Education and skills agenda for young people

SUMMARY OF:

Communication (COM(2010) 477 final) — Youth on the Move — unleashing the potential of young people to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the European Union

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE COMMUNICATION?

It seeks to deliver a comprehensive package of policy initiatives on education and employment for young people in the European Union (EU). Known as the Youth on the Move initiative, it is part of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

KEY POINTS

The purpose of the Youth on the Move initiative is to reinforce several existing actions in favour of young people, as well as to present some new ones. These are to be implemented at national and EU levels by means of financial support from relevant EU programmes and the Structural Funds.
One new initiative (from 2013) is Youth Guarantee, which aims 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 4 months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education.
Another focus of the Youth on the Move initiative is the ability for young Europeans to study and learn abroad. The Erasmus+ exchange programme helps to achieve this.
The EURES network of employment advisors and the public employment services of EU countries aim to improve the ability of young Europeans to find jobs across the EU. The Europass initiative also serves this objective by creating a standardised dossier of skills and qualifications to help applicants find work anywhere in the EU.
The European Vacancy Monitor also supports the Youth on the Move initiative by keeping track of occupational demands.
The microfinance and social entrepreneurship axis of EaSi aims to help young entrepreneurs start and expand businesses.
Other initiatives, such as modernising higher education in the EU, creating an EU-wide Strategic Innovation Agenda, and improving cross-sectoral approaches to youth issues all aid the objectives of Youth on the Move.

BACKGROUND

In order to fulfil the Europe 2020 objective of increasing the general employment rate of 20-64 year-olds to 75 %, it is essential to reduce the high level of youth unemployment. In 2014, there were nearly 5 million young people (under the age of 25) who were unemployed. This represents an unemployment rate of 21.7 %, more than twice as high as the adult unemployment rate. Moreover, 7.5 % European between the ages of 15 and 24 were neither employed nor in education or training.

For more information, see:

‘Youth on the Move’ on the European Commission's website

MAIN DOCUMENT

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Youth on the Move — An initiative to unleash the potential of young people to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the European Union (COM(2010) 477 final, 15.9.2010)