1 Leila Kurki President of the Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship European Economic and Social Committee EESC Informal meeting of Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs Horsens (Denmark) 24 April 2012 Meeting with the Social Partners: Youth employment (10:30 11:45) Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen, Through the European Employment Strategy and the annual employment guidelines, the European Union has a means to "softly" coordinate the employment policies of its Member States in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy. While the objectives, priorities and targets are agreed at EU level, it is up to the national governments to formulate and implement the necessary policies. The social consequences of the financial crisis are reaching alarming proportions, because at the heart of fiscal consolidation lies the reduction of public sector deficits by making often painful cuts in government expenditure. These policies restrict labour market opportunities not least for groups that were already disadvantaged to begin with, such as young people. At 22.4%, the youth unemployment rate in the EU has climbed to a new historic high. In the vast majority of Member States it is more than twice as high as that for adults.
2 This means that 5,5 million young are in real trouble, in spite of the fact that they also are the best educated generation in EU s history. And in the end, they should also pay the bill caused by debt crisis. Youth unemployment entails major economic and social disadvantages for society and young people and restricts opportunities for growth. Europe's competitiveness will depend to a great extent on skilled workers, and it risks losing ground in the competition for specialist and skilled workers. In view of this, the Committee is pleased that the European Social Partners have decided to focus on youth employment in their work programme for 2012 1014. In the Committee's view, the present employment guidelines do not sufficiently emphasise the fact that tackling unemployment must be the highest priority. The guidelines fall short of an ambitious European approach, leaving the formulation of employment policy to the Member States, except for a few core European objectives. This is also reflected in the "Youth Opportunities Initiative" where the Commission takes a somewhat defensive approach, stressing that the responsibility for tackling youth unemployment lies with the Member States. However, the Commission also points out that there are indications that Member States are not reacting effectively enough to the recommendations made by the EU. The common approach of leaving the formulation of concrete targets in employment policy to the Member States has not proven successful. The target
3 for EU wide general employment 75% of 20 64 year olds by 2020 needs to be supplemented with measurable EU targets for specific groups, including young people. In this area, an indicator concerning young people who are not in education, employment or training (the so called NEETs) is particularly necessary. The Committee welcomes the "Youth Guarantee", whereby Member States guarantee that all young people have the opportunity for further education or are involved in activation and labour market integration measures within four months of completing compulsory schooling. As part of the national reform plans, concrete measures should be formulated to achieve this goal. The "dual system" of apprenticeships with general education and training, which has long been practised successfully in some Member States and on which there is already a broad consensus, should be applied more widely. Overall there should be more room for twin track training and traineeships in the education system, also in relevant higher education courses and vocational training. Synergies between practical activity, workplace learning and classroom work make young people more employable, smooth their path into employment and give an impetus to the development of teaching. Countries where the labour market conditions for youth employment are particularly difficult and which must simultaneously meet restrictive budget targets, should be given easier access to EU funding set aside for such measures.
4 The eligibility conditions for income support for the young unemployed looking for a job or for further education should be reviewed and, where necessary, improved.again, clear targets should be written into national reform programmes. The Committee would like to issue a warning against impermanent solutions offering few long term prospects when it comes to the integration of young people into the job market. Instead of settling for precarious employment and insecure contracts, measures should be taken to guarantee that fixed term employment and poorly paid, or even non paid, positions with little social security do not become the norm. The Committee recommends that the Member States pay particular attention to setting up inclusive intermediate labour markets. There public resources would create an appropriate number of suitable jobs to ensure that the long term unemployed retain their working habits and improve their skills and knowledge. This will prevent in work poverty increasing and enable the unemployed to make a smooth transition into the open labour market once the crisis is over. The Commission has launched several flagship initiatives in the area of education and training, most recently "Youth on the move" and the "Agenda for new skills and jobs". These flagship initiatives are of key importance and encompass various initiatives to improve employment opportunities for young people. The Committee has made several recommendations in its earlier opinions to these.
5 The Europe 2020 strategy sets two key objectives in the area of education and training. However, these are purely quantitative targets. Equally interesting is the ability of education and training systems to send young people on their way with the right skills ones that are in demand and that they can use. Nobody really knows what tomorrow's jobs will look like, but training should be based on anticipating the future labour market needs. There should be greater recognition of skills acquired outside the training systems. Curriculums should focus more on general and innovative competences. Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen, As I have pointed out earlier today, the Committee sees no contradiction between having a dynamic economy and making social progress; on the contrary, as Europe has already shown in the past, they are mutually conducive. Despite strained government budgets in the Member States, the level of national and European funding for the education and employment of young people must be maintained and, where necessary, increased. Sufficient funding from the European Social Fund and other EU funds for youthspecific initiatives is absolutely vital in the present climate. We can t afford to create a lost generation.