving targets, which were 
set  when  unemployment  and  the  number  of  young  NEETs  was  higher.  In  Ireland  for 
instance, the report suggests that there  was a need to re-assess the initial targets to 
avoid competition for a reduced number of potential participants.  

Most  of  such  changes  do  not  depend  on  formal  amendments  to  the  Operational 
Programmes, as the specific objectives were often formulated in a broad manner, and 
most Operational Programmes included a wide range of types of operations and target 
groups, already allowing a certain amount of flexibility. Instead of revising the formal 
overall target, programmes were often able to shift operations to target another sub-
population of the overall target group, which can be measured by indicators that are 
already defined.  

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Changes to operations include reallocations of funding to focus on certain 
regions, and the broadening of target groups or types of actions 

Significant changes to the YEI and  Investment Priority 8.ii budgets occurred after the 
increase of the YEI allocation (+ EUR 2.4 billion) approved by Parliament and the Council 
in June 2017171.  

In  terms  of  regional  targeting,  the  increase  of  the  financial  allocation  particularly 
benefitted regions where no improvements in youth employment were observed. Spain 
for  instance  was  able  to  invest  an  additional  EUR  0.9  billion  to  fight  youth 
unemployment, followed by Italy (EUR 0.8 billion) and France (EUR 0.4 billion). More 
specifically,  the  Spanish  case  study  shows  how  reprogramming  and  the  use  of  the 
additional  budget  involved  redistributing  actions  and  adapting  to  specific  needs  of 
different territories. In Slovakia too, the case study shows that higher financial resources 
went  to  regions  with  the  highest  unemployment  and  the  eligibility  conditions  also 
changed.  

These findings on regional targeting are also supported by the RHOMOLO report which 
concluded that Youth Employment interventions focused efficiently on the regions most 
in need. 

Some  of  the  changes  relate  to  changes  in  the  target  groups,  for  instance,  the 
mapping analysis shows that in Greece the design of operations was adapted to include 
additional actions targeting specifically the 25-29 age group who are not in any form of 
education and with limited skills to enter the labour market. It also shows that additional 
Operational Programmes made changes to their target groups (Operational Programme 
Flanders,  Operational  Programme  Bayern,  Operational  Programme  Sachsen-Anhalt, 
Operational  Programme  Nord-Pas  de  Calais  and  Operational  Programme  Human 
Resources in Slovakia). 

New  forms  of  support  or  types  of  operations  were  introduced  in  some  Operational 
Programmes. Specifically new forms of support were introduced in Poland (case study) 
to take into account the needs of participants (e.g. workshops on image improvement 
aimed at improving self-esteem) and new types of action were introduced in France and 
Germany (mapping analysis). There was also a case in Germany (Bayern) where fewer 
funds were allocated given the excess of proposed training places, as illustrated in the 
respective case study. 

Based on the above it can be concluded that budgetary changes mainly affected the 
volume of operations supported (allowing the Operational Programmes to do more of 
the  existing  operations)  rather  than  lead  to  significant  changes  in  the  programme 
strategy. 

Only  in  a  limited  number  of  programmes  the  underlying  programme  strategy  was 
revised172. The most visible changes in terms of content are discussed here: 

  In Germany (case studies and mapping analysis) new operations were set up, such 
as language courses introduced to respond to the influx of refugees in Nordrhein-
Westfalen and the socio-economic needs analysis was updated in Sachsen-Anhalt.  

  In the Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development in Poland, the 

socio-economic needs analysis was also updated.  

  In  the  Operational  Programme  Azores  (mapping  analysis),  the  budget  was 
transferred from Investment Priority 8.i to IP 8.ii. This was because operations in 
Investment Priority 8.i (support to the hiring of workers; professional traineeships; 
support  to  non-wage  labour  costs)  and  Investment  Priority  8.ii  (professional 
traineeships; vocational retraining traineeships; support to the hiring of workers) 
were, from the start, very similar and the Operational Programme had too many 

171 Based on the mapping analysis 
172  In  order  to  assess  whether  the  revised  financial  allocation  also  implied  changes  in  the  content  of  the 
programmes, the first and latest versions of the operation programmes were compared for the ten case study 
countries 

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different types of actions. Thus, the main reason for keeping one was the need to 
concentrate  operations  and  to  focus  on  those  deemed  as  more  important.  The 
European  Commission,  in  its  reprogramming  decisions  also  agreed  that  the 
request “is duly justified by the need to ensure a better alignment with the new 
political  and  strategic  priorities  of  the  Portuguese  government  and  the  current 
socio-economic context”. 

  In  Italy  (mapping  analysis),  the  National  Youth  Employment  Operational 
Programme underwent  significant reprogramming partly due to the re-financing 
of the YEI and to the availability of additional ESF resources. A priority axis was 
added, and a new specific objective was introduced. This allowed the broadening 
the target group (not only NEETs, thanks to ESF resources) as well as to add a 
specific  focus  on  the  most  disadvantaged  youths  (namely  at  risk  of  poverty)  in 
close synergy with recently introduced national policy developments. 

A key factor for the successful adaptation of OPs is flexibility, favoured by 
cooperation between programme stakeholders 

In a number of case studies, it was found that cooperation and dialogue contributed 
to  the  flexibility  of  the  programmes  and  to  the  ability  to  adapt  to  changes  in  the 
implementation. Hence, the dialogue established over time between stakeholders and 
the Managing Authority in Spain, and the partnership network established in Portugal 
for reaching out the most disadvantaged, are considered as key factors that favoured 
flexibility. Likewise, in Italy where local authorities were involved in inter-institutional 
discussion groups (involving the Managing Authority, the intermediate bodies and the 
social partners).  

4.3.3  EQ 3.3. Were the most relevant groups, in the different socioeconomic 
contexts (e.g. more developed, less developed and transition regions; 
urban and rural areas etc.), targeted from the design stage? Were the 
most important needs of these groups addressed? How were gender 
issues addressed? 

From  the  design  stage  the  most  relevant  groups  for  youth  employment 
operations  have  been  targeted,  both  explicitly  (YEI),  as  well  as  more  implicitly 
(ESF).  Even  where  no  specific  targets  are  set  for  target  groups,  young 
unemployed/inactive people (15-29) are the almost unique target group of youth 
employment operations.  

ESF/YEI  allocated  budgets  to  youth  employment  operations  particularly  in  regions 
that faced the most challenges of youth employment.  

Gender issues receive considerable attention in the programming and design 
stage and tend to be present horizontally through the selection criteria used 
to  evaluate  projects  or  broader  outreach  efforts  by  the  Managing  Authority. 
However, this attention is not reflected in the use of indicators or their targets most 
of which are not gender-specific, nor do they set specific targets.  

Evidence  from  evaluations  suggests  that  specialised  training  in  gender  issues  and 
knowledge of the needs of women enhances gender equality in the implementation of 
operations. NGOs often have this knowledge and obtain better results in improving 
the situation of women.  

As  a  consequence,  a  lesson  learned  is  that  targets  for  gender  would  be 
appropriate  for  youth  and  future  interventions  could/should  incorporate  such 
targets. 

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YEI operations are designed to target beneficiaries that need the support the 
most - there is however scope for improvement in the definition of NEETs to 
allow for more preventive operations 

YEI  supports  youth  employment  operations  in  regions  where  youth  unemployment  is 
above 25%. Moreover, if properly justified, Member States can use up  to 10% of the 
YEI budget to address specific sub-regions with pockets of high youth unemployment 
that are outside the formal eligible regions173. In these regions, the only eligible target 
group  for  YEI  funding  is  young  persons  that  are  not  in  employment,  education  or 
training, and that are inactive or unemployed (including the long term unemployed). By 
design  and  definition  therefore,  YEI  operations  are  particularly  targeted  to  groups  of 
beneficiaries that would benefit most from the type of targeted support. 

Such strict eligibility criteria also mean that other vulnerable (young) people groups 
are not directly targeted by YEI, are also sometimes left out of ESF and can be ‘hard to 
reach’  for  all  programmes.  In  focus  group  discussions  conducted  during  the  data 
collection  of  this  evaluation,  participants  pointed  for  instance  to  the  fact  that  YEI 
currently does not allow to focus youth employment operations earlier during 
school years in order to address preventively the problems of this target group 
before they become NEETs.  

Some countries were in favour of further enlarging the definition of the target population 
(beyond those still at school) such as Italy, where due to severe unemployment in the 
less developed regions, there is a need to extend the support to people up to the 
age of 34.  

In  addition,  some  countries  underlined  the  complexity  of  the  NEET  concept.  In 
France,  for  instance,  the  YEI  operations  were  targeted  at  NEETs,  but  in  practice,  the 
majority of those participating in the supported interventions are low-qualified people 
aged 18-21 (therefore only accounting for part of the NEET population), who are already 
the target of many existing employment measures.  

There are various ways in which ESF OPs address the most relevant target 
groups and tackle disadvantage 

For ESF no strict eligibility requirements exist for participation, and any such target 
groups  can  be  addressed  with  ESF  funding,  either  within  the  dedicated  investment 
priority  for  youth  employment,  as  well  as  under  its  broader  types  of  objectives  and 
investment priorities. Most output indicators with targets do not specify an explicit target 
group, but even then, the targets for result indicators clearly suggest that young people 
without employment are the main target group.  

The  ways  in  which  programmes  ensured  they  address  the  most  relevant  and 
vulnerable groups include inter alia: 

  The  definition  of  specific  output  targets.  A  small  number  of  Member  States 
specifically  defined  output  targets  for  explicit  target  groups.  In  Spain  youth 
employment operations defined explicit targets to reaching people with low skills 
and  qualifications,  while  Luxembourg  and  Romania  defined  explicit  targets  for 
migrants, or marginalised communities. 

  The  establishment  of  mechanisms  allowing  the  identification  of  the  most 
disadvantaged. Malta, although not specifically targeting a disadvantaged group, 
has a mechanism in place  allowing the identification of the most disadvantaged 
(thanks to the cooperation of the public employment service with post-secondary 
education institutions). 

  Having  a  specific  focus  on  disadvantaged  young  people.  In  Germany  and 
Spain,  some  ESF  Operational  Programmes  specifically  focus  on  disadvantaged 

173 Art. 16 of the ESF regulation provides for 10% flexibility for YEI resources, which can be used to target 
young persons residing in sub-regions which experience high youth unemployment levels and are outside the 
eligible NUTS level 2 regions. 

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young  people  as  for  instance  in  OP  Bayern,  Action  1  is  exclusively  targeted  at 
disadvantaged young people, while in Spain one Operational Programme provides 
support  to  young  people  with  very  low  educational  levels  and  people  at  risk  of 
social exclusion. 

  Considering  disadvantage  from  the  selection  process.  In  Greece, 
disadvantage is taken into account in the selection process through a point system, 
through which participants obtain extra points based on their disadvantage (e.g. 
if they are migrants, single parent families, young people with very low skills or 
live in certain geographic areas). The point system also uses as criteria the length 
of  unemployment,  the  family  or  personal  income  and  the  non-participation  in 
similar actions. 

YEI and ESF spend proportionately more in regions where youth 
unemployment is more severe 

An assessment of the distribution of the ESF allocations to different regions underlines 
its  attention  for  the  most  relevant  groups  in  different  socio-economic  contexts.  We 
assessed the budget allocation to different clusters of regions, as presented in the Figure 
41 below. It clearly underlines how YEI – due to its unique eligibility criteria – focuses 
predominantly  on  regions  where  youth  unemployment  is  most  problematic  (72%  of 
budget focused on cluster D).  

The  RHOMOLO  study  also  shows  that  some  regions  (particularly  in  Southern  Europe) 
which  depend  a  lot  on  youth  employment  reap  a  lot  of  the  benefits  of  YEI.  It  also 
highlights that the allocated YEI amounts are proportionately higher in regions that have 
much  higher  youth  unemployment  rates,  NEET  rates  or  social  exclusion  and  risk  of 
poverty rates.  

ESF funds are spread across the different clusters of regions, but the fact that almost 
no  youth  employment  actions  are  focused  on  regions  that  had  favourable  youth 
employment figures in 2014, and further improved over recent years (Cluster A – 0%: 
EUR  14  million  against  a  figure  of  EUR  8.2  billion)  shows  how  ESF  as  well  has  been 
targeted to be spent particularly in clusters of regions where youth employment is 
most problematic. When combining ESF and YEI funding, the regions with the highest 
youth unemployment figures also receive more than half of all the youth employment 
budget (56%), while regions that also had high youth unemployment at the start of the 
programming period but improved over time are the second largest beneficiary (Cluster 
C: 28%).  

  Overview of budget allocation to clusters of regions 

Source: SFC2014, based on AIR 2018, data extracted on 6 September 2019 (Cluster A – Strong 
start/substantial progress, Cluster B – Strong start/limited progress, Cluster C – Weak start/visible 
progress, Cluster D – Very weak start/limited progress). 

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Gender issues are addressed mostly in the design stage and in a horizontal 
manner while during implementation, but less than half of the OPs use 
gender specific targets  

Only  a  small  number  of  Operational  Programmes  (in  Austria,  Spain  and  Italy) 
included  youth  employment  investments  in  the  area  of  gender  equality  (Investment 
Priority  8.iv),  accounting  for  a  total  of  EUR  18  million.  Other  ESF/YEI  operations 
(Investment  Priority  8.ii),  more  generally  tend  to  focus  on  gender  equality 
horizontally.  

In Spain for instance, gender issues are transversal in all Operational Programmes and 
the Institute for Women and Equal Opportunities of the Ministry for Equality prepares 
the 'Equality Opinion' which analyses and guarantees the observance of the principle of 
gender  equality  throughout  the  programming  process.  In  addition,  the  Institute  for 
Women collaborates in the revision of the Operational Programmes and is part of the 
Monitoring Committees. However, the Spanish thematic evaluation of  the principle of 
gender  equality  in  the  ESF  Operational  Programmes  (published  at  the  end  of  2018) 
found that although this principle is clearly enshrined in the Partnership Agreement, no 
strategy  or  methodology  for  its  effective  integration  into  the  ESF  programmes  was 
developed.  

These  are  some  examples  of  how  gender  equality  receives  substantial  attention  by 
Member  States  in  their  Operational  Programmes.  In  general,  programme  documents 
contain  detailed  strategies  on  how  attention  to  gender  equality  is  mainstreamed. 
The monitoring systems comply with the obligation to disaggregate the data collected 
by gender but did not often define gender-specific indicators that extend beyond levels 
of  participation  and  provide  results  from  a  gender  perspective.  The  same  is  true  for 
targets. While all Member States report outputs and results by gender, Member States 
can themselves choose to set a specific target for men / women or simply set a generic 
target. As presented in Table 19 below, 41% of the output indicators focusing on youth 
employment  with  targets  are  gender-specific  targets  and  are  defined  to  measure 
whether implementation respects the programme’s ambitions for gender equality (we 
revisit this point in Chapter 5). In terms of results, this is slightly lower at 28% of all 
result indicators.  

  Gender-specific targets in Investment Priority 8.ii 

Number of gender 
specific targets in IP 
8.ii 

Indicators with 
gender-specific 
target 

Total indicators for 
IP 8.ii 

Output indicators 
Result indicators 

139 
175 

41% 
28% 

340 
620 

Source: SFC2014, based on OP data reported in AIR2018 (data extracted on September 6, 2019) 

ESF  provides  guidance  and  specific  training  for  stakeholders  within  and  outside  the 
administration and is considered to play an important role at putting gender equality on 
the agenda.  

Among  individual  respondents  that  took  part  in  the  public  consultation  56.6%  were 
female  and  43.4%  male.  Looking  at  labour  market  transitions  of  those  who  received 
ESF/YEI support, the results show that of the male participants who were unemployed 
before  support,  27.1%  are  currently  employed  full-time  while  54.2%  are  still 
unemployed. Regarding female participants, among those who were unemployed before 
support,  32.9%  are  now  employed  full-time  and  36.2%  are  still  unemployed.  These 
results go in the direction of the evaluation results discussed in the paragraph above.  

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4.4 

Coherence 

EQ 4. Coherence: How coherent are YEI and the other ESF-funded youth 
employment operations among themselves, and with other actions in the 
same field? 

Existing  evidence  shows  that  YEI  and  other  ESF-funded  youth  operations 
were  coherent  amongst  themselves,  notably  due  to  the  way  they  were 
designed and programmed.  

The key factors that contributed to this complementarity include the distinct types of 
operations  supported,  the  capitalisation  on  past  experience  from  similar  operations 
and institutional cooperation / coordination amongst stakeholders. 

The  latter  is  also  a  key  factor  for  complementarity  of  YEI  and  ESF-funded  youth 
operations  with  other  actions  in  the  same  field,  i.e.  actions  supported  by  other 
programmes  and  funds  at  EU,  national  or  regional  level.  Coordinating  committees 
play  an  important  role  in  ensuring  complementarity  and  there  are  interesting 
examples of such set-ups at regional level. 

The existing evidence also shows complementarity with other programmes 
and  funds,  such  as  ERDF,  EAFRD,  EMFF,  FEAD,  European  Solidarity  Corps,  and 
especially with ERASMUS+ and EURES.  

Despite the above positive findings on complementarity, some overlapping between 
operations  was  found  in  some  cases  (France,  Italy,  Portugal  and  Slovakia),  due  to 
competition amongst operators to attract the same target group. 

4.4.1  EQ 4.1. In which manner were the YEI and other ESF-funded youth 

employment operations complementary with each other? What were 
the main factors in this regard? 

The design  and programming  of operations under YEI and ESF  contributed 
to their complementarity.  However,  some  challenges  were  identified  in  terms  of 
competition amongst operators to attract the same target group.  

YEI is technically complementary to the ESF, carrying out similar operations to ESF 
but  for  young  NEETs  in  regions  most  affected  by  youth  unemployment.  ESF  has  a 
specific remit for systems support  or was often budgeted as a  follow-up of YEI 
operations.  

Complementarity between YEI and other ESF-funded youth employment 
operations is inherent in the way they were designed and programmed 

During the bilateral negotiations on the Operational Programmes, Member States were 
encouraged to programme their youth employment related operations supported by ESF 
under Investment Priority 8.ii (as for YEI) to ensure their full visibility. YEI is indeed 
meant to support similar operations to the ESF (such as employment and training, 
apprenticeship,  hiring  incentives,  self-employment  programmes)  but  exclusively 
focuses  on  young  NEETs  in  eligible  regions.  YEI  is  therefore  technically 
complementary  to  the  ESF,  acting  in  the  regions  most  affected  by  youth 
unemployment and supporting particularly disadvantaged young people.  

In  line  with  these  requirements,  most  Member  States  indeed  programmed  youth 
employment investments in the dedicated investment priority. However, as already 
shown  in  Chapter  3,  a  relevant  number  of  ESF-funded  youth  employment  operations 
was  programmed  outside  investment  priority  8.ii  accounting  for  16%  of  the  total 
costs reported for youth employment investments according to our calculations. Most 
often, these operations can be found under access to employment (Investment Priority 
8.i) and adaptability (Investment Priority 8.v). One potential reason for programming 
youth employment operations outside  Investment Priority 8.ii may be linked with the 

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thematic concentration principle which requires programmes to allocate a minimum 
share (between 60% and 80%) of the ESF allocation to a maximum of five investment 
priorities174.  In  addition,  for  a  few  Operational  Programmes,  young  unemployed  are 
specifically  targeted  by  investment  priorities  outside  TO8  (mostly  under  Investment 
Priority  9.i,  10.i  and  10.ii)  addressing  social  inclusion  of  young  unemployed  or  the 
importance of education and training in the transition of this group to the labour market.  

The case studies confirm that the design and programming of operations ensured their 
complementarity, for instance: 

  both YEI and ESF-funded youth employment operations were programmed under 

the same Priority Axis (Poland);  

  the selection of beneficiaries took place from the design phase (Spain); 

  the design of the operations took into account their complementarity (for instance 
by focusing on the same target group but also proposing different actions, sectors 
of application, duration or age groups as in Italy175), 

  through eligibility rules (for instance in France, second chance schools can obtain 
funding from YEI if they are located in eligible territories, if not, they can request 
ESF funding). 

A few of the evaluation reports also recognise the coherence of YEI funded programmes 
with other ESF-funded youth employment policies (e.g. in Cyprus), bearing in mind that 
coherence  was  not  systematically  assessed  in  the  evaluation  reports  examined  and 
therefore very little relevant information can be drawn from most of these.  

The main factors that contribute to this complementarity include differences 
in the types of operations supported and the previous experience in running 
similar operations, including the experience of the stakeholders involved. 

YEI  and  ESF  supported  different  types  of  operations  as  shown  in  the  mapping 
analysis. For YEI-funded operations, the largest share of the eligible costs (26%) is 
dedicated to financial incentives (compared to 10% for ESF-funded operations), followed 
by  a  combination  of  multiple  types  of  operations  (20%)  (compared  to  13%  for  ESF-
funded  operations).  At  the  same  time  the  largest  budget  share  for  ESF-funded 
operations  is  linked  to  operations  supporting  work-based  learning  (24%)  and 
guidance services (22% against 11% for YEI-funded operations). This analysis reflects 
the  complementarity  of  YEI  and  ESF-funded  youth  employment  operations  as  they 
support different types of operations.  

Other  factors  are  the  experience  in  running  similar  operations  in  the  past  and  the 
involvement and coordination of stakeholders, notably:  

  the accumulation of past experience in running similar operations for various types 
of  young  people  or  in  addressing  the  same  target  groups  in  different  phases  of 
their active lives which was a key factor in Portugal (case study); 

  the existence of coordinating authorities with experience in France and Spain (case 

studies);  

  similarly,  the  lack  of  coordination  contributed  to  limited  complementarity  in 

Romania (evaluation report); 

174 See Article 4 of the ESF Regulation No 1304/2013 
175 The national evaluation of the YEI in Italy carried out a detailed assessment of the complementary between 
YEI and ESF youth employment measures. These elements converge on the assessment that YEI and ESF are 
strongly interlinked and mostly acting in synergy along the following dimensions: 
-  Complementarity (31% of ESF YE actions are different from the ones of the YEI but focus on similar target 

groups) 

-  Strengthening  of  actions  (i.e.  26%  are  similar  actions  for  similar  target  groups  --  thus  increasing  the 

overall volume) 

-  Specialisation (24% are different targets and different actions) 
- 

Integration (18.4% are similar actions but different target groups) 

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  the involvement of the local public employment service in the implementation and 
the ESF-supported networks of stakeholders (the German case study shows that 
stakeholders  help  overcoming  obstacles  due  to  the  complexities  of  national, 
regional and local strategies). 

Notwithstanding the above, some competition – for participants - among 
operations was also identified in trying to attract the same target group 

The case studies report some problems of competition among operations vying to attract 
participants from the target groups which can be supported both by ESF and YEI. This 
is confirmed by findings of evaluations carried out in the Member States, for instance in 
France, where the competition among operators to attract participants has highlighted 
as many similar projects as those supported by YEI are already financed by the ESF or 
national resources, and also in Hungary. 

4.4.2  EQ 4.2. To what extent were they complementary and coherent with 
other policy objectives funded by the ESF and other programmes and 
policy initiatives oriented to young people and youth-employment at 
EU level (e.g. ERDF, EAFRD, EMFF, Erasmus+, EURES…)? 

According  to  the  EU  legislative  framework,  the  public  consultation  and  the  case 
studies, there is no evidence that other programmes replicate or duplicate youth 
employment actions under YEI and ESF. Both YEI and ESF-funded youth operations 
are  complementary  and  coherent  with  other  EU  and  national  or  regional  schemes. 
They are coherent with ERDFD, EAFRD, EMFF, FEAD, European Solidarity Corps and 
in particular with EURES and ERASMUS+. 

Institutional cooperation/coordination stands out as an overarching key factor 
for  ensuring  complementarity  with  other  Funds  and  programmes.  It  was  also 
identified  as  a  key  factor  for  complementarity  between  YEI  and  ESF-funded  youth 
operations  in  the  previous  evaluation  question.  Evidence  of  poor  institutional 
coordination was identified in a European Commission study176 as an impeding factor. 
Subsequently,  there  has  been  a  proposal  by  the  Commission  for  the  next 
programming period 2021-2027 to integrate a number of Funds (i.e. ESF, YEI, FEAD, 
EaSI and the EU Health Programme) under a single instrument, the ESF+.  

An analysis of the EU legislative framework shows that YEI and ESF-funded 
youth employment operations are coherent with other policy objectives of 
the ESF and other programmes 

The  YEI  and  youth  employment  operations  under  the  ESF  are  specifically  focused  on 
access to the labour market for young people and their activation. The YEI and ESF are 
complementary with other EU programmes, especially those listed in the figure below. 

None of the programmes replicate or necessarily duplicate YEI and youth employment 
operations  under  ESF.  Some  (ERDF,  EAFRD,  EMFF)  are  geared  towards  creating  the 
sustainable employment opportunities that could be accessed by young people. EAFRD 
and EMFF target young people in relation to support for farming and fisheries ventures, 
including skills development in these respective sectors. 

EURES  and  ERASMUS+  have  a  strong  complementarity  with  YEI  and  ESF  youth 
employment  operations.  EURES  helps  to  facilitate  information  on  job  opportunities 
whilst ERASMUS+ facilitates mobility and learning for young people. 

176 European Commission (2018) Study on the coordination and harmonisation of ESI Funds and other EU 
instruments 

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Complementarity with other EU programmes 

ERDF –  There is no  explicit youth target in the  ERDF but the  economic development 
focus  –  and  specifically  on  the  creation  of  sustainable  jobs  –  of  the  programme  is 
complementary to youth employment programmes. In particular, ERDF has provisions 
for  the  promotion  of  entrepreneurship,  social  enterprise  and  areas  of  industrial 
transition, where concentrations of NEETS can be found.  
EAFRD  –  The  programme  focuses  on  sustainable  employment,  support  to  SMEs  and 
local development (through Leader). Two themes of particular relevance are the Women 
in  Rural  Areas  and  Farm  Advisory  Services  targeted  at  young  farmers.  The  share  of 
EAFRD direct payments reserved for young farmers would increase from 0.8% to 2% 
across the EU under current proposals for the CAP after 2020 and each country would 
have to spend at least 2% of its so-called Pillar I allocation either on BPS top-ups for 
young farmers or on lump sum installation grants of up to EUR 100 000 (rather than 
the actual EUR 70 000). 
EMFF  –  The  programme  has  a  commitment  towards  the  support  of  lifelong  learning, 
and  specifically  support  for  young  people  starting  up  their  fisheries  activities,  with 
training  on  sustainable  fishing  practices  and  the  conservation  of  marine  biological 
resources.  
EURES  –  There  are  policy  overlaps  with  ESF  and  YEI  through  the  focus  on  public 
employment services and the dissemination of job vacancy data. Whilst ESF and YEI are 
focused  on  activities  at  Member  State  level,  EURES  has  the  specific  objective  of 
facilitating freedom of movement through job search across Member State boundaries. 
ERASMUS + - This programme has the closest policy overlap with ESF and YEI with an 
explicit focus on lifelong learning for young people (13-30), through formal and informal 
learning.  It  provides  financial  support  through  the  Student  Loan  Guarantee  and  has 
some similar indicators to ESF and YEI including participation levels and qualifications 
gained. 
FEAD – Whilst FEAD shares some of the wider objectives of the ESF/YEI in its focus on 
those  in  danger  of  poverty  and  social  exclusion it is  a  distinctive  programme  with  its 
own focus on material aid. It does not have a specific focus on young people and does 
not duplicate the role of ESF/YEI but is complementary as  reinforced in clause (h) of 
Article 7, Regulation 223/2014. 

At  EU  level  the  issues  of  coherence,  complementarity  and  coordination  have  been 
debated extensively and were the subject of a DG Regio study published in 2018177 and 
in  parallel  with  the  discussions  and  the  impact  study  for  ESF+.  The  study  compared 
different approaches including a common set of rules to aid harmonisation of funds  – 
and ease fund combination, to a demarcated approach with stricter delineation between 
Funds, within the ESI Funds and with other funds, one objective being to avoid overlap.  

The public consultation also showed complementarity and coherence of YEI 
and ESF with other national/regional programmes, ERASMUS+, EURES, ERDF 
and European Solidarity Corps 

The public consultation included a question about the coherence of the YEI and ESF with 
other  youth  and  youth  employment  schemes.  ESF/YEI  activities  are  generally 
considered to be mostly coherent with existing national or regional schemes by the 
respondents  of  organisations, even more so  from  organisations that were involved in 
the management of ESF/YEI activities. Overlapping or non-alignment does not seem to 
be an issue with the other existing schemes (ERASMUS+, EURES, ERDF and European 
Solidarity Corps). Some respondents mentioned other schemes that are or should be 
coherent, such as EURODESK, EEA grants, EaSi and INTERREG. Figure 42 presents the 
results. 

177 European Commission (2018) Study on the coordination and harmonisation of ESI Funds and other EU 
instruments 

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  Coherence of YEI and ESF with other youth and youth employment EU 

national/regional schemes 

Question:  To  what  extent  are  the  YEI  and  ESF  coherent  with  other  youth  and  youth 
employment EU national/regional schemes? (no=399) 

Source: Final Report, Public Consultation on the Evaluation of the EU Support to Youth Employment by the 
Youth Employment Initiative and the European Social Fund 

Some 41% of the respondents to the public consultation considered that YEI/ESF youth 
employment  programmes  are  complementary  to  Erasmus+,  the  corresponding  share 
being  31%  in  relation  to  EURES,  28%  to  ERDF  and  20%  to  the  European  Solidarity 
Corps. 

The case studies further confirm the coherence of YEI and ESF-funded youth 
employment operations with EURES, ERDF and ERASMUS+ as in the public 
consultation and highlight further complementarities (EEA grants, 
Eurodyssey) 

Although very limited information can be drawn from the case studies or the evaluations 
carried out in the Member States to reply to this sub-question, in some case studies, 
complementarity with various programmes was highlighted. This is for instance the case 
in  Portugal,  with  ERASMUS+,  EEA  Grants,  EURES,  Eurodyssey.  In  the  case  of 
Operational Programme Azores, complementarity between ESF and ERDF was reported 
as  enterprises  can  apply  simultaneously  for  investment  in  infrastructure  through  the 
ERDF and for hiring incentives through the ESF. The need to strengthen networking in 
the  context  of  the  EEA  grants’  programme  for  NGO  capacity  building  was  however 
recognised. 

Coordination stands out as a key factor for ensuring complementarity 

The case  studies stressed the fact that  coordination at institutional level is a key 
factor  for  ensuring  complementarity  with  other  EU  funds  and  programmes.  Hence  in 
Spain, a national Committee for the Coordination of EU Funds ensures the coordination 
of activities funded by the ESF, ERDF, Cohesion Fund and EMFF. In Portugal, the fact 
that  various  programmes  are  often  managed  by  the  same  authorities  is  assessed 
positively; these authorities for instance collaborate in signalling young NEETs to YEI or 
ESF  operations  through  the  national  strategy  for  the  identification  of  inactive  young 
people supported by the EU and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). 

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At  the  same  time,  poor  coordination  can  be  an  impediment  as  highlighted  in  the  DG 
EMPL study. Although the study did not find evidence of extensive overlaps, it did find 
evidence  of  poor  coordination  in  some  cases,  with  harmonisation  hampered  by 
differences  in  regulations,  rules  and  procedures.  There  has  been  a  proposal  by  the 
Commission for the next programming period to harmonise a number of Funds under 
ESF+ (ESF, YEI, FEAD, EaSI and the EU Health Programme). 

4.4.3  EQ 4.3. To what extent were they complementary and coherent with 

other activities oriented to young people and youth-employment at 
national/regional level? 

Based on the limited volume of information available, a strong coherence between 
YEI/ESF youth employment programmes and other national/regional policies has been 
reported in some cases. 

Despite the little evidence available to answer this question, the existing one 
shows that YEI and ESF-funded operations were complementary with other 
activities targeting young people at national and regional level 

According to the results of the public consultation, the majority of respondents (43%) 
considered  that  YEI/ESF  youth  employment  programmes  are  complementary  to 
national/regional programmes.  

This is confirmed by the case studies in Italy, France and Germany: 

  The Italian case study for instance indicates that the Partnership Agreement 
contains  clear  demarcation  lines  with  the  scope  of  intervention  of  national  and 
regional programmes. At the same time, the importance of having YEI and ESF-
funded  youth  operations  connected  to  national  social  and  employment  policy 
operations is underlined (the list of participants benefiting from these operations 
can  indeed  help  in  identifying  disadvantaged  people  such  as  NEETs).  Close 
complementarity and synergy between national and EU funded policies in the area 
of  active  labour  market  policies  is  reported.  ESF/YEI  have  been  used  to  test 
innovative tools and governance set up which can then be mainstreamed to the 
national policies.  

  In France, coherence is achieved at regional level, for instance, other ESF funds 
are  used  for  actions  for  which  YEI  is  not  eligible.  Furthermore,  within  the 
framework of the vocational training plan of the Regional Councils, the ESF funds 
are  largely  integrated,  and  the  linkages  between  different  funds  become  easier 
and  effective.  Steering  committees  gathering  in  each  region,  the  Regional 
Council and the DIRECCTE are also a guarantee of coordination.  

  In Germany, the ESF/YEI operations complement the national system as they are 
focused  on  gap-plugging.  Moreover,  at  regional  and  local  level,  partnership 
networks of all relevant stakeholders have been successfully implemented – also 
for adjusting regional to local needs assessments and strategies.  

  By  contrast,  in  Slovakia,  it  was  reported  that  social  field  work  was  not 
effectively  interconnected  with  the  YEI  operations  (which  is  particularly 
important  when  reaching  out  the  marginalised  Roma  communities  for  instance) 
and  that  YEI  was  not  complementary  with  educational  policies  addressing  early 
school dropouts. 

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4.5 

EU Added value 

The YEI and ESF has demonstrated considerable European Added Value. 

This includes volume effects178 by supporting interventions that were not funded by 
other national or regional programmes and allowing additional actions to take place. 
It also had important scope effects by widening the  range of existing actions and 
expanding target groups or pursuing groups not covered by other programmes. 

Although role effects were less evident, YEI and ESF-funded youth operations were 
important for raising awareness for the situation of NEETs in the Member States. In 
a  more  limited  number  of  cases,  the  YEI  and  ESF  had  role  effects  in  terms  of 
innovative  actions  introduced  under  the  funds  being  mainstreamed  into  youth 
employment policies. 

In  some  Member  States  the  EU-funded  operations  seem  to  have  replaced  existing 
operations, thus putting in question the compliance with the additionality principle. 

4.5.1  EQ 5.1. To what extent did the YEI and other ESF-funded operations 

produce effects at the national and regional level that would not have 
taken place without the EU intervention?  

Despite the fact that in some cases the YEI programmes replaced operations, which 
were previously financed from the national budget, there is evidence of volume and 
scope  effects  in  various  Member  States.  Without  YEI  and  ESF  funding,  some 
operations would not have been implemented or would be more limited in terms of 
amount of funding and breadth of target group.  

Though  rather  limited  information  on  the  possible  role  effects  of  the  supported 
operations is available, in some countries it is recognised that the YEI/ESF helped to 
raise awareness about the NEETs and to draw specific attention to this target group. 

However, given the gradual recovery from the economic and financial crisis which the 
YEI was launched to address, there is a question on  whether there is still added 
value in targeting NEETs through a dedicated initiative like the YEI or whether, 
given their complementarities, it could be integrated into ESF in the future. 

There is evidence that YEI and ESF funding has produced volume effects in 
several Member States, by supporting operations that were not funded by 
other programmes (overall, increasing the volume of youth employment 
operations) 

YEI  was  designed  to  complement  and  strengthen  existing  national  and  ESF 
provisions.  The  ESF+  Impact  Assessment  study179  concluded  that  the  larger  the 
proportion  the  YEI  has  of  the  available  national  funding  devoted  to  addressing  youth 
unemployment in the Member States, the greater the volume effect of the YEI funds. 
What is more important is that the increased funding through the YEI has allowed more 
targeted and individual focused approaches to be supported in several Member States. 
The  principal  volume  effects  of  the  YEI  are  found in  the  strengthening  of  approaches 

178 The following definitions of types of added value are used: 
-  Volume effect: have the operations added to existing actions or directly produced beneficial effects that can 

be measured in terms of volume? 

-  Scope  effect:  have  the  operations  broadened  existing  actions  by  addressing  groups  or  policy  areas  that 

would otherwise not have been addressed? 

-  Role effect: have the operations supported innovation and the transfer of ideas that have been subsequently 

rolled out in different contexts? 

-  Process effect: Have Member State administrations and participating organisations derived  benefits from 

being involved in the operations? 

179 FGB, "Study supporting the impact assessment of human capital investments", Final report, 2018 

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through  the  provision  of  extra  funding  and  through  the  individualised  support  to 
beneficiaries that would otherwise not be available. 

According  to  the  Labour  Market  Policy  database  (managed  by  DG  EMPL),  in  several 
Member  States,  some  of  the  labour  market  operations  specifically  targeted  at 
disadvantaged  youth  (i.e.  unemployed,  employed  at  risk  and  inactive)  were 
exclusively  co-funded  by  ESF/YEI,  i.e.  there  were  not  funded  by  other  programmes, 
therefore reflecting the volume effect of YEI and ESF-funded operations. For instance, 
all apprenticeships were co-funded by ESF/YEI in Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Finland. 
This  was  the  case  for  traineeships  in  Bulgaria,  Greece,  Latvia,  Malta,  Portugal  and 
Slovenia,  for  institutional  training  in  Estonia,  Ireland,  Latvia,  Malta,  Portugal  and 
Slovenia, for employment incentives in Estonia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Spain and Slovakia.  

Further details arise mainly from the case studies which reflect that YEI and other ESF-
funded  operations  produced  effects  at  national  and  regional  level  that  would  not 
have happened without the EU support. This is especially true considering the economic 
and financial crisis faced by countries like Greece, Portugal, Spain or Slovakia, especially 
in the first part of the programming period. Volume effects are evident for instance: 

  In Greece where without EU funds apprenticeship programmes would not have 

been funded because of the crisis.  

  In  Portugal,  where  it  is  reported  that  interventions  would  not  have  taken  place 
without EU funding or they would have been on a smaller scale. The YEI evaluation 
report indicated that without the financial contribution of the European Structural 
and Investment Funds, the continuity of youth employment policy would be 
more fragile and compromised. It was also reported that thanks to the YEI/ESF, 
Portugal  can  offer  tailor-made  intensive  and  specific  support  to  specific  target 
groups who would not have benefitted from such services otherwise. Without the 
EU funding, the reduction of the NEET rate would probably not have been so sharp 
and/or it would have taken more time, and the number of participants would have 
been significantly lower and probably in a more restricted number of areas. 

  In Spain, where the volume effect was particularly large with nearly two million 
actions supported (the average participant undertaking 3.3 actions). Similarly, it 
is  recognised  that  ESF  funding  has  led  to  more  ambitious  objectives  for  active 
employment policies and to more young people being reached than would have 
been  the  case  without  the  EU  funds.  This  is  true  for  all  the  priority  axes  of 
Operational Programme Youth Employment, but particularly so for the one dealing 
with  YEI  (due  to  a  much  higher  level  of  co-financing).  The  public  consultation 
confirms the importance of the volume effect in Spain, with 72.2% of respondents 
considering the YEI has widened the assistance provided. 

  In Bulgaria, where the YEI evaluation report estimated that in a scenario without 
YEI  funding,  the  level  of  youth  unemployment  and  inactivity  would  be 
significantly higher: nearly 4 000 young people would be out of the labour market, 
approximately 9 000 people would not receive further vocational training, 19 000 
would not increase their qualification through internships, and some 26 500 would 
have  been  out  of  employment.  More  than  half  of  the  public  consultation 
respondents (58.1%) consider that the YEI has widened the assistance provided 
in Bulgaria. 

Very few  evaluations have  covered the issue  of  EU added value in their analysis, but 
when they did, they emphasised its importance and confirmed the case studies findings. 
Overall,  the  perception  of  the  EU  value  added  in  terms  of  volume  effects  is 
positive,  with  64%  of  respondents  in  the  public  consultation  reporting  that  ESF/YEI 
widened and increased the assistance provided. 

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However, the additionality principle may not have been respected in practice 
in some Member States 

The  analysis  of  the  YEI  evaluations  showed  that  in  some  Member  States,  the  YEI 
programmes  actually  replaced  operations  which  used  to  be  financed  by  the  national 
budget,  raising  the  question  as  to  what  extent  the  additionality  principle  has  been 
applied in practice in these cases. For instance: 

  In Hungary, due to the fact that the YEI programme had to be prepared in a very 
short  period  of  time,  the  authorities  used  the  additional  funding  for  an 
intervention that was already planned as an addition.180 

  Similarly, in France, Managing Authorities used YEI funding to support existing 
youth employment operations and only a minority used it to experiment with 
fully new operations targeted at NEETs.  

  In Cyprus as well, apart from higher recruitment incentives in case of green and 
blue jobs (related to the protection of the environment including in the maritime 
sector), the real innovation lies in the targeting of NEETs (and not in the setting-
up of new types of actions targeting young people). 

Scope effects are also evident, with YEI and ESF-funded youth operations 
covering target groups not covered by other national or regional 
interventions (increasing the scope of operations) 

The YEI has brought forward individually focused solutions which may not have been 
prioritised  before.  It  provides  additional  support  to  a  targeted  group  (NEETs  in  high 
youth  unemployment  regions)  that  would  not  receive  a  specific  focus  through  other 
European financial instruments or funding mechanisms181. 

Information  from  the  LMP  database  shows  that  in  some  cases,  ESF/YEI  co-funded 
interventions  cover  target  groups  which  are  not  covered  by  nationally  funded 
interventions, therefore reflecting the scope effect of YEI and ESF funded operations. 

This  is,  for  instance,  the  case  for  traineeships  in  Italy,  where  ESF/YEI  co-funded 
interventions are open to young people including those aged 15-18, whereas nationally 
funded  interventions  are  only  targeted  at  those  older  than  18.  Similarly,  in  France, 
ESF/YEI  (co-)funded  institutional  training  covers  all  young  people  aged  under  26 
whereas the nationally funded interventions only cover those aged 18-22. In terms of 
employment incentives, in Latvia, ESF/YEI co-funded interventions target those aged 
20-29  whereas  the  nationally  funded interventions  target  only  those  aged  under  20, 
and  offer  special  provisions  for  people  with  disabilities,  without  work  experience  and 
those re-entering the labour market after a childcare leave, which is not the case for 
nationally funded interventions. 

According to the Spanish 2018 YEI evaluation report, the financial support of the YEI 
has given a definitive boost to youth employment policies, especially at the  regional 
and local levels where no strategy in this field was previously defined. According to 
the evaluation report, the majority of the authorities considers that YEI had an impact 
on the design of youth employment policies and that these policies are permeating from 
central to local government. It is also reported that the supported operations made it 
possible  to  focus  on  young  people  with  various  characteristics  and  needs  thanks  to 
innovative  elements  such  as  the  ‘trial-and-error  approach’,  and  that  YEI  helped  in 
promoting  a  multi-stakeholder  coordination  and  governance  system.  The  cooperation 
with NGOs, has been a positive aspect but remained informal without any organisation 
having a central/coordinating/strategic role.  

180 It is important to note that Hungarian authorities did not replace national resources with YEI, but rather 
used the additional funding as an addition. This additionality is explicitly stated in Hungary’s YEI evaluation 
(p. 82) 
181 FGB, "Study supporting the impact assessment of human capital investments", Final report, 2018 

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Scope  effects  were  also  produced  in  Germany,  according  to  the  case  study.  In  this 
Member State, the ESF/YEI funding was essential for handling the unemployment of the 
most vulnerable groups, including refugees in Nordrhein-Westfalen, where ESF has 
been more flexible than national operations in supporting them. In Spain, according to 
the  public  consultation,  the  YEI  has  increased  the  coverage  of  specific  target  groups 
(45.8% of respondents). 

Overall, the perception of the EU value added in terms of scope effects is positive, with 
41% of respondents in the public consultation reporting that ESF/YEI support increased 
coverage of specific target groups.  

However,  NEETs  were  in  need  of  urgent  support  when  the  YEI  was  launched  in  a 
context of the global and economic crisis to complement the ESF, by tackling youth 
unemployment in regions in greatest need, but the gradual recovery of the economic 
and financial crisis raises the question whether having a separate investment strand for 
young  NEETS  is  still  necessary,  or  whether  this  can  be  integrated  in  the  ESF  in  the 
future182. 

There is less evidence on role effects, but case studies show that role effects 
have been important for raising awareness about NEETs and putting this 
target group at the centre of employment policies  

In Italy, the national YEI Operational Programme was highly innovative, in terms of 
the  new  method  of  collaboration  introduced  between  the  central  and  regional 
authorities, and the introduction of common standards and tools that have now become 
a ‘legacy’ of the programme. Most of the tools developed have been mainstreamed in 
the  recent  reform  of  2015  on  employment  services  and  ALMPs.  The  national  YEI 
Operational  Programme  also  spearheaded  the  involvement  of  private  employment 
services  and  supported  the  development  of  the  ALMP  system.  It  contributed  to  the 
increase of the capacity of the public employment service, in particular with regard to 
registered participants. 

In France, the main change has been the focus to consider the NEET population which 
is  a  significant  improvement  in  the  national  youth  employment  policy.  In  Greece,  it 
helped policies focus on NEETs, whereas without it and in a period of crisis, the most 
probable  approach  would  have  been  to  direct  funds  to  other  pressing  priorities. 
Similarly, in Operational Programme Wallonie-Bruxelles, it is recognised that thanks 
to the YEI, NEETs are to become a cross-cutting issue in the national/regional public 
policy. In Germany, it is recognised that the ESF has had structural effects in terms of 
gap-plugging and the experimenting of policies, especially for certain groups like the 
refugees  in  Nordrhein-Westfalen.  Structural  effects  are  also  evident  in  Bulgaria 
according to the public consultation, where 18.6% of respondents consider that the ESF 
and YEI were instrumental in introducing structural reforms. In Spain, according to the 
case study, a new approach has been made possible since the implementation of the 
Operational  Programme,  which  puts  the  young  people  at  the  centre  of  the 
employment  policies.  The  change  in  the  mentality  and  the  new  coordination 
approach, as well as the training received and knowledge gained by the staff working 
with young vulnerable people has only been possible thanks to the EU intervention. 

In addition to contributing to awareness raising and structural reforms, the YEI provides 
a forum to widen the stakeholder groups involved in tackling youth unemployment, by 
providing an access point for NGOs, private sector, and the public sector to find solutions 
with NEETs through individual focused programmes183. 

182 FGB, "Study supporting the impact assessment of human capital investments", Final report, 2018 
183 Idem 

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4.5.2  EQ 5.2. To what extent do YEI operations and other ESF-funded youth 

employment operations contribute to the objectives of the Youth 
Guarantee?  

According  to  information  collected  by  the  European  network  of  Public 
Employment Services, in the period 2016 to 2019 ESF funds were used in at 
least 23 Member States to support the implementation of the national Youth 
Guarantee  schemes,  whereas  YEI  funds  were  used  in  at  least  19  Member 
States. In 11 Member States ESF was the main source funding the Youth Guarantee. 
The YEI was identified as the main source of funding of the Youth Guarantee in two 
countries.  

The aggregate of Youth Guarantee and YEI monitoring data covering the period 2014-
2018  imply  that  one  in  six  (16.0%)  participating  young  people  aged  15-29  that 
benefitted 
from  a  Youth  Guarantee  offer  (of  employment,  education,  an 
apprenticeship or a traineeship) was supported by the YEI, although results need to 
be treated with some caution. This represents more than half (55.1%) of all subsidised 
Youth Guarantee offers, i.e. those provided using public funds targeted either directly 
at youth or more widely to the unemployed.  

The YEI seems to have been particularly heavily used to (co-)fund Youth Guarantee 
offers (covering at least 80% of all subsidised Youth  Guarantee offers) in Belgium, 
Greece, France, Italy, Latvia and Lithuania but little used (<10% of subsidised Youth 
Guarantee offers) in the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovenia.  

Both ESF and YEI were important for the implementation of the Youth 
Guarantee, with ESF funds used in 23 Member States and YEI funds in at 
least 19 Member States 

The  YEI  is  the  main  EU  funding  programme  available  to  support  delivery  of  the 
Youth Guarantee. Notably, Member States were requested to use YEI funding to fund 
concrete  offers  (of  employment,  education,  apprenticeship  or  traineeship)  provided 
through  their  national  Youth  Guarantee  schemes  rather  than  the  preparatory  phase, 
which is intended to provide guidance and support leading to an offer. Additionally, ESF 
funds  may  also  contribute  to  the  implementation  of  the  Youth  Guarantee  by  funding 
concrete offers available to all ESF participants (and thus, also those aged 15-24 or to 
29)  as  well  as  the  Youth  Guarantee  preparatory  phase.  According  to  information 
collected by the European Network of Public Employment Services184, between 2016 and 
2019 ESF funds were used for the implementation of the Youth Guarantee in at least 23 
Member States, while YEI funds were used in at least 19 Member States (see Table 20 
below). Over that period, the ESF was cited as the main source of funding by 11 
Member States (out  of the 23 using ESF funds  for the implementation of the 
Youth  Guarantee  over  the  period  2016-2019).  YEI  was  identified  as  the  main 
source of funding of the national Youth Guarantee schemes in two Member States (see 
Table 20 below).  

184 European Commission, Report on PES Implementation of the Youth Guarantee (September 2017): 
https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=18901&langId=en  
European Commission, Report on PES Implementation of the Youth Guarantee (September 2019): 
https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=21886&langId=en  

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  Use of ESF and YEI funds in the implementation of national Youth 

Guarantee schemes, 2016-2019  

MS 

BE 
BG 
CZ 
DK 
DE 
EE 
IE 
EL 
ES 
FR 
HR 
IT 
CY 
LV 
LT 
LU 
HU 
MT 
NL 
AT 
PL 
PT 
RO 
SI 
SK 
FI 
SE 
UK 
Total 
Main source 

2016-
2017 
 
 
 
N/A 
N/A 
 
N/A 
 
N/A 
 
 
 
 
 
 
N/A 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

N/A 
19 
11 

ESF 
2017-
2019 
 
 
 
N/A 
N/A 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
N/A 
23 
15 

2016-
2019 
 
 
 
N/A 
N/A 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
N/A 
23 
11 

2016-
2017 
 
 
 
N/A 
N/A 

YEI 
2017-
2019 
 
 
 
N/A 
N/A 

2016-
2019 
 
 
 
N/A 
N/A 

N/A 
 
N/A 
 
 
 
 
 
 
N/A 
 

 
 
 
 
 

N/A 
16 
4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

N/A 

 
 
 
 
 

 
N/A 
17 
3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
N/A 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
N/A 
19 
2 

 ESF/YEI funds are used to fund the national Youth Guarantee scheme.  
 ESF/YEI are identified as the main source of funding of the national Youth Guarantee scheme. 
N/A: information not available 
Notes: 
BE: in the 2017-2019 period BE-Actiris identified ESF as the main source of funding for the YG. 
DK: No centralised national data on the specific amount of funds dedicated to the Youth Guarantee.  
FR: ESF funds were available from 2014 to 2020 and funded 50% of the scheme. As of the end of 2016, 
more regions were covered by the ESF. The YEI funds the scheme at a 92% funding level, but only in a few 
regions and certain ‘Départements’ within regions already covered by the ESF. 
Source: European Commission, Report on PES Implementation of the Youth Guarantee. The report of 
September 2017 covers the period from spring 2016 to spring 2017, while the report of September 2019 
covers the period from spring 2017 up to spring 2019.  

  ESF and YEI funds in the implementation of national Youth Guarantee 

schemes, 2016-2019 

ESF 

YEI 

2016-2017 
BG, EE, IT, CY, LV, LT, 
HU, MT, SI, SK, FI (11) 
CZ, EL, IT, PT (4) 

2017-2019 
BG, CZ, EE, ES, FR, IT, CY, LV, 
LT, HU, MT, PL, SI, SK, FI (15) 
EL, PL, PT (3) 

2016-2019 

BG, EE, IT, CY, LV, LT, 
HU, MT, SI, SK, FI (11) 
EL, PT (2) 

Notes: 
2016-2017: Data cover the period from spring 2016 to spring 2017. There is no information for DK, DE, IE, 
ES, LU and the UK. 
2017-2019: Data cover the period from spring 2017 to spring 2019. There is not information for DK, DE and 
the UK. Additionally, there is no information regarding the use for YEI funding in LU. 
Source: European Commission, Report on PES Implementation of the Youth Guarantee. The report of 
September 2017 covers the period from spring 2016 to spring 2017, while the report of September 2019 
covers the period from spring 2017 up to spring 2019.  

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YEI and Youth Guarantee monitoring data indicate that in six of all offers 
provided through the Youth Guarantee were supported by the YEI 

To  further assess the contribution of YEI in the implementation of the national Youth 
Guarantee  schemes  since  2014,  YEI  and  Youth  Guarantee  monitoring  data  were 
combined. As mentioned above, Member States were recommended to use YEI funding 
to fund concrete offers provided through the Youth Guarantee. Monitoring of the Youth 
Guarantee focuses on monitoring flows through the preparatory phase and the take-up 
of offers and whether those offers were open market or subsidised, i.e. supported by 
public  funds  directed  specifically  at  youth  or  the  unemployed  generally.  In  theory, 
therefore, YEI output indicators, which measure the number of young people starting a 
YEI  funded  programme,  can  be  compared  to  Youth  Guarantee  data  on  exits  which 
measure the number of young people leaving the Youth Guarantee preparatory phase 
to take up an offer, to acquire an indication on the contribution of YEI operations to the 
objectives of the Youth Guarantee.  

In  practice,  however,  it  is  important  to  recognise  that  the  data  may  not  be  fully 
coherent so that the results of any comparison need to be treated with some caution. 
In particular: 

  Coherence. Despite the Commission’s recommendation for YEI to be used to fund 
offers, it is possible that YEI (co-)funded also actions that are either regarded as 
part of the Youth Guarantee preparatory phase (e.g. guidance, counselling, job-
search related support) or that helped to develop Youth Guarantee processes. For 
example,  the  EU-level  focus  group  noted  that  the  YEI  has  contributed  to 
institutional  reforms  relevant  to  youth  employment  (Italy),  including  better 
coordination  of  policies  and  relevant  actors  (Spain),  as  well  as  to  better 
understanding of the needs of young NEETs (France). Although the latter type of 
(mostly  institutional/process  related)  support  is  unlikely  to  contribute  to  output 
indicators  based  on  participants,  the  former  type  of  support  (actions  in  the 
preparatory phase) certainly could. Furthermore, some of the actions funded by 
the  YEI  may  not  meet  the  quality  criteria  for  offers  applied  in  Youth  Guarantee 
monitoring  (e.g.  if  they  last  less  than  28  days,  or  do  not  cause  a  break  in  the 
unemployment spell for those registered as unemployed) and thus would not be 
counted  as  an  exit  (to  an  offer)  in  the  Youth  Guarantee  monitoring  data.  In 
general,  therefore,  coherence  issues  are  liable  to  mean  that  YEI  outputs  could 
exceed Youth Guarantee exits (to subsidised offers). 

  Completeness. In some countries the Youth Guarantee monitoring systems are 
not  comprehensive  and  may  miss  some  of  the  offers  taken  up.  In  general, 
countries  that  link  registers,  e.g.  of  social  insurance  contributions,  to  ascertain 
where young people go to after leaving the unemployment register, the number 
of  missed  offers  will  be  small  and  will  refer,  for  example,  to  self-employment 
(when  not  liable  to  social  insurance  contributions)  or  to  those  returning  to  the 
regular  education/training  system  without  any  specific  funding/support.  In 
countries that rely on young people voluntarily informing the public employment 
service  of  the  reason  for  leaving  the  unemployment  register  (e.g.  Cyprus  and 
United  Kingdom)  then  the  total  number  of  offers  taken  up  is  liable  to  be 
significantly understated. In all cases, however, the number of subsidised offers 
ought  to  be  well  covered,  at  least  those  delivered  by  the  public  employment 
service. Exceptions are Cyprus and Romania where it is known that the data on 
subsidised offers are incomplete. It is also the case that YEI funded programmes 
delivered by beneficiaries other than the public employment service may not be 
recorded in the Youth Guarantee monitoring data as subsidised offers. All of the 
above mean that Youth Guarantee data on subsidised offers may not cover all YEI 
funded offers.  

  Consistency.  In  both  the  Youth  Guarantee  and  YEI  monitoring  data,  age  of 
participants  refers  to  the  age  on  entry  (respectively  to  the  Youth  Guarantee 
preparatory phase or YEI operation). As the Youth Guarantee preparatory phase 
precedes the offer, an individual could be recorded in different age groups in the 

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two data collections. This is a minor issue but could mean that some subsidised 
offers recorded for the 15-24 age-group in the Youth Guarantee are counted as 
YEI funded offers in the 25-29 age-group. 

Bearing  in  mind  these  caveats,  which  in  general  will  tend  to  overstate  the  YEI 
contribution, combination of aggregated data from the two data sources suggests that 
one in six or 16.0% of all offers provided through the Youth Guarantee were supported 
by the YEI. There is only a small difference between age groups: 15.5% of offers taken 
by  young  people  aged  15-24  and  17.5%  of  offers  taken  by  those  aged  25-29  (only 
countries  that  have  expanded  the  Youth  Guarantee  to  also  cover  this  age  group  are 
taken into account) 185. This small difference could easily be an artefact of the age-group 
consistency mentioned above. In Spain, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, YEI outputs account 
for  more  than  one  in  four  Youth  Guarantee  offers,  and  in  Italy  more  than  half.  In 
contrast,  YEI  outputs  account  for  less  than  one  in  ten  Youth  Guarantee  offers  in  the 
Czech Republic, Romania and Slovenia (see Figure 43). 

  YEI outputs as share of Youth Guarantee offers by age-group, 2014-2018 

Notes: The UK is excluded due to the poor coverage of Youth Guarantee data. Data on exits refer only to 
exits from the Job Seekers Allowance which is being replaced by the Universal Credit.  
The EU total for the age group 25-29 takes into account only the countries that have expanded their 
national scheme to also cover this age group and have provided the required Youth Guarantee data (BG, 
CZ, ES, HR, IT, LV, LT, PL, PT, SI, SK).  
Source: SFC2014, based on OP data reported in AIR2018 (data extracted on 6 September 2019) and Youth 
Guarantee monitoring database (DG EMPL, data extracted 20 November 2019). 

The caveats in the datasets should not distract attention from the 
overarching conclusion that in some Member States the YEI has had a 
significant contribution to the delivery of the Youth Guarantee 

Examining  further  the  data,  the  contribution  of  the  YEI  can  also  be  assessed  by 
comparing YEI outputs with the number of subsidised (publicly funded) offers recorded 
in the Youth Guarantee. In total, the cumulated YEI outputs reported between 2014 and 
2018  account  for  more  than  half  (55.1%)  of  the  subsidised  Youth  Guarantee  offers 
reported over the  same period in countries that received YEI funding. The proportion 
was over 80% in Belgium, Greece, France and Slovakia and over 100% in Italy, Latvia 
and Lithuania. As noted above, the issues of coherence between the datasets and the 
potentially  lower  completeness  of  the  Youth  Guarantee  data  will  always  tend  to 
overstate the contribution of the YEI. This would certainly seem to be the case here, but 
should not deflect from the message that the YEI made a significant contribution to the 

185

 BG, CZ, ES, HR, IT, LV, LT, PL, PT, SI, SK. Although CY has expanded the Youth Guarantee to also cover 
this age group in May 2018, it is excluded due to the inability of the Youth Guarantee monitoring system to 
report on Youth Guarantee subsidised exits. 

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delivery of Youth Guarantee offers in these countries. Elsewhere, YEI outputs accounted 
for 45%-60% of subsidised Youth Guarantee offers in Spain, Bulgaria, and Cyprus but 
seems to have been much less important elsewhere. Notably, YEI outputs accounted for 
less than 20% of subsidised Youth Guarantee offers in Hungary and less than 10% in 
the  Czech  Republic,  Romania  and  Slovenia186  (see  Figure  44).  It  is  important  to  note 
that this observation does not imply that the Youth Guarantee was underfunded in these 
countries, rather it simply means that the subsidised offers were mainly funded from 
other  sources  (ESF/national).  Furthermore,  also  to  be  noted  the  division  of  the 
funding among regions was done by the Commission, Member States had no influence 
on  that,  and,  in  addition,  the  proportion  of  YEI  is  of  course  lower  in  countries  that 
programmed a large amount of ESF/national budget for the Youth Guarantee. 

  YEI outputs as share of subsidised Youth Guarantee offers by age-group, 

2014-2018 

Notes: The UK is excluded due to the poor coverage of Youth Guarantee data. Data on exits refer only to 
exits from the Job Seekers Allowance which is being replaced by the Universal Credit.  
The EU total for the age group 25-29 takes into account only the countries that have expanded their 
national scheme to also cover this age group and have provided the required Youth Guarantee data (BG, 
CZ, ES, HR, IT, LV, LT, PL, PT, SI, SK).  
Source: SFC2014, based on OP data reported in AIR2018 (data extracted on September 6, 2019) and Youth 
Guarantee monitoring database (DG EMPL, data extracted 20 November 2019). 

186 It is important to note that these figures need to be interpreted taking into account that the split of 
funding among regions was done by the EC. Furthermore the proportion of YEI funding is lower in countries 
that programmed a large amount of ESF/national budget for the Youth Guarantee.  

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4.6 

Sustainability 

4.6.1  EQ 6.1. To what extent the effects of YEI and ESF support are likely to 

continue after the end of the funding, both at individual and youth 
employment policy level? 

According  to  the  information  available,  transition  rates  to  employment  of 
participants in YEI/ESF  operations generally  improved with time. The employment 
impacts are sustainable for the low skilled, the main focus group of the operations, 
as well as medium and high skilled.  

Continuity of the EU-supported operations after the funding stops is largely dependent 
on the availability of alternative funding. Nevertheless, the systemic changes achieved 
through  the  implementation  of  ESF/YEI  are  likely  to  remain  independently  of  the 
funding. 

From a macroeconomic perspective impacts on GDP and particularly on employment 
are  expected  not  only  to  persist  but  even  to  increase  in  the  medium-to  long-term, 
peaking in 2026-2030.  

The  long-term  multiplier  (discounted  euro  of  GDP  generated  per  each  euro 
invested)  is  also  generally  positive  and  above  one  in  some  Member  States,  which 
confirms  the  financial  sustainability  of  the  investment.  The  multiplier  is  larger  for 
regions with high labour intensity, export orientation and those that are net receivers 
of EU funds.  

The issue of sustainability covers two dimensions: first, the sustainability of the effects 
of  the  supported  operations  on  the  participants  and  second,  the  sustainability  of  the 
operations themselves.  In turn, the  sustainability of the  effects might be  seen at the 
level  of  the  individual  having  benefitted  from  support,  as  well  as  from  a  broader 
macroeconomic  perspective,  which  includes  the  spill  overs  on  those  who  have  not 
received  the  support,  the  changes  generated  to  the  equilibrium  of  labour  supply  and 
demand, trade and labour flows and so forth. Sustainability is also covered as part of 
EQ 1 and EQ 2 as it has a key bearing on effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. 

Sustainability of results - there are some encouraging results in terms of 
participants being employed after the end of the funding, while the 
macroeconomic model gives positive results for the sustainability of 
employment impacts  

The  results  reported  in  the  YEI  evaluations  and  evaluations  of  ESF-funded  youth 
employment  operations  provide  an  insight  into  how  the  effect  of  YEI/ESF  support  on 
participants  is  likely  to  continue  after  participation  to  the  programmes.  Not  all  the 
evaluations examined report data on the situation of participants six months after 
their exit, but among those for which the information is available for all participants, 
the results reported up to now are  encouraging as the share of those in employment 
after six months is relatively high in a number of cases: between 61% and 88% in four 
Member  States  (Slovakia  –  for  national  projects,  Croatia,  Portugal,  Slovenia  and 
Lithuania) and around 50% in a further four (Bulgaria, France, UK-England and Spain). 
At  the  same  time,  at  the  time  of  the  evaluation  carried  out  in  2018,  only  6%  of  all 
participants were working after six months in UK-Scotland (against a target of 37%187) 
while in Italy, it was found that the net effects linked to the participation in the YEI tend 
to  increase  over  the  18  months  of  observation  or,  as  in  the  specific  case  of 
vocational training, the negative effects tends to decrease. 

Generally,  however,  measuring  sustainability  is  very  difficult  without  close  and  long-
term  monitoring  of  participants.  At  the  EU  level  focus  group,  Italy  highlighted  that 
follow-up of participants’ status is carried out based on administrative datasets, however 

187 Progress against the target will have changed in later stages, as data here relates to the 2018 
evaluation. 

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these datasets only capture people in employment and not for instance self-employment 
or those in education. As a consequence, many positive outcomes are left un-reported. 
There  are  however  intentions  to  address  the  issue  of  sustainability  as  highlighted  by 
Bulgaria, where they are planning to follow participants within one year of completion, 
to assess what happens once they are employed. There are cases, for instance, where 
the skills are not relevant any more after seven months and participants would need to 
go  back  to  training.  Without  follow-up  it  would  not  be  possible  to  know  this.  More 
concrete  follow-up  actions  are  underway  in  Belgium,  where  participant  surveys  are 
carried out to follow the professional path of participants after their exit. 

However, all the above findings are limited to employment transition as this is the aspect 
for which more data are available. Ideally, the analysis would also cover other aspects 
as well such as the skills acquired (and in particular the soft outcomes), but in practice, 
little information is available on this. The analysis of the case studies however indicated 
that the activation of young people improved the knowledge about the labour market 
and  the  improvements  in  terms  of  employability  is  likely  to  remain  over  time  as 
highlighted  in  Spain,  Portugal,  Greece,  and  Belgium.  However,  in  the  case  of 
employment  offers it was mentioned that the  fact that other factors,  both internal to 
the  company  and  external  in  relation  to  the  general  economic  climate,  can  have  an 
impact on the sustainability of the outcome over time. In this respect, the Greek case 
study  stressed  that  rather  than  an  employment  offer,  what  was  considered  the  most 
important outcome of the programme was that participants were in the labour market 
one year after completion.  

For  the  few  operations  where  comparable  data  are  available  both  immediately  after 
leaving  the  operation  and  six  months  after,  the  employment  rates  generally 
improved after six months (see Table 12 in chapter 4.1.2). 

From  a  macroeconomic  perspective,  and  based  on  experimental  research  from 
RHOMOLO, impacts on GDP and particularly on employment are expected not only 
to persist but even to increase in the medium-to long run, peaking between 2026-
2030 and then only marginally fading out188. As mentioned in the effectiveness section, 
the productivity enhancing nature of human capital investments, especially through on-
the-job  and  vocational  training  means  that  in  the  longer  run  it  generates  a  ripple  of 
positive effects. These include higher investments, export, GDP and employment. The 
extent of these effects is however dependent upon the socio-economic structure of any 
given region. 

In  line  with  the  main  focus  of  the  operations,  it  is  expected  that  regions  located  in 
Northern  Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Belgium and Portugal and to some extent UK will, in 
the long-run (as the effects take time to become visible), benefit significantly from Youth 
Employment support under the ESF/YEI.  

The employment impacts are sustainable for both the low skilled, the main focus 
group of the operations, as well as medium and high skilled which can benefit from the 
overall increase in the economies’ productivity.  

The long-term multiplier (discounted euro of GDP generated per each euro invested) is 
also generally positive and above one for three Member States (Belgium, Slovenia and 
Italy),  which  confirms  the  financial  sustainability  of  the  investment.  The  multiplier  is 
larger for regions with high labour intensity, export orientation and that are net receivers 
of EU funds.  

188 In fact, in the short-term substitution effects (i.e. increased workers productivity which leads to lower 
the need of workers), might even lead to a temporary shrinkage of employment levels (see for instance 
Calmfors L. 1994. “Active Labour Market Policy and Unemployment – A Framework for the Analysis of 
Crucial Design Features”, in OECD Economic Studies, No. 22). This is also due to the taxation that is 
necessary to finance the activities. However, such effects do not appear significantly in the RHOMOLO 
simulations of YE investments, or at least not to the extent of implying lower levels of employment after the 
support ends. They might, however, explain why the employment increases more in the long term than in 
the short one.  

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Even when national funding is scarce, there are possibilities to ensure 
sustainability  

This  can  be  done  through  integrated  approaches,  active  engagement  of  stakeholders 
and adaptations in the design and implementation of programmes and operations. 

The findings from the case studies provide some insight into the second dimension of 
sustainability, i.e. the extent to which the actions can continue without EU funding. The 
analysis  revealed  that  many  activities  funded  under  the  ESF  would  not  continue 
without the funding, and this is particularly true where national funding is scarce (as in 
Southern  Europe).  However,  independently  of  the  availability  of  national  funding,  in 
some cases sustainability is ensured. Examples of continuation even without EU funds 
are found in Spain in the case of stakeholders who have integrated the operations into 
their  core  activities,  or  in  Italy  where  the  new  partnership  approach  implemented  at 
national  level/  regional  level,  involving  private  and  public  employment  services,  and 
most importantly creating an integrated approach between employers and employment 
services  and  territorial  organisations.  In  addition,  where  ESF/YEI  funds  strengthened 
and extended the scope of existing operations, it seems that sustainability is ensured 
e.g. in Germany, France and Malta. 

Even if the currently supported actions do not continue once EU funding stops, it seems 
that  some  structural  and  organisational  changes  achieved  through  the 
implementation  of  the  ESF/YEI  will  remain  beyond  the  implementation  period.  For 
instance,  public  services  in  Spain  have  hired  and/or  trained  staff  specialising  in  the 
activation  of  youth,  including  the  creation  of  different  coordination  mechanisms,  and 
these  will  remain  in  place  after  the  EU  support  ends.  In  addition,  the  expertise  and 
knowledge  gained  by  the  various  organisations  involved  in  the  activation  of  young 
people  will  not  be  lost  either.  Similarly,  in  Germany,  the  embeddedness  of  the  EU 
supported programmes into the regional and local strategies with respective stakeholder 
involvement  is  reported  to  foster  sustainability.  That  is  why  the  maintenance  of 
respective support and network structures is considered very important. This is also the 
case in Italy, particularly concerning the strengthening of public employment services. 

In addition, the importance of the cultural changes brought by the ESF/YEI operations 
was also highlighted. Spain for instance stressed that the organisations involved in the 
implementation  of  the  EU  supported  operations  have  become  now  more  open  to 
collaboration  and  to  the  development  of  integrated  interventions.  Similarly,  in  the 
Operational  Programme  Wallonie-Bruxelles,  it  is  recognised  that  thanks  to  the  YEI, 
NEETs  are  to  become  a  cross-cutting  issue  in  the  national/regional  public  policy.  In 
Slovakia as well, there ¡s evidence of a cultural change, with the government committed 
to  assist  hard-to-employ  young  people  in  their  integration  to  the  labour  market, 
although the content of the operations will depend on the demands of the labour market. 

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5 

Lessons 
improvement 

learned,  good  practice  and  suggestions  for 

The  evaluation  has  produced  a  number  of  conclusions  from  which  lessons  can  be 
learned.  We  describe  these  lessons  according  to  the  pathway  approach  to 
employment  starting  with  outreach  and  going  on  to  look  at  lessons  learned  in  the 
fields of guidance, education and training, work experience, job seeking, entry 
into  employment  and  entrepreneurship,  before  concluding  with  some  points  on 
measurement  of  effective  youth  employment  programmes.  The  good  practice 
examples derive from research and appear to  work well. They can provide models of 
approaches that can be replicated, subject to the local contexts.  

5.1 

Outreach 

Identifying and recruiting NEETs to youth employment operations requires a 
variety of innovative approaches, especially as the proportion of economically 
inactive NEETs rises 

The  overall  decrease  in  the  NEET  population  in  Europe  is  due  to  unemployed  NEETs 
finding  employment  or  moving  into  further  education,  training  and  apprenticeships, 
resulting in inactive NEETs comprising a greater proportion of the NEET population (in 
aggregate  terms  the  levels  of  inactive  NEETs  have  remained  stable).  However  the 
current  overall positive  youth unemployment outlook in  the  EU might  be  significantly 
affected by the ongoing COVID-19 health pandemic. 

Effective outreach to young NEETs has been identified as one of the main problems in 
youth employment policy. Despite  the high levels of NEETs in a number of countries, 
identifying potential candidates for youth employment operations has proven difficult in 
some cases - as was discussed at the EU-level focus group.  

The  focus  group  highlighted  three  principles  for  outreach,  generally  agreed  by  the 
participating Member State representatives, namely:  

  Ground  work  to  assess  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  challenge  and  potential 

solutions geared to the local context;  

  The use of qualified outreach staff; and  

  The identification of innovative communication, or ‘interception’ channels to 

identify and reach potential participants.  

What  works  best  varies  by  context,  but  some  general  practices  apply  to  most  cases, 
including the importance of local liaison (with youth clubs, schools, social workers etc.), 
inter-agency  co-operation  at  the  local  level  to  introduce  youth  employment 
opportunities to those that work closely with the more vulnerable individuals in the NEET 
population, and innovative methods of communication. 

Reaching inactive  NEETs  requires  different  targeting  approaches  and  individualised 
pathways should help to tackle the problems of multiple disadvantage, build confidence 
and provide experience that can lead to eventual employment, but this approach may 
possibly take longer.  

Especially reaching those who are most disadvantaged and  furthest away from the 
labour market or outside the system is a challenge, as evidenced in the following 
examples in some of the Member States:  

  Slovakia: difficult to reach marginalised groups or minorities such as Roma; 

  Lithuania:  difficult  to  identify  NEETs  that  were  not  registered  due  to  data 

protection issues (data protection is also an issue elsewhere); 

  Italy:  those  registered  through  Youth  Guarantee  were  not  the  most 
disadvantaged,  they  were  more  skilled  and  better  able  to  access  employment 
centres. Those furthest away from the labour market are less well catered for; 

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  Bulgaria:  liaison  officers  were  designated  to  work  with  the  Roma  community, 

although finding and securing such officers has proved challenging; 

  Latvia: has faced challenges in engaging young people into longer term education 
based programmes, but has been more successful with its offer of shorter term, 
practical programmes; 

  Spain: has faced difficulties in reaching out to vulnerable groups of young people 
but has had greater success when working in partnership with specialist NGOs who 
work closely with specific groups (e.g. young people with disabilities, ex-offenders 
etc.). 

Less attention appears to have been made in attracting women compared to a range of 
disadvantaged groups  

The  performance  of  programmes  in  respect  of  gender  balance,  and  between  YEI  and 
ESF youth employment operations, varies as discussed in preceding chapters (especially 
EQ1).  Where  women  have  lower  participation  rates  the  problems  can  relate  to  the 
scheme design, targeting and outreach. From the case studies we observe that whilst 
there  is  a  range  of  initiatives  to  target  specific  groups  (e.g.  Roma,  people  with 
disabilities),  there  is  less  attention  paid  to  ensuring  that  women  are  not  under-
represented  in  YEI  and  ESF  youth  employment  operations.  A  stronger  and  more 
consistent application of gender targets would be one way of effecting change. 

Social media and outreach campaigns can work as part of mixed engagement 
strategies 

As  presented  in  the  conclusions  to  EQ  2.5,  numerous  examples  of  successful 
outreach campaigns can be mentioned. Member States have used social networks, 
media,  newsletters,  and  YouTube  or  even  more  innovative  ways,  such  as  organising 
concerts and placing adverts on McDonald’s trays. Street work has also been used to 
meet NEETs in the places where they gather, e.g. in parks or shopping centres. These 
operations may not be effective with the most vulnerable and hardest to reach groups, 
in which case local liaison work with local communities (e.g. visiting community centres 
frequented  by  young  Roma  NEETs  in  Slovakia)  can  be  more  effective,  but  it  is  not 
‘either/or’. Practices vary between Member States but with broadly similar aims. Some 
examples are described below.  

  In  Italy,  young  people  living  in  families  registering  for  the  minimum  income 

programme can be contacted and introduced to the Youth Guarantee. 

  In  Germany  there  has  been  collaborative  working  with  social  workers,  and 
providing them with training and support to engage NEETs for youth employment 
programmes.  

  In Belgium, Latvia, Germany and Slovakia, there are examples of collaborative 
work with schools to identify young people before they become classified as NEET, 
stressing the importance of early interventions. Indeed, at the focus group there 
were  suggestions  to  broaden  the  definition  of  NEETs  to  include  ‘potential’  or 
‘future’ NEETs, in order to target early interventions more effectively.  

  In Latvia each local authority has appointed a representative to target the harder 
to reach groups and to ensure that youth employment provision is not the preserve 
of  those  closest  to  the  labour  market.  This  has  involved  offering  individualised 
training, based on the skills and needs of prospective participants.  

  A similar model works in Lithuania but used a network of 55 youth organisations 
based in the country’s municipalities. The public consultation provided an example 
from Latvia where outreach work focused on ‘gathering places’ for young people 
and in particular remote and rural communities. 

Normally there is a mix of strategies to engage and recruit NEETs to youth employment 
operations.  

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The case studies’ public consultation highlighted some examples where communications 
and  campaigns  had  had  mixed  results  including  observations  that  communications 
relating to the Youth Guarantee failed to effectively reach – or be targeted – at hard to 
reach groups.  

Outreach activities in Belgium and Poland 

WIJ! (Belgium)  

The  WIJ!  programme  in  Belgium  Flanders189  used  various  outreach  activities 
including an active presence in schools, youth houses, youth events, Pokémon hot spots 
etc. This contributed to raising awareness about the programme and to developing an 
intense and rich network of partners which is crucial to identify and reach young NEETs. 
In Poland, the Voluntary Labour Corps (OHP) which ran the project “From training 
to employment”190 cooperated with other institutions as part of the project, especially 
in the recruitment phase for participants in the projects. Individual OHP units used the 
help of schools, social assistance / family assistance centres, and  even  voluntary fire 
brigades or rural youth associations to identify young NEETs. 

5.2 

Cooperation and partnerships 

Stakeholders involved in youth employment policies emphasise the 
importance of cooperation at local and regional level, to both identify NEETs 
and implement programmes efficiently 

The alignment of EU and national youth employment policies in programming was 
highlighted as a positive in the case studies and in the public consultation, although this 
is  not  a  universal  feature  of  youth  employment  policies.  In  the  same  vein  the  public 
consultation  highlighted  the  value  of  cooperation  between  different  types  of 
organisations, 
trade  unions,  schools,  research  centres  and  youth 
organisations.  

including 

In the  field of outreach,  cooperation with youth organisations  has helped to identify 
NEETs who would not be registered with the public employment service or in education. 
Cooperation during implementation ensures that the required range of services needed 
for this population of young people is provided. The involvement of the local authorities 
to drive the process is also very helpful. The participation of local companies helps raise 
awareness of the Youth Guarantee and generates employment offers. It has also proved 
useful  to  ensure  and  formalise  the  participation  of  young  people  in  the  planning  of 
activities in order to ensure that the appropriate services are offered.  

Evidence from the case studies illustrates the value gained from partnership working 
and conversely, the missed opportunities, when cooperation and partnership working is 
not strong – especially in respect of outreach work, as shown above. At a policy level, 
the  alignment  of  ESF/YEI  with  national  and  other  youth  employment  policies  and 
programmes  is  critical  in  maximising  the  added  value  of  the  EU  youth  employment 
interventions  (see  section  4.5).  The  importance  of  partnership  working  was  also 
highlighted  in  the  public  consultation  as  one  of  the  key  contributions  to  effective 
programmes. 

Co-operations and partnerships in Germany, Portugal and Spain 

RÜMSA (Germany) 

In Sachsen-Anhalt (Germany) the RÜMSA191 (regional transition management from 
school  to  work)  programme  and  in  North  Rhine  Westphalia  (NRW)  the  KAoA/KoKo 
(municipal coordination point) initiative, showed that setting up regional cooperation 

189 See also https://ec.europa.eu/esf/main.jsp?catId=46&langId=en&projectId=1507 and 
https://www.skillbuilders.be/nl/jouw-loopbaan/loopbaanbegeleiding  
190 See also https://ohp.pl/?page_id=434  
191 See also https://ruemsa.sachsen-anhalt.de/ 

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networks with local stakeholders was a key success factor of the programmes. RÜMSA 
seeks to coordinate all the available ESF and national programmes and operations for 
young  people  and  to  help  them  navigate  through  these  offers.  It  is  a  flagship 
programme  which  has  shown  considerable  success  in  establishing  constructive 
working  relationships  between  all  the  key  stakeholders  in  the  region  (‘Jugendamt’-
youth  centre,  public  employment  service,  Jobcentre,  and  other  actors)  and  thus 
ensuring that young people find the right offer and so not fall through the gaps in the 
system.  The  coverage  of  young  people  is  thus  significantly  improved.  The  greater 
transparency concerning the offers and the issues coordinating them highlighted the 
difficulties involved in planning joint actions, avoiding parallel structures, and creating 
support chains to help young people in the transition between school and the labour 
market.  Similarly,  NRW  set  up  ‘Kommunale  Koordinierungsstellen’  (KoKo)  to 
coordinate  local  strategies  and  priorities  using  public  funding.  The  KoKos  bring 
together representatives of central administrations, local stakeholders (municipalities, 
chambers) and national public employment service local branch offices (Job-centre). 

Empreende Já – Rede de Perceção e Gestão de Negócios (EJÁ) (Portugal) 

The project192 had a wide partnership network at local level including e.g. the public 
employment services, municipalities, NGOs, juvenile associations, etc. and also the 
ILO. The monitoring committee of the programme Garantia Jovem was composed of 
public entities,  social partners, the national youth council and other platforms. The 
lead organisation, the Portuguese Institute for Sports and Youth (IPDJ), developed a 
strong  network  with  local  entities,  especially  with  youth  associations,  in  order  to 
identify  possible  recipients  for  the  operation.  The  strategy  for  the  identification  of 
young NEETs ensured a partnership with the International Labour Organisation and 
included specific training for the entities involved. 

Technical Round Tables for the Coordination of the Youth Guarantees and the 
Municipal level in Murcia (Spain) 

The project Mesas Técnicas de Coordinación Municipal de Garantía Juvenil en la Región 
de  Murcia193  set  up  in  the  framework  of  the  Youth  Guarantee  was  essential  for  the 
smooth implementation of the Youth Guarantee. The initiative first began in the city 
of Murcia in March 2015 and was later extended to the whole region. Currently, 45 
municipalities  are  represented  in  14  round  tables,  which  are  still  ongoing194.  The 
meetings of the round tables were also used to decide on some of the training offers 
at  local  level.  Finally,  they  contributed  to  having  a  better  knowledge  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  target  group  at  the  local  level,  for  example  in  terms  of 
willingness to move. 

One of the most noteworthy results in Murcia is a de facto early warning system for 
young  people  at  risk  of  social  exclusion.  As  a  result  of  the  cooperation  of  different 
agencies of the local administration at the round tables, a written protocol has been 
adopted  for  the  referral  of  young  people  at  risk  of  social  exclusion  between  the 
Regional Employment Service and the Social Services of the Autonomous Community. 

The success factors have been: 

  Fostering  active  participation  and  ongoing  commitment  of  local 

partners.  

  Focusing each of the round table meetings on limited topics has proven 

to be a good practice. 

192 See also http://eja.juventude.gov.pt/index/ 
193 See also https://pliego.org/actualidad/mesa-tecnica-de-coordinacion-de-la-garantia-juvenil-comarca-
del-rio-mula/ 
194 The objectives of the round tables are to establish a coordination network to maximise the resources 
available for the municipalities; to map the provision of services and actions implemented within the 
Municipalities; to improve knowledge about the social reality of young people; to encourage young people to 
register with the Youth Guarantee System; to assess the actions that are being developed in this area in 
each municipality. 

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  Inviting  only  relevant  actors  avoids  reluctance  to  join  and  decreases 
the chances of the round table meetings being regarded as ineffective. 

  More  active  round  tables  for  specific  working  groups  prepare  material  in  the 
period between meetings to ensure continuity and monitoring of the progress of 
the implementation of the Youth Guarantee. 

As  considered  by  the  International  Labour  Organisation  (ILO,  Garantía  Juvenil  en 
España: Enseñanzas Extraídas, 2019), this experience could inspire new methods of 
collaboration, encourage the exchange of information between the different levels of 
public administration, and ensure the commitment of companies. 

5.3 

Guidance and support to individuals 

Individuals furthest away from the labour market need and can benefit from 
tailored and intensive guidance and support 

A significant proportion of young people who are being targeted by youth employment 
actions  are  not  job  ready,  and  in  some  cases  potentially  a  few  years  away  from 
employment,  especially  those  who  have  multiple  disadvantages  and  may  have  to 
address other issues (such as housing or settled status for migrants, in addition to youth 
employment  operations.  They  require  preliminary  and  ongoing  support  to  ensure 
their transition from NEET status to a successful employment, qualification or inclusion 
result.  The  involvement  of  trained  social  workers  has  proved  essential  to  help 
disadvantaged  young  people  make  the  transition  from  inactivity  to  participation  in 
training or employment. 

Tailored outreach in Germany 

Integration through Exchange (Germany) 

The  IdA195  in  Germany  (Integration  through  Exchange)  was  a  good  practice  example 
highlighted  in  the  public  consultation,  with  success  in  reaching  vulnerable  groups 
through  tailored  outreach196.  One  of  the  main  lessons  from  the  project  was  the 
importance of reaching young people in the most difficult situation, who are not covered 
by standard activities. Each of the local coordinators looked after about 10 people, which 
required 24/7 engagement. They were in constant telephone contact with them, often 
taking them to classes, making sure that they did not give up their participation in the 
project. This is one of the most difficult aspects of this job, because it was associated 
with  upbringing  and  teaching  social  skills  to  help  young  people  functioning 
independently. Equally important is strengthening organisational structures at local and 
national level. Voluntary Labour Corps are much more recognisable among young people 
who provide information on the possibilities of obtaining support, primarily at regional 
and local level, which is of particular importance in reaching people in the most difficult 
situation. 

195 See also https://einstieg.or.at/ida  
196 There was a similar example in Spain, The Jove Oportunitat designed by the Valencian Institute of Youth 
with a focus on motivating participants through tailored guidance.  See also http://www.ivaj.gva.es/es/joop 

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Tailored support in Poland 

‘From  Training  to  Employment’  project  of  the  Voluntary  Labour  Corps197 
(Poland)  

The  project  supports  young  people  aged  18-24  who,  due  to  unfavourable  situations, 
family or personal problems, require professional and comprehensive educational and 
social  assistance,  aimed  at  obtaining  qualifications,  acquiring  skills  in  navigating  the 
labour  market  and,  as  a  consequence,  taking  up  employment  and  becoming 
independent.  Support  varies  depending  on  the  individual  situation  of  the  participant. 
The project also targeted young people with disabilities as those who have the greatest 
difficulties entering or staying on the local labour market.  

Special support for hard-to-reach young people in Belgium 

Wallonian ‘Sac Ados’ (Belgium) 

The Wallonie-Bruxelles AIR for 2018 in Belgium identifies the difficulties experienced by 
young  NEETs  participating  in  YEI  operations,  due  to  their  low  skills  and  competence 
levels,  lack  of  motivation,  instability,  problems  linked  to  multiple  disadvantages  (e.g. 
access  to  housing,  health,  mental  health  problems,  family  problems).  These 
characteristics require special support, such as individual, constant guidance, adaptation 
and close collaboration with specialised institutions (e.g. medical centres, mental health 
centres, diagnoses of learning difficulties, emergency accommodation, etc.) in order to 
prevent  them  dropping  out  of  operations.  There  is  often  a  problem  with  attendance 
(absences, late arrivals). The Wallonian Sac Ados project198 finances various activities 
carried out by the beneficiary in addition to individual guidance and counselling including 
workshops to improve self-confidence and self-esteem and the develop personal skills 
(such as autonomy, living in a group, expressing oneself) and short participative actions 
(of about four days) where young people can give back to the community and discover 
or  improve  specific  techniques  in  various  sectors  (such  as  in  construction,  or  in  the 
‘green sector’). There are also short training sessions (of minimum two weeks) in several 
enterprises (such as in flower shop or a fitness centre) to provide work experience. In 
2018, assistance was provided to 50 young people, with the number growing each year 
(especially  homeless  young  people).  There  are  no  official  statistics  regarding  the 
situation of the young people after leaving the project, but it seems that most of them 
go back to school or attend a vocational training 

5.4 

Education and training  

The transition from compulsory education to the labour market is critical and 
increasingly early interventions are being pursued in some countries. 

Very often the target group of NEETs has low educational attainment levels and requires 
a  mix  of  some  basic  skills  training  and  vocational  education,  in  combination  with 
employment  interventions.  It  also  seems  that  highest  employment  results  following 
participation  are  recorded  after  the  use  of  education  and/or  training  operations,  the 
support to entrepreneurship and recruitment incentives for employers. During the focus 
group  at  EU-level,  a  number  of  representatives  emphasised  the  importance  of 
working with schools as most young NEETs’ problems start before they reach 
‘NEET age’, i.e. at 15, notwithstanding the limitations on YEI and ESF in working with 
young people at an earlier age. Belgium, Latvia and Slovakia insisted on the need to 
cooperate with schools in order to reach the NEETs as early as possible. In this respect 
the  definition  of  NEET  can  be  restrictive  since  it  only  allows  young  people  who  are 
already NEET, but not those that are about to become NEETs. 

197 See also https://ohp.pl/?page_id=434  
198 See also https://www.rtbf.be/info/regions/luxembourg/detail_marche-le-projet-sac-ados-de-l-amo-mic-
ados-vise-a-rebooster-les-jeunes-descolarises?id=10181707  

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  Slovakia indicated there is a problem with the school system "preparing school 
students to become NEETs". There are more and more young inactive difficult to 
reach people over time. Youth interventions should therefore start earlier, during 
school years to address this problem, and also to allow preventive operations to 
help stop school leavers becoming NEET. 

  Belgium  and  Germany  also  stressed  the  need  to  work  directly  and  in  close 

cooperation with schools. 

This leads to the question whether a paradigm shift in the NEET concept is required, to 
broaden the definition of NEETs to include for instance, also those in part-time or even 
full-time education, as highlighted by several Member States. 

Second chance schools in France 

The Second Chance Schools (Écoles de la deuxième chance, E2C)199 in France 
belong  to  a  public  programme  adopted  to  address  issues  faced  by  young  people 
without a qualification during their school-to-work transition. This six-to-nine months 
programme targets 16-25 year old people with severe issues in finding a decent job. 
The E2C pedagogy heavily relies on concrete  approach to learning, including work-
based learning taking into account participants’ learning capacity. The young people 
mainly are identified by ‘Mission Locales’ counsellors, who decide to send them to an 
E2C  based  on  an  assessment  of  their  needs.  The  first  Second  Chance  School  was 
created in 1997 following the recommendation of Edith Cresson’s White Paper. The 
conclusions  set  the  milestones  of  a  programme  for  the  establishment  of  second 
chance schools in order to tackle social exclusion that hit disadvantaged young people, 
especially those living in deprived neighbourhoods. It contains the key components 
of the E2C Programme, which became a network in 2004.  

The programme aims at providing disadvantaged persons with vocational preparation 
for personal development and for easing the school-to-work transition process. It also 
aims at providing them with social skills so that they are better integrated in society. 
Before participating in the programme, most of them were out of the labour force, or 
long-term unemployed. The second chance schools perfectly correspond to the target 
of the YEI funds. 

Second chance schools are an example of a good practice as:  

  They  target  NEETs,  including  those  with  familial  or  legal  difficulties.  Second 

chances schools address the diversity of the NEETs; 

  They offer individualised support and innovative pedagogical tools, particularly 

adapted to the NEETs; 

  Everything is done to put young people in a position to be responsible for their 
own choice – young people sign a contract with the E2C – and through a project 
approach  (identification  of  competencies,  elaboration  of  a  portfolio  of 
competencies), the promotion of the esteem of the young person and on her/his 
success -no scoring/grading, but a monitoring of the progress made in terms of 
targeted competencies.  

Second chance schools display some key successes, such as:  

  they  combine  education  and  training  to  develop  basic  competencies  using 
appropriate pedagogy based on e-learning approaches, immersion internships 
in  partner  enterprises,  and  extra-curricular  activities  for  the  development  of 
social skills. The success of the programme is due to its personalised support 
(lectures are like private lessons with a tutor, individual guidance and individual 
commitment).  

  they allow young people to obtain their first formal document for seeking a job, 

by delivering a certificate of learning outcomes. 

199 See https://reseau-e2c.fr/  

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  they  developed  a  solid  partnership  with  local  companies  in  order  to  ease  the 

transition from school to work. 

5.5 

First job experience, placements and traineeships 

Work experience has proved to be a vital route into employment and helps to 
develop social skills  

Many  ESF/YEI  operations  focus  on  work  experience  to  give  young  people  who  would 
otherwise find it very hard to find a placement or traineeship with this opportunity. Often 
work  experience  is  more  attractive  to  young  people  who  have  experienced  failure  at 
school. It gives them a chance to discover what they are interested in and where their 
strengths  lie.  It  also  helps  them  to  develop  social  skills  that  are  essential  to  the 
workplace. 

Training for work in Belgium 

WIJ! In Flanders 

The  objective  of  WIJ!200  in  Belgium-Flanders  is  to  provide  young  people  without 
qualifications with an 18-month experience to get the flavour of what working is, and 
to facilitate their entry to the labour market. While WIJ!1 and WIJ!2 put the emphasis 
on finding a job, training or internship for young people, WIJ!3 now primarily focuses 
on the preparation of the young people for the labour market. The idea is that it is 
essential to help the target group to address the barriers faced by the labour market. 
The programme therefore consists of intensive tailored guidance, the strengthening 
of  soft  skills,  labour  market  orientation  and  coaching,  but  in  addition,  competence 
strengthening  activities  are  also  planned  (such  as  participation  in  trainings  and 
internships), though it seems that the large majority of participants only benefit from 
the intensive guidance trajectory. WIJ!3 use sport activities as a tool to increase soft 
skills of young people helping them to acquire similar competencies to those needed 
at the workplace, such  as complying with rules, punctuality, taking responsibilities, 
perseverance,  self-empowerment  and  team  work  or  to  develop  specific  skills  (for 
instance learning how to climb can help them to work at height). Young people who 
participate in internships or who succeeded in finding a job benefit from a follow-up 
support for about three months. Previously, the beneficiaries were paid according to 
their performance: they received a maximum of EUR 600 per completed action plan 
and  EUR  2  000  per  successful  guidance  trajectory  (completion  of  all  prescribed 
activities, in work for at least three months, or in qualifying training). Under WIJ!3, 
they  are  now  paid  based  on  the  time  spent  for  each  young  participant,  which  is 
considered as an improvement as more time can be dedicated to address the multiple 
problems  faced  by  young  people.  Up  to  now,  a  total  of  7  813  participants  were 
reported (about 60% of these are men, 82% have an education level below ISCED 3 
and 82% are Belgian citizens). Of the operations which are now completed, about half 
of the participants were in employment after they left the programme. 

5.6 

Apprenticeships  

Getting the most disadvantaged NEETs into employment is challenging but 
there are good practice examples of approaches, including those deployed in 
Germany and Greece 

One  step  further  than  the  shorter-term  traineeships  and  first  work  experiences 
described  above,  are  the  longer-term  apprenticeships  supported  in  Germany  and 
Greece.  YEI  and  ESF  have  been  used  to  support  candidates  further  from  the  labour 
market for apprenticeships through more concentrated support, with some success. 

200 See also https://ec.europa.eu/esf/main.jsp?catId=46&langId=en&projectId=1507 and 
https://www.skillbuilders.be/nl/jouw-loopbaan/loopbaanbegeleiding  

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The  apprentices  develop  work  related  and  social  skills  in  the  company  while  also 
benefiting  from  formal  training.  In  Germany,  apprenticeships  and  the  dual  education 
system have a long tradition and are generally considered as good practice. The current 
situation in Germany is that there is a lack of apprentices due to the good situation 
of  the  labour  market.  However,  there  are  still  significant  numbers  of  NEETs  who 
cannot  find  placements  due  to  their  lack  of  skills  and  personal  disadvantages.  ESF  is 
being used to support the companies who are prepared to take disadvantaged young 
people  with  a  subsidy  to  help  them  provide  the  young  people  with  more  intensive 
support.  Indeed,  companies  reported  time  spent  supervising,  explaining  and  even 
helping  the  apprentices  carry  out  their  tasks,  i.e.  doing  it  for  them.  The  apprentices 
sometimes  did  not  attend  their  vocational  school  which  also  led  to  time-consuming 
meetings with the schools and/or parents. Communication with the parents often was 
difficult due to the specific social background of the families.  

Social partners in Greece recognise the value of apprenticeships for their duration (two 
years)  and  even  recommend  to  increase  them  to  three  years.  At  the  beginning  the 
student  can  be  a  burden  for  the  enterprise  but  with  time  the  student  becomes  more 
productive as more skills are acquired. As a consequence, this is a win-win situation, 
where  the  student  acquires  more  skills  and  working  experience  and  the  enterprise 
acquires a more productive employee. In Germany, the apprenticeships last three and 
a half years. This seems to be a tried and tested timeframe that works for everybody. 

Apprenticeship programmes in Greece and Germany 

The  Apprenticeship  programme  at  the  Professional  Schools  of  the  Greek 
Manpower Organisation (OAED) for young people201  

The  project  is  focused  on  young  people  aged  15-24  and  combines  theoretical  and 
practical education in school with on-the-job training. Attendance at the professional 
schools (EPAS) lasts two years and students must be ISCED level 2 graduates. In the 
morning, students go to the enterprise for their practical on-the-job training; in the 
afternoon they go to EPAS where they receive theoretical and practical training. The 
practical  training  also  tackles  doubts  and  issues  the  students  encountered  in  their 
morning work at the enterprise, so the school programme in the afternoon is closely 
linked to the morning working experience. The match between the student and the 
enterprise is done by the EPAS schools. In 2014, they set up liaison offices between 
the school and the labour market so the tutor identifies the most pertinent enterprise 
for  the  practical  on-the-job  training  of  the  student.  These  liaison  offices  have 
contributed to the cooperation culture between EPAS schools and enterprises. Every 
year there is a local consultation between schools and enterprises, where OAED brings 
in  its  experience  from  participating  in  EU  networks  (e.g.  the  EU  network  on 
apprenticeship).  They  also  organise  competitions  and  demonstration  fairs  where 
students can demonstrate the skills acquired in sectors like bakery,  watch-making, 
silversmiths,  electricians,  hairdressing,  marble  carving,  furniture  design,  etc. 
according to the 34 specialisations offered to EPAS students. Based on the liaison with 
enterprises, OAED has developed an electronic register of private sector enterprises 
(updated  every  year)  and  a  system  to  check  implementation  of  apprenticeship  in 
enterprises.  There  is  also  a  feedback  system,  thus,  if  something  goes  wrong,  the 
contract between the enterprise and student can be changed. The first two months 
are trial months. Participating enterprises receive a subsidy that covers 60% of the 
social insurance contributions, while students also receive a small subsidy. Therefore, 
enterprises also have to pay a contribution into the programme.  

The  Bavarian  action  Fit  for  work  –  Chance  Ausbildung202  (Fit  for  work  – 
training opportunity) under Action 1 of the ESF Operational Programme and 

201 See also http://www.oaed.gr/  
202 See also https://www.stmas.bayern.de/berufsbildung/fitforwork/chance.php and 
https://www.stmas.bayern.de/jugendsozialarbeit/arbeitsweltbezogen/index.php  

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the Action 2 – Arbeitsweltbezogene Jugendsozialarbeit (work-related youth 
work) (Germany) 

The project addressed the needs in the labour market (unfilled apprenticeship places 
due to an over-supply of vocational training places in companies compared to young 
people applying) and also the prospective skills gap in the labour market. One reason 
(among  others,  like  the  high  demand  for  labour)  for  the  low  coverage  of 
apprenticeship positions is due to the low skills of the applicants (skills mismatch). 
Therefore the targeted funding tries to redress this gap with support to the companies 
for taking on young people with disadvantages (FA 1) on the one hand, and supports 
young people who do not manage to find an apprenticeship place (FA 2) on the other. 
In 75% of cases, the  companies in Bavaria were quite pleased  or at least  satisfied 
with the practical work of the apprentices. Often the companies identified language 
and cultural challenges related to young people with a non-German background. In 
most  cases  these  were  compensated  by  the  young  people’s  friendliness  and 
willingness. Three quarters of the companies were happy with the social integration 
of the apprentices. In one quarter of the cases, they reported that the young people 
had not integrated well. This was mainly due to a lack of self-confidence or a difficult 
background.  The  extra  efforts  needed  from  their  trainers  was  also  found  to  be  an 
additional burden. 

5.7 

Flexible and individualised pathway approaches  

The pathways approach helps to support NEETs through a combination of 
interventions that can be tailored to individual needs 

Many Member States have adopted a pathways approach (or combined approach) to 
tackling youth employment. This is particularly the case with the YEI as it is focused 
on  the  implementation  of  the  Youth  Guarantee  which  requires  a  mix  of  approaches. 
Many young NEETs need a series of interventions in order to make the transition from 
inactivity to work or education and benefit from a comprehensive approach. In Germany 
and Poland, the individualised approach to assisting and supporting young people (in 
particular those most in need) is working well and improving effectiveness and efficiency 
of  operations  although  the  latter  is  not  simple  to  measure  directly.  Organisations 
responding  to  the  public  consultation  highlighted  the  importance  of  tailored 
approaches to effective programmes, ensuring that attention was given to individual 
needs.  

  In Germany, the local and regional cooperation approaches (see above) can be 
considered a way of successfully ‘managing complexity’, in particular through the 
early and preventive interventions and the flexible pathway approaches.  

  In  Poland,  the  Voluntary  Labour  Corps  activities  adopt  a  pathways  approach. 
These  cover  the  entire  support  path  from  educational  activities  to  employment 
enriched  with  new  activities  that  increase  the  effectiveness  of  support  and 
guarantee  the  achievement  of  the  employment  goal.  Comprehensive  support, 
which was provided as  part of the  ‘From training to employment’ project and is 
broader  than  in  standard  actions,  improved  the  work  with  young  people.  The 
experience  acquired  has  influenced  the  activities  carried  out  and,  as  far  as 
possible, the scope of standard forms of support will be expanded. 

  In Italy, the possibility to benefit from a mix of  Youth Guarantee operations as 
part of the same operation rather than with different ‘entries' into the Guarantee, 
is assessed by stakeholders to be an important element of success. 

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5.8 

Vouchers  

Vouchers  – made  available  to  young  people  -  can  give  NEETs  some  leverage 
with employers and help them access employment 

Vouchers203  were  not  often  used  by  the  Member  States  but  represent  good  practice 
where they were used. Vouchers put the unemployed person (participant) at the centre 
and can also be relatively quick and efficient to implement. The participant chooses the 
thematic topic that best fits her/his needs and the training provider. The main weakness 
is the lack of possibilities to contact the enterprises and have an interview with them. 
As  a  consequence,  it  is  not  always  evident  that  the  thematic  topic  chosen  by  the 
participant will correspond to the needs of the enterprise. Vouchers can work better if 
the participants can contact the companies in advance and have an interview to confirm 
a) that they match, b) what training they need to acquire the required skills. The training 
material  should  take  into  account  both  the  profile  of  the  participant  and  the  skills 
required by the enterprise. 

Vouchers for NEETs in Greece 

Vouchers were used in Greece and presented as best practice in the case study. The 
project  presented  is  the  ‘Vouchers  for  NEETs  aged  25-29  for  acquiring  work 
experience in the tourism sector204’. The objective of this operation is to contribute to 
the work experience of 25-29 years old NEETs through vouchers in private enterprises 
of the tourism sector covering theoretical and practical experience as well as guidance 
and counselling services. The project included 80 hours of theoretical training and 420 
hours of practical training in private sector enterprises that serve directly or indirectly 
the tourism sector and promote the tourism products of the country, including support 
and counselling services to recipients throughout their practical training (internship). 
Participants  acquire  certification  of  their  professional  qualifications.  The  voucher 
included  seven  specialisations  in  the  field  of  tourism.  It  was  the  first  voucher  that 
included its own training material. 

5.9 

Support to entrepreneurship  

Support to NEETs going into entrepreneurship has impressive employment 
results but only accounts for a small amount of ESF/YEI youth employment 
resources 

in  employment  after  participating 

Support  to  entrepreneurship  has  one  of  the  highest  employment  results  after 
participation. The rates are particularly high in Poland, with nine participants out of ten 
being 
in  a  training  course  or  receiving 
entrepreneurship  support  in  Local  Labour  Offices  projects.  In  Ireland,  78%  of 
participants  were  employed  after  participating  in  the  ‘Back  to  work  enterprise 
allowance’. In Latvia, after one year, the employment rates of participants in stage 2 of 
the  ‘programme  for  entrepreneurship  and  self-employment’205  reached  65%-70%, 
compared with around 60% for participants in stage 1. Nevertheless, only 3% of YEI 
funding and 7% of ESF funding is used for support to entrepreneurship across the EU. 
This may well have to do with the generally low entrepreneurial skills levels of the NEETs 

203 For a definition of vouchers, see the footnote in box 3 
204 See also https://sete.gr/el/kentro-typou/deltia-typou-anakoinoseis/news-repository/2015/2o-
programma/ and http://www.insete.gr/el-gr/Προγράμματα/Υλοποιούμενα-έργα/Επιταγή-Εισόδου-για-νέους-
έως-29-ετών-σε-ιδιωτικές-επιχειρήσεις-στον-κλάδο-του-τουρισμού-για-απόκτηση-εργασιακής-εμπειρίας 
205 The programme for entrepreneurship and self-employment in Latvia is operated by the SEA (offered 
under the Youth Guarantee) and can play an important role for reducing unemployment in Latvia, across 
regions. The programme assists selected participants with the formulation of business plans and, at a first 
stage, provides feedback on these business plans in up to 20 consultation sessions for each participant. 
When submitted to a commission of business professionals, about one-quarter of business plans are 
approved. To implement approved business plans at the second stage, grants of up to EUR 3 000 can be 
awarded, as well as monthly stipends at the level of the minimum wage for up to six months. 

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and,  as  shown  in  the  Portuguese  example  below,  the  fact  that  they  are  not  ready  to 
start their own business. 

Support to Entrepreneurship in Portugal 

Empreende Já – Rede de Perceção e Gestão de Negócios (EJÁ) (Portugal) 

The  Portuguese  case  study  presents  the  operation  as  a  leading  example  of  good 
practice. EJÁ206 aims at promoting creative and innovative entrepreneurship through 
the  training  of  young  NEETs  and  the  provision  of  support  for  the  development  of 
projects  leading  to  the  creation  of  companies  or  entities  within  the  social  market 
economy and jobs by and for young NEETs. In the first phase, recipients undertake 
125 hours of training, divided into five short-term training units of 25 hours each: i) 
profile  and  potential  of  the  entrepreneurs;  ii)  introduction  to  accounting;  iii) 
introduction  to  quality  norms;  iv)  introduction  to  taxation;  v)  right  to  equality  and 
non-discrimination.  

In the second phase, recipients undertake 125 additional hours of training from a set 
of  short-term  training  units  of  25  hours  or  50  hours  each.  The  project  defines  the 
training  plan  that  adapts  best  to  the  project  presented.  The  training  plan  should 
become an annex to the contract established with the recipient. The operation also 
includes tuition. Over a period of 30 hours, recipients benefit from tailored follow-up 
with a view to the elaboration of the project/business plan. This document is the basis 
for  the  evaluation  of  the  projects  that  will  be  selected  for  the  second  stage.  The 
targeting of young NEETs for this type of operation was something new. The project 
had to adapt its methodologies of engagement because, even though the NEET rate 
was very high, it was not easy to find possible recipients. A further difficulty was the 
fact  that,  in  many  cases,  the  NEETs  have  qualifications  below  upper  secondary 
schooling. Frequently, the best option for these young people is to engage in basic 
skills training rather than create their own enterprise. 

The experience in implementing the operation showed that it would have been useful, 
if the operation allowed the young to start their business while still being trained. One 
of the rules imposed by the Operational Programme (POISE) was that they could not 
work during the six-month period of being trained and receiving a grant. The young 
people  sometimes  also  have  to  travel  or  move  to  another  location  to  undertake 
training and are required to pay the incurred costs from their own money in advance, 
which may in some situations pose concrete obstacles. Additionally, some participants 
identified  the  need  for  the  training  programme  to  include  skills  acquisition  e.g.  in 
English language. 

5.10  Measurement of effective youth employment programmes 

The measurement of the effectiveness of youth employment operations has 
improved significantly in the current programming period but there is scope 
for further improvement 

Measuring  the  achievements  of  participants,  and  of  the  effectiveness  of  programmes 
generated  discussion  at  the  focus  group  and  the  ESF  Committee  Technical  Working 
Group207. 

Issues raised included under-reporting of results, the measurement of soft outcomes 
and  capturing  the  long-term  benefits  of  YEI/ESF  youth  employment  operations  after 
exiting projects, the consensus being that resolving these issues would allow for a better 
– and more accurate – story of effectiveness. Inconsistencies and varying practices in 
tracking  YEI  participants  after  they  have  left  YEI  are  not  helpful  if  we  are  to  have  a 
better understanding of a long-term integration. Some countries – and indeed some of 

206 See also https://juventude.gov.pt/Emprego/RPGN-Rede-de-Percepcao-Gestao-Negocios/Paginas/RPGN-
Rede-de-Percepcao-e-Gestao-de-Negocios.aspx  
207 2nd October 2019 

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the YEI evaluations - looked beyond the statutory 6 month after participation monitoring 
period, which provides useful information for assessing the sustainability of operations, 
but greater consistency in obtaining the data required by the regulation should be the 
priority as there appears to be some gaps in current monitoring systems.  

Managing Authorities are aware of the value of capturing results after a period of time 
(six,  12  or  more  months  after  a  participation) and  the  value  of  tools  such  as  ad  hoc 
surveys,  but  practice  varies  (e.g.  Bulgaria  do  not  undertake  longer-term  tracking  of 
participants,  but  plan  to  do  so).  Belgium  undertakes  surveys  (examples  given  in 
response  to  EQ1)  whilst  Italy  measures  long-term  results  by  the  use  of  data  sets  to 
measure changes in employment (although this under reports other outcomes). Overall 
costs  and  practical  considerations  can  act  against  any  such  undertaking.  Further 
standardisation – perhaps through a single ESF monitoring system – would aid future 
evaluations, but the costs and practical barriers to change need also to be considered, 
given the delays in setting up new systems experienced in some Member States. 

Whilst  evaluators  use  monitoring  data,  that  data  is  often  collected  and  used  by 
operations  for  immediate  purposes,  to  aid  –  for  example  –  targeting  policies  or  the 
balance of interventions within their operations. The ability to use national data sets for 
econometric analysis or to track individuals (e.g. through tax and national insurances 
numbers  or  surveys,  especially  for  tracking  results  after  a  participant  has  left  an 
operation)  is  problematic  on  data  privacy  grounds,  more  so  with  the  advent  of 
GDPR208.However, from an evaluation perspective, and for pan-EU comparative studies, 
the most positive change would be in ensuring that data is collected in accordance 
with  the  regulation  and  that  ambiguities  are  removed  to  avoid  any  differences  in 
interpretation. 

The value of soft outcomes is recognised by Managing Authorities, and was said to 
be highly valued by participants, but problems of monitoring and agreeing what data to 
collect still persists209. Increased confidence is seen as key indicator, but focus group 
stakeholders also raised system and delivery issues in terms of measures of improved 
governance of youth employment policies and a better knowledge of NEETs, their needs 
and how to provide more effective support. Measuring soft outcomes remains an area 
where more work is required from Managing Authorities and the EU. 

  Measuring soft outcomes 

Many Managing Authorities have reviewed methodologies to capture soft outcomes, 
in part to show a ‘fuller picture’ of programme achievements, but because systems 
measured on quantifiable results (qualifications gained, jobs gained etc.) discriminate 
against those  who are far away from the labour market, who yet nevertheless can 
benefit  from  (in  this  case)  youth  employment  operations.  Some  measures  include 
numeracy  and  literacy  as  a  key  ingredient  of  basic  skills  but  in  many  cases  soft 
outcomes are less clear cut. A consistent point seems to be the use of soft outcomes 
to measure progress towards employment – possibly over a long time period – which 
requires  periodic  measurement  and  assessment  (through  diaries,  interviews  and 
assessment by mentors). In some cases, accreditation follows, partly as a means of 
recording an outcome, but also to help the self-esteem of the individuals concerned. 
Soft  outcomes  in  the  context  of  youth  employment  operations  generally  focus  on 
social  skills  (self-esteem/confidence,  cultural  and  community  interaction  and 
interaction) but also the non-vocational skills sets required be employers (including 
reliability,  honesty/discipline  and  time  keeping  and  personal  organisation)  but  the 
absence  of  common  approaches  and  indicators  means  that  there  are  considerable 
variations. 

208 General Data Protection Regulation 
209 This was also a finding of the ex-post evaluations of the 2007-2013 ESF programmes 

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Another  point  raised  in  the  discussions,  and  also  in  the  case  studies,  was  the 
measurement  of  what  constituted  ‘quality  employment’  with  four  key  variables 
mentioned, a living wage210, stability of employment, effective integration/re-integration 
into the labour market (allowing the participant to remain in work, although potentially 
with other employers), and the offer of full-time employment (one of the criticisms from 
the case studies being a prevalence in some labour markets for part time, seasonal and 
temporary  employment).  Notions  of  quality  employment  are  linked  to  the  state  of 
national  economies,  and  could  be  perceived  as  secondary  to  gaining  some  work 
experience in economies where higher levels of unemployment persist.  

210 Eurostat defines a living wage as a measure of income that allows an employee a basic but socially 
acceptable standard of living, allowing households to live with dignity. Definitions vary between Member 
States and minimum wage policies – where they exist – have different thresholds, generally higher in 
Western Europe and lower in the East 

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6 

Conclusions 

The evaluation draws on a diverse range of evidence sources, occasionally contradictory, 
but  generally  reinforcing  a  series  of  key  conclusions  concerning  the  design  and 
implementation of youth employment operations under the YEI and ESF. A key challenge 
for  an  evaluation  that  happens  at  an  intermediate  stage  of  implementation  is  the 
ongoing  status  of  the  programmes  being  evaluated  with  a  series  of  incomplete 
operations (with incomplete data on outputs and results). The conclusions can be also 
challenged, as they cover  only the period prior to the  Corona Virus health pandemic. 
Even so the story of YEI/ESF youth employment operations is generally a positive one, 
reflected in the public consultation exercise that attracted responses from more than 1 
300  respondents  (from  the  public,  including  ESF/YEI  participants;  and  organisations, 
including  those  that  have  been  involved  in  implementing  ESF/YEI  operations).  Key 
conclusions are as follows: 

  YEI/ESF  has  helped  improve  the  employability  of  young  people  across 
Europe: Between 2014 and 2018 some 3.5 million young people participated in 
YEI  and  ESF  youth  employment  operations,  52%  being  female.  Some  3  300 
projects and 24 600 SMEs have been supported. There were 1.4 million immediate 
results  (offers  of  employment,  apprenticeships,  traineeships  and  continuing 
vocational education and training) but with improved results over time, six months 
or more after the completion of a participation. The evaluation finds evidence of 
additional  results,  which  cannot  always  be  measured,  such  as  modest  steps 
improving  employability  and  improving  the  self-esteem  for  those  furthest  away 
from the labour market.  

  Early  implementation  was  slow  but  has  picked  up:  Whilst  the  targets  for 
participations and results lag the targets set (as at the end of 2018) this is not an 
immediate cause for concern given the implementation period until the end of the 
2014-2020 programming period. By the end of 2018, 52% of YEI  resources and 
27% for ESF had been implemented, both below target. YEI has performed more 
strongly  than  the  ESF  youth  employment  operations,  mainly  due  to  the  early 
impetus to implement YEI as an emergency measure and the frontloading of its 
budget. As with other programmes there were establishment and capacity related 
delays, more so in some Member States, where there have been delays in setting 
up IT systems and new monitoring systems. However, these problems are largely 
resolved. 

  Young  people  have  benefitted  in  different  ways:  90%  of  those  who  had 
participated  in  YEI/ESF  youth  employment  operations  said  they  had  benefitted 
from  the  experience  (based  on  the  public  consultation  exercise)  with  the 
development of general and professional skills, and help in looking for a job, the 
most  highly  rated.  For  those  furthest  away  from  the  labour  market  there  is 
evidence of improved self-esteem, confidence and life skills, although such ‘soft 
outcomes’ are not recorded systematically. 

  Without EU support the levels of youth employment operations would be 
lower, and the NEET population higher, more so in some Member States than 
others: EU support has helped to reduce overall NEET numbers, especially in those 
countries with more dependency on EU funds for active labour market operations, 
and has helped to support and develop delivery and management systems. The 
overall  NEET  population  has  fallen  since  2014,  as  the  employment  position  in 
Europe generally improved, it has been evidenced in the fall of the NEET population 
registered  as  unemployed.  For  economically  inactive  NEETs  the  numbers  have 
remained  static  or  risen  in  some  countries,  but  the  overall  effect  is  that 
economically inactive NEETs make up a larger proportion of the overall client group 
providing a challenge for the programmes and the Member States.  

  Following modifications and greater precision in the national definitions 
of the NEET, youth employment operations have adjusted accordingly and 
remained  relevant:  Whilst  challenging,  many  operations  have  identified  and 

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recruited  NEETs  from  hard  to  reach  groups,  including  those  from  economically 
inactive groups. This has been achieved through partnership working at the local 
and regional level, working with those who have direct access to the client group. 
Challenges remain (e.g. women aged 25-29 have a lower level of representation 
than  men  in  the  same  age  cohort)  and  the  number  of  disadvantaged  and 
vulnerable young people, often with complex needs remain high across Europe. 

  The  type  and  nature  of  the  youth  employment  operation  is  a  key 
determinant of both effectiveness and efficiency. There are several factors 
to  consider  including  the  duration  of  the  operation  (which  clearly  impacts  on 
costs),  but  tailored,  individualised,  pathways  approaches  are  generally  positive 
but  can  attract  higher  costs,  whilst  some  low-cost  operations,  including 
generalised guidance, can be ineffective.  

  YEI  and  ESF  youth  employment  operations  have  shown  significant 
innovation, especially in respect of outreach for harder to reach groups. 
There are several examples of good practice illustrated in the report. Identifying, 
recruiting  and  retaining  those  from  hard  to  reach  groups,  including  those 
economically  inactive,  not  currently  seeking  education,  employment  or  training 
has  proved  challenging.  Challenged  by  the  change  in  the  NEET  client  group, 
operations have responded with strategies encompassing a range of approaches 
to identify and recruit economically inactive NEETs and those that are hardest to 
reach.  This  has  ranged  from  working  with  schools  (to  identify  pre-NEETS,  and 
avoiding  them  becoming  NEET),  to  the  imaginative  use  of  social  media,  and  to 
collaborative  working  with  front  line  agencies  (health,  housing,  social  services, 
youth and community organisations).  

  The specific focus on ‘youth’ in the current programming period through 
the  implementation  of  the  Youth  Guarantee,  YEI  and  the  relevant  ESF 
operations, raising and maintaining the profile of young NEETs, has been 
very important to the overall level of achievement. It has focused attention 
and national priorities, even in countries that have seen the greatest falls in the 
NEET population. This is a key element of the added value of the programmes. 

  Targeting funding to youth should be maintained in the next programming period, 
where YEI operations are subsumed under the new ESF+, but not in their current 
form given the changes observed to date in the composition of NEETs.  It can be 
expected that youth, as in the previous crisis, will be particularly affected by the 
consequences of pandemic on the labour market. . 

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Annex 1: A mapping of youth-related thematic objectives, 
investment priorities, target populations and types of operations

Annex 2: Assisting the European Commission in the public 
consultation process 

Annex 3: Comparative Analysis of the evolution of the labour 
market and the role of the EU funded operations 

Annex 4: Cost-effectiveness analysis 

Annex 5: Individual case study reporting 

Annex 6: Country-specific factsheets 

Annex 7: Synthesis of 2nd YEI evaluations 

Annex 8: Methodology and work carried out in the tasks 

Annex 9: Minutes of Youth Employment EU-level Focus Group

Annex 10: Synopsis of consultation activities

175 

 
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