The Youth Guarantee is an important European initiative to combat youth unemployment in the EU. The central aim of the Youth Guarantee, which was introduced in 2013, is to ensure that all young people receive a high-quality employment, education, training or an internship offer within four months of completing their school education or vocational training or becoming unemployed.
In October 2020, the EU member states unanimously adopted a Council recommendation on strengthening the youth guarantee. The recommendation is based on a Commission proposal of 1 July 2020 aims at strengthening the Youth Guarantee which in turn is part of a package to support youth employment. The unanimous adoption of the recommendations on a reinforced Youth Guarantee is an important signal that fighting youth unemployment continues to have priority on the European agenda.
Youth up to the age of 29 can now benefit from the reinforced Youth Guarantee. The focus will be on particularly vulnerable young people.For example, young people with a disability or members of an ethnic minority or youth living in remote rural areas or disadvantaged parts of town. The idea is to offer counselling tailored to the needs of young persons at the earliest possible stage, and to give them the opportunity to acquire the necessary digital and green skills in a changing world of work.
Who implements the Youth Guarantee in Germany?
In Germany, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs coordinates the implementation of the EU Youth Guarantee. It is responsible for the involvement of all stakeholders and partners at the different levels and in all areas. In its function as Youth Guarantee coordinator, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is also the main contact point vis-à-vis the European Commission in questions related to the implementation of the EU Youth Guarantee in Germany.
The Federal Employment Agency is the most important partner for the implementation of the Youth Guarantee. As the most relevant service provider in the labour market, it provides comprehensive services to people in Germany, but also to companies and institutions in the labour and vocational training market. The Federal Employment Agency thus plays an important role in the implementation of the Youth Guarantee. At the local level, the services are made available by a nationwide network of employment agencies and job centres. The job centres are responsible for the implementation of the basic income support scheme for jobseekers. They provide placement and counselling services and services for activation and labour market integration, for vocational training, continuing vocational education and training and for taking up employment with the aim to end or to reduce the dependency on assistance.
In many municipalities, the local employment agency, the job centre and the local youth welfare agency have formed a cooperation network. Often, schools are also involved in the local network. These networks are called “youth employment agencies (Jugendberufsagenturen)”. The youth employment agency is the local central contact point for all questions relating to the transition from school to the labour market. The individual institutions continue to be responsible - in different ways and with different legal aims - for the counselling and integration of young people into society, vocational training and employment. Every institution is characterised by differentiated assistance and services.However, they can be provided in a package solution through a youth employment agency. The services can thus be provided in a more targeted and customised way.
What are the priorities with regard to the implementation of the reinforced Youth Guarantee in Germany?
Current priorities of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs for the implementation of the Youth Guarantee include:
- the introduction of a vocational training guarantee which will ensure that every young person can take up vocational training, preferably in a company
- the further development of the quality of youth employment agencies as a cross-jurisdictional cooperation network with the aim to accompany and assist young persons in successfully making the transition from school to the labour market in the best possible way, and
cooperation with and coordination of measures with additional labour market actors, e.g. the Alliance for Initial and Further Training or the “education chains” (Bildungsketten) forged between the Federation, Länder and the Federal Employment Agency.
These and other measures and projects for the implementation of the Youth Guarantee are outlined in the national implementation plan for the implementation of the Youth Guarantee in Germany.