Employability of young people – matching training with industry needs in an age of austerity

Conference on Employability of young people

The EESC stresses that a real growth strategy at EU and national level is needed to support the creation of better and more stable jobs for young people. The EESC considers that Member States should make every effort to ensure that the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) and the Youth Guarantee (YG) are fully operational without delay. The EESC strongly recommends that the concrete action plans already adopted by MSs to tackle youth unemployment and youth employability be submitted for regular evaluation, with civil society involvement. Member States should foresee and create tools and conditions in order to help people to update, improve and evaluate their employability level. An improved partnership between enterprises and education institutions is strongly recommended. Member States should provide incentives to those universities and R&D units that offer degree courses in line with globalised market needs. Decent working conditions, salaries and pensions are necessary to make Education an attractive career option. The EESC welcomes the Erasmus + programme, and the agreement on the recognition of professional qualifications. The EESC welcomes the Framework of Actions on Youth Employment agreed by the social partners in June 2013. Concrete national and local measures should continue to be developed to offer a lifelong learning accessible to all.

The EESC recommends that Member States improve the resources allocated for quality education that should be considered not as expenditure but as essential investment to overcome the crisis and build a better future for all. The EESC strongly recommends that the EC organises a "European education and training day" in 2015. The EESC considers that industries and enterprises should implement their communication policies in order to increase the attractiveness of the industrial sector. All the initiatives adopted to improve youth employability should be adequately funded, via the ESF and other Structural Funds.