CRPE Policy Memo 77. Author: Cătălina Meiroşu, Contributors: Alexandra Toderiță, Alexandru Damian
Over the last years, CRPE has been concerned about the topic of young NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training), especially those coming from vulnerable groups. Thus, we have outlined an analysis of the way in which the Youth Guarantee program has been implemented in Romania. The analysis is focused on the way in which programs related to the integration in the labor market of the youth at risk of social marginalization, with focus on Roma youth are implemented.
Romania is ranked in the last places in the EU statistics on the young NEETs – holding 14.5% in 2018. In comparison, other countries achieved notable progress regarding the (re)integration of the young people in the education and training systems, as well as in the labor market, considering the successful examples in Germany and the Netherlands.
The European framework is currently deliberating on the way in which the Youth Guarantee program should continue in the Member States. Recently, the European Court of Auditors has proposed a set of specific recommendations to improve the performance of the future financial framework, with a focus on the implementation of the programs related to the Youth Guarantee initiative.
In this context, we launch the study on The Youth Guarantee. Best practices in supporting young NEETs from vulnerable groups among EU countries. The research shows how the Member States have successfully implemented a variety of measures and programs focused on young NEETs in the framework of Youth Guarantee.
Thus, we looked at the examples of Germany and France which are implementing the case management approach to foster youth inclusion in the education and training, as well as to Spain’s non-formal methods to identify the necessary abilities to integrate youth in the labor market. Likewise, the study tackles the cases of Sweden on the diminishing long-term youth unemployment, Austria and Luxembourg’s on the fight against the early school drop-out, along with the vocational programs implemented in Germany, Austria and Denmark.
Taking into account the best practices across European Union, we have drafted a set of recommendations to help improve the future implementation of the Youth Guarantee program, with focus on vulnerable groups, as follows:
- Implementation of customized support measures according to both: necessities of the youth and the requirements of the labor market;
- Organization of touring caravans to work in an integrative manner with the youth from disadvantaged communities, especially those coming from rural areas;
- Establishment of a national network of youth mediators with special focus on employment;
- Implementation of mobility packages and installment bonuses for the youth;
- Fostering the inter-institutional cooperation between the local representatives and the NGOs.