Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

The race to stop Europe’s young and jobless from becoming a ‘lost generation’

The race to stop Europe’s young and jobless from becoming a ‘lost generation’

The pandemic has caused unemployment to rise throughout Europe. The under 29's have been particularly affected and are now having to compete with the newly unemployed with more experience. We take a look at what the EU is doing to improve employment for young people. #Realeconomy

As Europe’s economy shrinks following the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, youth unemployment is on the rise. There are now 3.1 million young people aged 15-24 unable to find a job.

The number of NEETS (not in education, employment, or training) aged 15-29 ,which includes those not actively looking for work, is at 9.6 million.

EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, says they are determined to prevent the same impact on young people that followed the financial crisis.

"We are just coming out of a period where we had a lost generation due to the financial and then an economic crisis" he says, adding "We have to prevent the new lost generation."



European solutions


The European Commission has adopted the Youth Employment Support Programme with an investment of at least 22 billion euros over the next seven years. It follows a previous investment of 22 billion euros over the past seven years to get young people into work through vocational training and apprenticeships.

Tremplin is a program in the Brussels region, funded by the European Social Fund. The Fund has a budget of € 18 million, over 7 years and 10,000 18-25 year-olds have benefited from.

Baggio's case


25-year-old Baggio used to be an electrician. But now he has completed training with Tremplin to become a roofer. He is on a youth-employment contract and hopes that this new profession will increase his income. He says he is confident he'll find work, as roofing is a job that's in demand in his region.

A 25-year-old former electrician training to become a roofer


On top of Baggio's new positive employment prospects, he also enjoys the work. He told us that "it's really meticulous and frankly pleasant work to do".

Gamze's case


19-year-old Gamze is another person who has thrived under the Tremplin programme. She is currently doing an internship in a shop which she got after training for 4 months. She tells us that she graduated from secondary school last year and didn't really know what to do. It caused her a lot of anxiety.

E-commerce trainee


After the pandemic occurred, more shops started going digital and e-commerce grew. She says that's what pushed her towards that field. She is learning how to look after online sales, manage stock, orders and social media at her internship. She even has a job interview lined up.

Across the Brussels region, the number of job seekers under the age of 25 has increased by almost 8% compared to last year and the youth unemployment rate has reached 25%. However Gamze and Baggio say they have new hope that their professional dreams can still come true.


U Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights


The Youth Employment Support package (YES) financed by the European Social Fund+ and other EU funds includes a guarantee that all those who sign up will receive an offer of a job, an apprenticeship, education, or training within four months.

Financial investment in training


Despite EU plans to invest at least 22 billion euros to support youth employment, some think it is not enough. Guntram Wolff is an economist and director of the Bruegel think-tank. He tells us that he wants to see more done. According to him, "you clearly also need national support for the young generation. The sad truth is youth unemployment doesn’t go down so quickly".

Economist and Director of Bruegel think-tank


He compares the pandemic to the last financial crisis where it took between 5 to 10 years to get back to the 2009 levels of youth unemployment. For him, the issue of how "youth is affected by the pandemic is something that needs to be on top of policy makers’ minds".

Nicolas Schmit explains that 22 billion is "an indicative figure". He tells us that it's not just 22 billion and that's it, "we have a lot of other funding now through the Recovery and Resilience Facility, so we have to use a lot of this money to create jobs and also to bring the young into these jobs".

The EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights states that there are jobs to be had in the EU, but that sometimes "education profiles do not match with the requirements of these jobs and therefore we have to react rapidly". He says "we have to give these young people perhaps some additional training, additional education, reorientation for the jobs which exist".

The pandemic has exacerbated youth unemployment problems in Europe. There are fewer work opportunities and young people are competing with unemployed people with more experience. The pressure is on to prevent a whole generation from being left behind.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×