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EU Youth Strategy

The EU developed an EU Youth Strategy and wants young people to engage and become an active citizen involved in democracy and society. We want young people to tell us what is important to them by taking part in the EU Youth Dialogue.

Employment and entrepreneurship

What is the EU's role?

To promote youth employment and entrepreneurship, the EU and its member countries work together to:

  • Address the concerns of young people in employment strategies
  • Invest in the skills employers look for
  • Develop career guidance and counselling services
  • Promote opportunities to work and train abroad
  • Support quality internships/apprenticeships
  • Improve childcare and shared family responsibilities
  • Encourage entrepreneurship

How is this being done?

Increasing youth employment is central to the EU's employment policy, within the context of the Europe 2020 growth and jobs strategy

Key actions:

  • The Youth Guarantee is a commitment by all Member States to ensure that all young people under the age of 25 years receive a good-quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education. It is based on a Council Recommendation adopted in April 2013 following a proposal from the Commission.
  • In its December 2016 Communication Investing in Europe's Youth the Commission proposes a renewed effort to support young people: 
    • Better opportunities to access employment
    • Better opportunities through education and training
    • Better opportunities for solidarity, learning mobility and participation
  • A new initiative is the European Solidarity Corps, which is aimed at creating opportunities for young people to volunteer or work in solidarity related-projects that benefit communities and people around Europe.
  • A Quality Framework for Traineeships has been set up with a view to proposing guidelines for traineeships outside formal education to provide high quality learning content and fair working conditions.
  • The European Alliance for Apprenticeships aims at finding ways to reduce obstacles to mobility for young people.

Youth entrepreneurship

Youth entrepreneurship is high on the EU political agenda as a tool to combat youth unemployment and social exclusion as well as stimulating innovation among young people:

Youth work and non-formal learning play an important role in developing the creative and innovative potential of young people including entrepreneurial skills. Youth policy and programmes at EU and national level support this:

 


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