Young and unemployed - in search of a future
Being young means living dangerously when it comes to the labour market. Getting in becomes increasingly harder, and in times of restructuring and cut-backs, the young are the first to go. Youth unemployment is nearly 19 per cent in the enlarged EU, in Finland it’s 20.7 per cent, Sweden has 17.4 per cent and Denmark 7.2 per cent. What causes this variation between countries?
- Finnish fast track through the employment office
- During the 90s, Finland succeeded in rapidly reducing unemployment among young people. Now new tools are needed to move on. A system of fast-tracking them through the employment office has proved successful. The method is called society guarantee. The aim is for all unemployed between 17 and 25 to either get a place of study, start work training or to get a taste of working life in workshops.
- Youths falling at the hurdles of working life
- There’s increased division in the labour market, and young people are the ones who are loosing out. Earlier there were alternatives for those who didn’t succeed in school or took a greater interest in practical work. Today those youths risk being left behind. There has been a change in the structures of the labour market, but many young people blame themselves.
- Renewed vigour for working life
- Denmark enjoys EU’s lowest unemployment rates among the young, but too few take higher education. NLJ explores how to get the young going by ”leading them by the hand”.
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