EESC: EU members need tailor-made approaches to tackle youth unemployment

Member States in the European Union(EU) need tailor-made approaches depending on national labor market requirements to fight against youth unemployment, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) said in a statement Friday. The hearing involved high-level stakeholders, from EU institutions - the Commission, European Parliament - as well as from Eurofound, the EU social partners, and European and national youth organizations. All the participants agreed that the fight against youth unemployment was today's most pressing challenge. There were extensive discussions on the implementation of the Youth Guarantee in the individual member states, taking into account factors such as the need for growth, creating quality jobs, linking employment policies with industrial policy and support for companies (in particular SMEs) in creating jobs. The EESC which has held a public hearing on the implementation of EU policies for youth employment is joining forces with stakeholders in the fight against youth unemployment. The EESC recommended of organizing civil society on the policies currently in place to help young people find work in a selection of six Member States (Austria, Croatia, Finland, Greece, Italy and Slovakia). "There is, however, no one size fits all solution, but we need tailor-made approaches depending on national labor market requirements and the needs of the young persons in question. Structural reforms in the education and training systems have to be carried out in order to meet labor market needs. They will show positive results, once the economy is back on the growth track." said Christa Schweng President of the EESC Labor Market Observatory (LMO). The statement noted that Member States where the levels of youth unemployment are more than just alarming, implementation, use of EU funds and involvement of stakeholders is lagging behind. Since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008, Europe's financial, social and political system has been put under continuous pressure. The economic crisis brought about an alarming rise in youth unemployment, which had rose to over 23 percent within the EU-28 in 2013, and in some southern Member States, to the extreme rate of over 50 percent. "Completing their education should be an exciting day in a young person's life. However, it is now a day that comes with great insecurity regarding the future, as entering the labor market is a challenge for young people throughout Europe and finding a job may be a lengthy process" concluded Massimiliano Mascherini, Research Manager for Eurofound.