Emilie Turunen, on Youth employment “the EU has not been ambitious and efficient enough.”

How do you feel about the global strategy of the EU on youth employment? Is it ambitious and efficient enough?

In the Lisbon Strategy that ended in 2010 benchmarks for youth was made which has not been fully met, and there has been no public and transparent evaluation of the European Youth Pact which was agreed by Heads of State in 2005. Furthermore I see a big problem in not consulting the social partners, civil society and youth organisations sufficiently during the process of developing the EU 2020 Strategy which was adopted in July 2010..

Today, more than 5.5 million young people under 25 are unemployed in the EU and if we take no actions we risk losing a generation to social exclusion, while gambling with the economic and social future of the EU. New measures are highly needed. Many traineeships are of very poor quality and in the last couple of years we have seen many examples of traineeships replacing ordinary jobs. So far I don’t think that the EU has been ambitious and efficient enough.

In your opinion, what should be enhanced and/or changed as regards this strategy?

Though employment and educational policies mainly are national competencies and the EU has a rather limited competency in this field, I believe that the EU also has an important role to play. The EU should take action and engage more in dealing with the problem. Our economies are closely connected and we face the same problems in the future when it comes to demographic challenges.
There is a lot to gain if we improve the inclusion of young people into the labour-force. We need to find a long term solution that not only provides more jobs for youth but also more stable and safer jobs. The EU needs to find a common strategy with goals that can secure a long term solution. The inclusion of civil societies, educational institution and youth organisations is crucial for the development of jobs for young people.

All Member States must take actions to fight youth unemployment. Meeting the youth challenge requires an integrated and coherent approach that combines the economic levels with educational, employment and social policies.


How could the EU encourage employers to hire more young people? At the same time, how to better prepare these young people to the reality of the job market?

It is important that the employers do not consider young people as means for temporary jobs or low skilled jobs. It is essential to create efficient incentives for young people that will guarantee decent living and working conditions; in order to encourage public and private employers to hire young people. We need to invest both in quality job creation for young people and in continuous training and upgrading of their skills during employment, and to support entrepreneurship among youth.

In terms of preparing the young people for the job market it is crucial that Member States support and enhance the cooperation between schools and employers at an early stage in their plans to redesign training schemes. Furthermore the local authorities should be included in the planning as they are in contact with a much broader network and know what the employers are in need for a the specific point of time.


How should the universities adapt their programs to facilitate the transition from education to employment?

I have in my report which was adopted by the Parliament this summer called for a European Task Force on Youth to ensure stronger coherence between the educational system and the labour market This should promote a stronger and more shared responsibility between government, employers and individuals for investing in skills. Furthermore the member states should provide advisory bodies at all schools and universities to help and prepare the newly educated for the transition from education to labour market.

It is important that there is a strong cooperation between the private and the public actors on this matter, as this would help the young people to understand and to form a more realistic opinion on the situation on the labour market.


Mobility is very often seen as a great asset for young people looking for a job. What do you think about this and how could we improve the youth education and training mobility?

I strongly call for the EU member states to harmonize national qualification profiles which would make it easier for the young people to mobilize both in the field of education and work. Equal opportunities for all nationalities could increase the incentives to work or to take traineeships in other countries where needed. The qualifications which young people have acquired in their home country should be recognised and they must have access to key skills on a par with the native employees.

The already existing EU programmes that support education and promotes upskilling should be expanded as more awareness about Lifelong Learning, Erasmus, Science Education Initiative, the European Social Fund and Marie Curie would encourage the young people to go abroad for education or jobs. In addition language learning is crucial for facilitating young people's access to the labour market all over Europe and it furthermore generates equal opportunities for employees.


How could the EU ensure this equality of opportunities for young people and reduce discriminations?

My report includes a European Youth Guarantee, a guarantee which means that young people must not be unemployed for more than four months before being offered a job or education. This is to me very important as unemployment in a young age increases the risk of long-term unemployment and has a negative impact on income levels later in life.

The Employment Equality Directive, which outlaws discrimination on the grounds of age in employment, must be implemented more effectively and it is the member states job to do so. In addition much more must be done to ensure that both employees and employers are aware of their rights and obligations, so that the discrimination between young and more experienced employees is prevented.


What message could you send to young people, on the frontline of the current crisis?

Don´t give up! I know it at times look difficult, especially right now during the crisis but we need the involvement of young people in society and in the labour market. As a politician I will do my utmost to help making it easier for young people to get access to the labour market.



Emilie Turunen’s report available on line