Project PYE Archives - Assembly of European Regions

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Welcome to our project section! We were involved in the project "PYE". The articles below relate to youth employment.

A brand new AER project ‘Promoting Youth Employment’ (PYE) Step one: Vojvodina

14 September, 2011 By Editor

Novi Sad, Vojvodina (SRB), 14 September 2011

Vojvodina is the first region to host the Assembly of European Regions’ (AER) Peer Review on youth employment. During the opening of this one-week session, Ms Maja Sedlarevic, Vice-President of the Assembly of AP Vojvodina, highlighted the importance of an open-minded approach when a region is been reviewed. “For us, this peer review is an excellent tool to better understand both our strengths and challenges, to better meet the European standards related to youth employment and, most of all, to learn what could be improved and how. I am convinced that this joint effort with the AER experts will bring us concrete recommendations as we, for sure in the future, will make to our partners”, she concluded.

Vojvodina overview
With approximately 2 million inhabitants, 300 000 of which are young people, this region’s economy picked up in 2010 due to strong exports and the adoption of timely and appropriate employment measures. However, nearly 40% of young people do not complete secondary education, whereas those who intend to continue their studies have significant difficulties in finding employment in their field of specialisation. The region has tried to confront this problem by investing in inclusive internship schemes with private companies and by promoting education accessible to all. Avoiding the mismatch of skills would be far easier if secondary schools advised their students on what skills the labour market is in need of.

In order to help Vojvodina in creating the region’s first strategy for youth employment, AER experts were invited to proactively interview various regional and national Serbian stakeholders, representatives from educational institutions, youth organisations and employment centres.

First observations by the review team
1. State dependence: approximately 70% of the population works for the State, or depends from it. There is a lack of investment from private companies and one of the IMF measures is precisely to avoid new contracts in the public sector.
2. Youth employment policy: the cooperation between the region’s ministries for both youth and employment is key to improve young people’s situation on the labour market.
3. Secondary schools reform: there should be a better link between schools, universities, public and private sectors, and civil society. One of the ideas discussed was to have in each school an officer in charge of establishing the bridge with the other parts and to inform students of the real opportunities in the market.
4. Brain drain: massive emigration is not a specific problem for this region, however it still remains a danger to be conscious of.
5. What skills are mostly needed in this region? This question needs to be tackled if the region is to improve young people’s preparation for the transition to the labour market.

The list of recommendations drafted by AER experts will lead to Vojvodina’s action plan on youth employment; its concrete outcomes will be presented in May 2012 in Brussels. By then, AER will have organised three more peer reviews: 20 to 24 November in Açores (P), 30 January to 3 February 2012 in Krapina Zagorje (HR) and in Hampshire (UK) from the 26 to 30 March 2012.

Members of AER experts team:
Zorana Kacanski – Assembly of AP of Vojvodina, Department for Interregional Cooperation
Vesna Karmenorovic – Assembly of AP of Vojvodina, Advisor for Employment issues at the Provincial Secretariat for Labor, Employment and Gender Equality, Sector for Employment.
Miguel Mares Garces, President of Valencia Regional Local Development Agencies Association
Goran Vukmanic, Croatian Employment Service, Regional Office Krapina Zagorje (HR)
Débora Pavao, Regional Directorate of Youth, Açores (P)
Francis Pyke, Freelance researcher, from Manchester (UK)

For more information about PYE:
Financed by the European Commission in the framework of PROGRESS, a programme established to support financially the implementation of the EU objectives in employment, social affairs and equal opportunities, PYE’s main goal is to support young people’s access to jobs through a set of innovative tools.

For more information: [email protected]

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AER discusses ways out of youth unemployment

23 August, 2011 By Editor

Almere, Flevoland (NL), August 23, 2011

At present, young people are forced to accept one internship after another in hope of one day being hired. The relation between the work performed and the salary earned is more disconnected than ever before. This economic and social drama was the very heart of the debate on the first day of the 16th Summer School and 10th Youth Summer School organized by the Assembly of European Regions (AER), in cooperation with the Province of Flevoland (NL).

“Youth unemployment is undoubtedly one of the greatest tragedies of our society. It has never been so difficult for a young person to access employment, which may seem paradoxical given the number of young people with a university education”, said Michèle Sabban, AER President. “The numbers speak for themselves: the unemployment rate of under 25s has reached 21% in Europe and up to 43% in Spain!” she concluded.

On this first day, many were the suggestions made by European regions to deal with this reality:

1. Eurodyssey, a fruitful initiative: for 26 years, AER has led this programme, which allows young people between 18 and 30 to benefit from an internship abroad for a period of one or two trimesters. Eurodyssey does however not stimulate the ìprofessional intern statusî: follow-up surveys show that 70 to 80% of former trainees in the programme obtain permanent employment within 6 to 12 months after their internships. Eurodyssey has sent over 10,000 young people abroad.

2. To encourage active youth participation in politics. Many are the young people who, already today, bring innovative solutions to the challenges of our society. A clear example of this can be observed in social networks, where youth shows curiosity, creativity and willingness to act.

3. Our political leaders have an essential role to play: “The substantial unemployment rate among young people cannot solely be pinned on the financial crisis as it is also, to a large extent, related to structural problems that remain unresolved due to a lack of political will. In Flevoland, we have for several years now conducted a strong policy aiming to integrate young people into the labour market. We are proud of our results: In our region, the rate of youth unemployment reaches only 6%”, said Leen Verbeek, Queen’s Commissioner of the Province of Flevoland (NL).

Remain connected
AER Summer Schools now grant the floor to young people and actors at ground level. Workshops, discussions and exchanges of good practice between youth and political, academia and business representatives will take place up until Friday.AER invites you to follow upcoming events on its social network sites, as well as through the AER Summer School 2011 official website.

For more information: [email protected]

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AER Peer Reviews to foster youth employment across Europe

5 July, 2011 By Editor

Brussels (B), 5 July 2011

The Assembly of European Regions (AER) organised this week the official kick-off meeting of its brand new project “Promoting Youth Employment” (PYE). The ultimate objective of the project is to support young people, especially disadvantaged ones, to access and retain jobs through improved public policies and enhanced partnerships between the public, community and private sectors.

A project supported by the European Union

While the unemployment rate of young Europeans has reached an alarming historical highpoint – an average of 21% of youngsters are currently unemployed in the EU Member States – AER has decided to develop a project aimed at tackling this transnational issue. Financed by the European Commission in the framework of PROGRESS, a programme established to support financially the implementation of the EU objectives in employment, social affairs and equal opportunities, PYE’s main goal is to support young people’s access to jobs through a set of innovative tools.

Countering youth unemployment

The PYE project gathers four regions – Açores (P), Hampshire (UK), Krapina Zagorje (HR) and Vojvodina (SRB) – which will take part in an intensive and in-depth series of peer reviews, allowing regional authorities to assess and improve their performance in a key regional policy: youth employment. Developed by AER, the peer review methodology has already been implemented in areas such as tourism, economy or renewable energies; it will now also constitute a key tool in the field of youth policies, bringing a new perspective on such issues. The PYE peer reviews will contribute to countering youth employment through supporting the exchange of experience and transfer of good practice between regional, local and national stakeholders.

“One Peer Review will be led in each one of our partner regions in order to develop regional action plans, outlining concrete policy recommendations in the field of youth employment. The conclusions will be presented during the project’s final conference, which will take place on the 23rd of May 2012 in Brussels” stated Justyna Hejman, AER’s Youth & Citizenship Officer, adding that “PYE is expected to prove that youth unemployment can be reduced if efficient regional policies are implemented”.

For more information: [email protected]

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A brand new AER project ‘Promoting Youth Employment’ (PYE) Step one: Vojvodina

AER discusses ways out of youth unemployment

AER Peer Reviews to foster youth employment across Europe

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