II International Forum on Public Employment

24–25 July 2014, Madrid, Spain

The Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Security in cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) organised the II International Forum on Public Employment in Madrid on 24–25 July. 

The two-day forum was centered around three sessions on:

• Macro policies for a job-rich inclusive growth
• Activation strategies and Improving working conditions
• Entrepreneurship and youth employment

Supporting employment

Participating in the session on entrepreneurship and youth employment, Eurofound Director Juan Menéndez-Valdés presented the findings of Eurofound’s report Mapping youth transitions in Europe. Other speakers at the two-day event included:

• Mariano Rajoy, Prime Minister of Spain;
• Fátima Báñez, Spanish Minister of Employment and Social Security;
• Guy Ryder, Director-General of the ILO;
• Ángel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD.

Main findings

Mr Menéndez-Valdés drew attention to key findings of the study – download his presentation (789 KB PDF).

• Around 15.9% of the population aged 15–29 fell into the NEET category in 2012; the loss to European economies was estimated at €162 billion, almost €10 billion more than in 2011.

• Countries with quicker and more successful school-to-work transitions are those where young people leave home at an earlier age.

• The ‘Nordic’ and ‘Apprenticeship’ (Austria and Germany) country groupings show a more rapid transition to adulthood and a quicker transition from school to work. In the ‘Eastern European’ and ‘Mediterranean’ groups, difficult and problematic school-to-work transitions are associated with very slow and late transitions to independence.

• Countries with a higher share of students combining work and education (via apprenticeships or combining school with early labour market experiences) show a smoother and quicker transition from school to work.

• While having a temporary job is better than being unemployed in terms of future job prospects, during the crisis young people’s ability to stay in employment and their chances of moving to a permanent position have worsened.

• Those on temporary contracts in general had a lower chance of staying employed.

What future?

Among the policy measures mentioned in the study to help alleviate the difficult situation facing young people, Mr Menéndez-Valdés highlighted that the implementation of the Youth Guarantee is crucial to support young people’s transitions into the labour market. The different characteristics and needs of young people mean that services should be personalised and tailored to specific requirements.

Further reading: NEETs – Young people not in employment, education or training: Characteristics, costs and policy responses in Europe