COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION Executive summary of the evaluation of the ESF and YEI support to youth employment
Date: 2020-09-24
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
Subjects: EU employment policy, European Social Fund, integration into employment, job access, young person, young worker, youth employment, youth unemployment

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 24.9.2020  SWD(2020) 217 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION  Executive summary of the evaluation of the ESF and YEI support to youth employment {SWD(2020) 216 final}  
 
 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

This aim of this document is to present the main findings and lessons drawn from the 
evaluation of the support for youth employment provided by the European Social Fund 
(ESF) and the Youth Employment  Initiative (YEI) from 2014 to the end of December 
2018.  The  document  is  based  on  the  results  of  an  external  evaluation  completed  in 
spring 2020. 

BACKGROUND 

In  response  to  the  damaging  effects  of  the  economic  downturn  of  the  late  2000s  on 
young  people  and  the  high  levels  of  youth  unemployment,  on  April  2013  the  Council 
adopted a recommendation establishing a Youth Guarantee. The aim was to ensure that 
all young people under 25 years receive a good-quality offer of employment, continued 
education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within 4 months of becoming unemployed 
or leaving formal education. 

The  ESF  2014-2020  contains  an  investment  priority  that  directly  targets  support  for 
integrating young people into the labour market. Member States invested ESF resources 
to  fund both  the direct  provision  of support under the Youth  Guarantee and to  pursue 
relevant policy reforms. 

The  YEI,  adopted  by  the  Council  in  February  2013,  provided  additional  EU  funds  to 
complement funding available under the ESF. The aim of YEI funding was to support 
the  offers  set  out  in  the  Youth  Guarantee  for  young  people  not  in  employment, 
education and training. It targeted regions where youth unemployment was over 25% in 
2012. The Initiative was integrated into the legal framework setting out rules governing 
the  programming  and  implementation  of  the  ESF  for  2014-2020.  It  has  been 
programmed in ESF-supported programmes as a dedicated resource. 

SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES MOBILISED TO BOOST YOUTH EMPLOYMENT 

An estimated EUR 22 billion is being invested in youth employment schemes over the 
current  programming  period  (2014-2020),  with  a  18%  share  of  ESF  funding  coming 
from national co- financing. Due to a slow initial set-up of operations, limited capacity 
in  the  managing  authorities  and  beneficiaries  and  problems  in  reaching  out  to  target 
groups,  the  implementation  rates  at  the  end  of  2018  (as  a  share  of  the  funding 
committed)  were  lower  than  initially  planned:  52%  for  YEI  and  27%  for  ESF  youth 
operations. However, since then, implementation levels are on track for both funds, with 
a higher rate for YEI funds.  

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KEY ACHIEVEMENTS: LARGE NUMBER OF YOUNG PEOPLE REACHED 

By  the  end  of  2018,  there  had  been  about  3.8  million  participations1  under  youth 
employment  support  (up  to  29  years),  representing  15%  of  all  ESF  participations  and 
60%  of  the  target.  Women  made  up  52%  of  all  participations  and  70%  were  under  25 
years old. 

Some 1.4 million participations resulted in  employment immediately after participation, 
with  further  positive  results  including  employment-focused  education  and  training  and 
self- employment. The evaluation indicates that the level of employment of participants 
tended to increase over the medium to long term, meaning that the operations improved 
the overall employability of participants. 

MAIN FINDINGS 

Effectiveness.  The  evaluation  found  that  youth  employment  operations  and  use  of  the 
Youth  Guarantee  had  supported  ‘the  sustainable  integration  into  the  labour  market  of 
young people not in employment, education or training, including young people at risk of 
social  exclusion  and  young  people  from  marginalised  communities’.  Overall,  youth 
employment operations have had a positive impact in terms of integrating young people 
into the labour market, although in different ways and to different extents. 

Operations  were  most  effective  in  targeting  and  supporting  young  people  not  in 
employment,  education  or  training,  rather  than  those  who  are  economically  inactive. 
Operations that best help participants improve their employability are typically linked to 
work  experience  or  vocational  skills  with  a  direct  link  to  employers  (e.g.  paid 
traineeships,  apprenticeships  and  internships,  vocational  education  and  training,  basic 
skills training for the low-skilled). Operations tailored to individual needs tend to be more 
effective,  especially  for  more  disadvantaged  groups  and  those  furthest  away  from  the 
labour market. 

Efficiency.  The  average  unit  cost  per  participation  is  broadly  in  line  with  established 
benchmarks  and  appropriate  to  the  operations  implemented,  with  significant  variations 
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 main determinant of costs. 

In  this  vein,  vocational  education  and  training  combined  with  work  experience  has 
proven to  be cost-effective despite its high cost.  By contrast,  the low cost  of delivering 
general guidance that is not tailored to individual needs does not compensate for the low 
effectiveness of this type of support. 

1  This  number  denotes  the  number  of  participations  in  all  operations.  This  is  not  the  same  as  individual 

participants since an individual can participate in several operations over the programming period. 

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The  evaluation  confirmed  that  the  organisational  set-up  of  most  operations  is  fit  for 
purpose.  Excessive  national  requirements  —  ‘gold  plating’  —  were  rare.  For  example, 
these  cases  stemmed  from  national  structures  (such  as  the  initial  incompatibility  of 
national  databases  for  assessing  the  eligibility  of  young  people  for  YEI/ESF  support). 
Bringing in simplified cost options helped to reduce the administrative burden after initial 
delays and once capacity issues were tackled. 

Coherence. The evaluation found the YEI and other ESF-funded youth operations to be 
coherent  across  the  programmes,  notably  due  to  the  way  they  were  designed  and 
programmed.  It  is  also  clear  how  they  differ  from  other  EU  funds  or  national 
programmes.  In  addition,  in  some  countries  and  regions,  partnerships  are  set  up  to 
coordinate youth employment operations across EU and national programmes. No other 
EU  programme  targeting  young  people  has  the  clear  employment  focus  or  the 
extensiveness of YEI or ESF youth employment operations. 

Relevance.  Overall,  the  funds  targeted  the  groups  most  in  need  of  youth  employment 
operations  and  were  in  line  with  national,  regional  and  local  employment  strategies. 
During  the  period  of  analysis,  the  composition  of  the  group  of  young  people  not  in 
employment, education or training changed, with an increase in the proportion of inactive 
young  people.  This  reflected  parallel  changes  to  the  socio-economic  context  in  the 
Member States. As a response, innovative approaches were taken to identify and recruit 
participants  from  hard-to-reach  groups,  such  as  increasing  the  use  of  social  media.  The 
operations  also  demonstrated  significant  flexibility  in  terms  of  their  content,  which, 
together with the adjusted outreach, had a positive impact on effectiveness. 

Sustainability.  Participants  in  YEI/ESF  youth  operations  improved  their  employment 
results  over  time,  6  months  or  more  after  participating  in  the  schemes.  In  addition,  the 
macroeconomic analysis suggests that over time, the operations had positive impacts (on 
GDP and indirect employment). There is evidence that the innovative measures brought 
in  under  the  YEI  and  ESF  youth  operations  are  being  brought  into  the  mainstream  of 
national programmes. 

Added value. Overall, EU support has provided clear added value as it has increased the 
volume  of  youth  employment  operations  and  the  number  and  range  of  young  people 
receiving support. The specific focus on youth employment has raised and maintained the 
profile of youth employment issues across the EU. Particularly helpful in this regard has 
been  the  emphasis  on  the  needs  and  problems  of  young  people  not  in  employment, 
education  or  training  (and  not  just  the  unemployed),  with  a  greater  focus  on  the 
disadvantaged and the upper end of the age bracket (from 25 to 30 years old). Moreover, 
many youth employment operations would not have been funded without EU support. 

Even  though  the  aim  of  the  YEI  initiative  was  not  to  change  systems,  EU  funds  have 
helped  to  support  delivery  capacity,  structural  changes  and  the  institutional  capacity  to 
respond  to  the  specific  needs  of  the  target  population  through  innovative  approaches, 
such as early interventions with young people leaving school with limited skills. 

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YEI operations appear to have had a positive impact on employment results. Aggregate 
monitoring data for the Youth Guarantee and YEI covering 2014-2018 indicate that one 
in  six  (16%)  participating  young  people  aged  15-29  who  received  a  Youth  Guarantee 
offer (of employment, education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship) was supported by the 
YEI. 

LESSONS LEARNT 

The evaluation also  yielded a number of conclusions on aspects where there are lessons 
to  be  learnt.  These  conclusions  can  feed  into  the  work  to  implement  the  ESF  Plus  for 
2021-2027. 

The very precise definition of the target population, in particular for YEI operations, led 
both  to  opportunities  and  challenges.  Focusing  the  support  on  the  population  of  young 
people not in employment, education or training has had a number of positive outcomes 
in  terms  of  public  employment  systems  and  the  actual  assistance  provided.  Identifying 
and  recruiting  young  people  not  in  employment,  education  or  training  to  youth 
employment  operations  requires  taking  a  range  of  innovative  approaches,  especially  as 
the proportion of  economically inactive people rises. Individuals furthest away from the 
labour  market  benefit  most  from  tailored  and  intensive  guidance  and  support.  Many  of 
these young people need to participate in a series of interventions to make the transition 
from inactivity to work or education. 

Measuring the effectiveness of youth employment operations can be further improved by 
reporting  results  more  often  and  by  also  tracking  soft  outcomes.  The  visibility  of  EU 
funding  can  be  improved  by  increasing  the  use  of  social  media  and  forging  stronger 
partnerships with schools, community organisations and front-line services. 

The efficiency of the schemes could be further improved by building additional capacity 
in  programme  authorities  and  social  partners.  The  stakeholders  involved  in  youth 
employment  policies  emphasised  the  importance  of  cooperation  at  local  and  regional 
level,  both  to  identify  young  people  not  in  employment,  education  or  training  and  to 
implement programmes efficiently. 

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