As Europe's economy shrinks following the coronavirus pandemic, youth unemployment is on the rise. There are currently 3.1 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24 who cannot find a job.
The number of NEET’s (not in education, employment and teaching) aged 15-29, including those who are not actively looking for work, is 9.6 million.
Nicolas Schmit, EU ’'s Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, said they were determined to prevent the same impact on young people in the wake of the financial crisis.
“We are just coming out of an era where we are experiencing a lost generation due to the financial and subsequent economic crisis, ” says: We must get ahead of the new lost generation. - “
Solutions in Europe
The European Commission has adopted the Programme for Supporting Young Employment, with an investment of at least 22 billion euros over the next seven years. This follows an investment of 22 billion euros over the past seven years to recruit young people through vocational training and apprenticeships.
Tremplin is a programme funded by the European Social Fund in the Brussels region. The fund has a budget of 18 million Euro’, 10,000 people aged 18-25 benefited from this fund for 7 years.
The case of Baggio’
25-year-old Baggio used to be an electrician. But now he has completed Tremplin training to become a roofer. He has an employment contract for young people and hopes that this new profession will increase his income. Roofing is in demand in his area, so he says he's sure to get a job.
In addition to Baggio’'s new positive employment opportunities, he also enjoys work. He called us “, a really meticulous and frankly enjoyable job.
The trial of Gamze ’nin
One of the winners of the Tremplin program is 19-year-old Gamze. After 4 months of training, he is currently doing an internship in a store he bought. He says he graduated from middle school last year and doesn't know what to do. That caused him a lot of anxiety.
After the pandemic emerged, more stores began to digitize and e-commerce grew. He says that's what pushed him into this area. During her internship, online learns how to manage sales, manage stocks, orders, and social media. He even arranged a job interview.
The number of job seekers under the age of 25 in the Brussels region increased by almost 8 percent compared to last year, while the youth unemployment rate reached 25 ’ percent. But Gamze and Baggio say they still have new hopes that their professional dreams can come true.
The Young Employment Support package (YES), funded by the European Social Fund+ and other EU funds, includes a guarantee that everyone enrolled will receive a job, apprenticeship, education or training offer within four months.
Financial investment in education
The EU plans to invest at least 22 billion euros to support youth employment, but some say that's not enough. Guntram Wolff is an economist and director of the Bruegel think tank. He says he wants to see more done. According to him, “You also need national support for the younger generation. The sad truth is that youth unemployment doesn't go down that quickly, ”.
It compares the pandemic to the recent financial crisis, in which it took 5 to 10 years to return to levels of youth unemployment in 2009’. For him, “, the issue of how youth was affected by the pandemic is something that policymakers should keep in mind.
Nicolas Schmit explains that 22 billion is a “ indicator figure. He tells us that it's not just 22 billion and that's it, “We currently have a lot of other funds through the Healing and Resilience Facility, so we should use most of that money to create jobs and also bring young people into those jobs, ”.
AB’'s Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights states that there is work to be done at AB’, but sometimes “ education profiles do not match the requirements of these jobs and therefore we need to react quickly. Maybe we should give these young people a little extra education, extra training, re-adjust to existing jobs, “ says.
The pandemic in Europe has exacerbated youth unemployment problems in ’. There are fewer job opportunities and young people are competing with the unemployed who have more experience. There's pressure not to leave an entire generation behind.
