Social Europe
The Youth Employment Initiative
Manuela GELENG
Head of Unit E1, ESF and FEAD Policy and Legislation
European Commission - DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
Brussels, 12 November 2014
Social Europe
Overview
YEI – scope and main principles
State of play of YEI programming and implementation
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Youth Guarantee Recommendation
Council Recommendation of 22 April 2013:
Member States need to:
ensure that all young people up to 25
receive a good-quality offer of
employment, continued education, an
apprenticeship or a traineeship
within four months of becoming unemployed or
leaving formal education.
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QFT EAfA EURES/YfEj
ESF
Youth
Guarantee
Funding
YEINational
budgets
Youth Policies &
Funding…
Traineeship Apprenticeship Job
Max 4 months
Member States
level policy
Other EU programmes/instruments: EaSI, ERASMUS +, ERDF support,…
Young
NEET
EU level policy
Continued education
& training
Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan, involving
partnerships
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European Social Fund 2014-20:
• Dedicated investment priority for young people:
Sustainable integration of young people in particular those not in
employment, education or training, including young people at risk of social
exclusion and young people from marginalised communities, into the labour
market, including through the implementation of the Youth Guarantee;
YEI is programmed within this ESF investment priority
Other relevant investment priorities
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Youth Employment Initiative
• Launched by the European Council on 7-8 February 2013
• To support in particular some aspects of the Youth Guarantee schemes (actions for individuals)
• EUR 6.4 billion for the period 2014-2020 - open to all NUTS2 regions with levels of youth unemployment (age group 15-24) above 25% in 2012.
• EUR 3.2 billion ESF +EUR 3.2 billion from a specific 'youth employment' budget line in the EU budget = YEI Resources
• The YEI is front-loaded to 2014-15, n+3 spending rule applies
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ESF Regulation provisions on YEI (1)
YEI will target actions to individuals only (not systems
and structures). ESF can support systems reform
YEI target group:
- NEETs aged below 25, or optionally below 30 years
- who could be: inactive or unemployed (+long-term);
registered or not as job seekers; residing in the eligible
regions
N.B.: NEETS are a heterogeneous group (can be both high
and low-educated). MS will themselves define the target
population of NEET
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ESF Regulation provisions on YEI (2)
4-month criterion of the YG does not apply legally to YEI
Early eligibility date of expenditure – 1 September 2013/ early
adoption of dedicated YEI OPs
Direct and speedy results expected – YEI result indicators
Ex-ante conditionality on YEI: need for a strategic policy framework
on youth employment to be in place before the MS access this
funding. => Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan
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YEI – possible measures:
- provision of traineeships and apprenticeships;
- first job experience;
- hiring incentives for employers to recruit youngsters;
- job and training mobility measures;
- start-up support for young entrepreneurs;
- vocational education and training leading to a qualification;
- where relevant for early school leavers - second chance programmes.
Aim: deliver these actions as part of integrated pathways and based on the individuals' needs/ individual actions plans.
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YEI and the ESF
YEI has a specific purpose, to act in the worst-affected
regions
YEI is fully integrated in ESF programming
YEI will enhance and complement, not replace ESF
actions
MS are expected to allocate more ESF for youth actions
than only YEI resources
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State of play – YEI Programming
All 34 YEI-relevant OPs are officially submitted
3 YEI-relevant OPs adopted: FR, IT and LT – worth EUR
1.6 billion (YEI resources); pre-financing payments
made
COM observations sent to 30 OPs
COM estimates it could adopt 23 OPs by end-2014,
worth EUR 3.8 billion
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State of play – YEI implementation
Letter by Cssr Andor of 16 July 2014 requesting MS
estimates for both YEI and ESF 2014-20 spending
since September 2013 for YEI and in 2014 for ESF
Questionnaire to all ESF (and YEI) Managing Authorities
– by 26 September
Replies received from all MS (though some very late)
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Main findings from the MS questionnaire replies (1)
Most MS indicate they are still spending 2007-13 funding
for youth employment measures, incl. reallocated
amounts from the Youth Action Teams:
- considerable volumes
- substantial coverage
Few MS take advantage of early eligibility of expenditure
date and are mobilising 2014-20 funding in the absence
of adopted OPs
Main findings from the MS questionnaire replies (2)
Summary of estimates as provided by MS:
By end of 2014 (new progr.period only):
YEI + other ESF spending in 2014: 844 MEUR
Number of young people targeted: 886,000
Number of persons receiving quality jobs,
apprenticeships, traineeships or continued education
(=YG offer): 376,000