The European Commission together with various companies recently launched the European Pact for Youth last week in Brussels to improve the chances for young people of getting a job.
The pact will support the creation of 10,000 partnerships between businesses and educators who will in turn work together to produce 100,000 new high quality apprenticeships, traineeships or entry-level jobs.
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CSR Europe, alongside all 28 EU Member States will build their own action plans to be presented at the first ever European Enterprise-Education Summit in 2017. This initiative will also form a key part of the forthcoming New Skills Agenda for Europe indicating that EU leaders are taking steps to address the current mismatch between unfilled vacancies and rampant youth unemployment.
European employment, social affairs, skills and labour mobility Commissioner Marianne Thyssen, pointed out that, “economic recovery in Europe is getting back on track and unemployment is slowly decreasing, but we can’t relax our efforts. With 4.5 million young people looking for work, youth unemployment remains one of the most pressing challenges in the EU today.”
She was pleased that, “together with the pledges made in Riga in June to make 140,000 apprenticeships available to young people through the European alliance for apprenticeship, we are making real progress.” She pointed out that, “over the last year, youth unemployment has decreased by 500,000.”
The pact will support the creation of 10,000 partnerships between businesses and educators who will in turn work together to produce 100,000 new high quality apprenticeships, traineeships or entry-level jobs.
CSR Europe, alongside all 28 EU Member States will build their own action plans to be presented at the first ever European Enterprise-Education Summit in 2017. This initiative will also form a key part of the forthcoming New Skills Agenda for Europe indicating that EU leaders are taking steps to address the current mismatch between unfilled vacancies and rampant youth unemployment.
While apprenticeships are perceived to be the answer to improving young people’s employability and closing the skills gap, Solvay CEO Jean-Pierre Clamadieu said that training schemes in some countries were yet to achieve their full potential.
Dimitri Papalexopoulos, CEO of Titan Cement, stressed that apprenticeships were not about money as they provided young people with skills and mentors, while Gérard Mestrallet, CEO of Engie, said that, “apprenticeships must become the norm rather than the exception.”
During the event, a panel of industry leaders and apprentices highlighted the key role of combining practical work experience with education to tackle youth employment.
Anja Goebels, an apprentice at NMC, explained that her studies, “were comprised of 50 per cent study and 50 per cent work. After completing my three years of university, I was offered a job at the company.”
Europe’s economy has been slowly recovering following the 2008 recession. Yet, even as young people struggle to get their foot on the employment ladder, there is also a growing shortage of talent to fill existing vacancies. For instance, within the ICT sector, the latest estimate from the European Commission predicts a shortage of 825,000 qualified professionals by 2020.
Johanna Nyman, President of the European Youth Forum, called on policymakers to ensure young people are afforded, “quality internships and apprenticeships.” He added: “Unfortunately, far too many of these are poorly paid and have no clear learning plan. Despite this, they are beneficial to young people and also to businesses.”
