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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

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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

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Thank you for your attention!