1. EUROCITIES
Implementing the Youth Guarantee at local level: challenges and opportunities
European Commission
DG Employment
5th Strategic dialogue meeting
29 January 2016
Giorgio Zecca - Policy Coordinator

2. EUROCITIES Survey on the Youth Guarantee
EUROCITIES Background
Youth Employment and social inclusion are priorities for EUROCITIES (Declaration on Work launched February 2015)
EUROCITIES WGs Employment and Education worked on these topics since 2013 and addressed specifically the YG as a crucial tool for tackling youth unemployment and exclusion
Survey on the YG implementation at local level was launched in June and closed in September 2015

3. EUROCITIES Survey on the Youth Guarantee
19 Cities from 12 countries participated to the survey
City
Country
Antwerp
Belgium
Berlin
Germany
Birmingham
United Kingdom
Brussels
Edinburg
Eindhoven
The Netherlands
Ghent
Gijon
Spain
Gothenburg
Sweden
Ljubljana
Slovenia
Malmo
Milan
Italy
Nantes
France
Riga
Latvia
Rotterdam
Sheffield
Stockholm
Tampere
Finland
Vienna
Austria

4. EUROCITIES Survey on the Youth Guarantee
The role of cities in the youth guarantee - 1
In some cases cities have demonstrated to play a crucial role in the implementation of the Youth Guarantee by:
developing effective outreach, information and awareness raising activities, including focal points or one stop shops (Oulu one stop shop for youth, Rotterdam youth desk)
strengthening partnerships between local actors such as NGOs, private sector and VET agencies (Gijon Youth activation agency, Edinburgh Guarantee, Vienna VET guarantee)

5. EUROCITIES Survey on the Youth Guarantee
The role of cities in the youth guarantee - 2
coordinating and integrating different services and initiatives at city level aimed at providing tailored measures (Belfast Co-Ment, Nantes Youth Ambassador)
new working methods based on cooperation between city bodies and services and concentration of resources
(Birmingham public private partnerships using national, city and private funds)

6. EUROCITIES Survey on the Youth Guarantee
The role of cities in the youth guarantee - 3
Particular initiatives promoted by cities include:
early school leaving and social exclusion preventative measures
individualized support including coaching & job placement
(Gothenburg coordinated career guidance, Ghent guidance services tailored for highly educated and low skilled)

7. EUROCITIES Survey on the Youth Guarantee
Innovation
Only a small part of the measures promoted with the Youth Guarantee are brand new
but
It had a positive effect on the pre-existing measures:
more funding
a more integrated approach among employment, education and social services
- a stronger cooperation between local stakeholders

8. EUROCITIES Survey on the Youth Guarantee
Governance and cooperation among different levels of Governments
Some cities are directly involved in the implementation but were not consulted in the layout/design. (i.e. Antwerp, Ljubljana, Ghent and Milan).
Some cities are directly responsible for the implementation of the YG but don’t have the needed amount of resources to fulfil its tasks. (i .e. Rotterdam and Tampere)
Scarce cooperation with national and regional authorities prevents the Youth guarantee from being more flexible and adapted to the local needs.

9. EUROCITIES Survey on the Youth Guarantee
Funding
Only half of the city respondents declared to have access to funds for implementing the Youth Guarantee schemes.
Funding sources are: city budgets, national and regional transfers, EU funds.
In most cases ESF and YEI are fully managed by national and regional authorities without any cities involvement nor transfer or resources.

10. EUROCITIES Survey on the Youth Guarantee
Flexibility
Flexibility of measures at local level is a crucial point for cities.
Measures should be adapted and tailored to the characteristics of the specific sub-target groups (i.e. young migrants, young disabled) and of the local labour markets

11. EUROCITIES Survey on the Youth Guarantee
Main challenges and directions for improvement - 1
Cooperation with the other levels of governments should be strengthened.
Proper involvement in the design as well as sufficient funding must be ensured by national and regional authorities.
Collaboration at local level with other stakeholders should be improved in particular with businesses, NGOs and service providers.
Stronger coordination between employment, education and social services is needed

12. EUROCITIES Survey on the Youth Guarantee
Main challenges and directions for improvement – 2
Integrate and coordinate local labour market policies with National employment policies and public employment services.
Outreaching to NEETs and not registered young people/ Making the scheme more inclusive
A multi governance effort is needed for facing wider challenges that cities can’t tackle on their own:
stimulation of the economy and the creation of jobs
development of robust VET systems
- promotion of a smoother transition from education to work

13. EUROCITIES SOCIAL AFFAIRS FORUM
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