Brussels, 05/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Commission adopted a communication on the promotion of full youth participation in education, employment and society. Jointly presented to the press by Commissioners Vladimir Spidla (social affairs, employment, equal opportunities) and Jan Figel (education, training and culture), this communication highlighted the need to reduce youth unemployment and help them obtain quality jobs through better training and suitable educational follow-up. Access to good jobs is, in effect, a key factor for ensuring their full participation in society. To promote this active citizenship among young people, the Commission is proposing a number of initiatives, such as the one emanating from the European charter on quality in-house training, which aims to ensure greater geographical mobility for young people. This is called “Your First Job Abroad” and will be officially launched on 29 September in Brussels as part of the European employment day initiative. There is also a new health related strategy and an impact assessment on youth voluntary activities and a study on youth access to culture. The Commission is also proposing transversal coordination through a Community report on youth, drafted every three years in collaboration with young people.
In their presentation of the communication to the press, the two Commissioners highlighted the imperative necessity of optimising youth participation in the life of society and ensuring they receive suitable training and learning throughout their lives so that they do not become victims of chronic unemployment or endless training courses without being paid or being underpaid.
Jan Figel underscored the challenges currently facing the younger generation: globalisation, an ageing population accompanied by a falling birth rate, sustainability and growth. The commissioner stated: “We need a cross-sectoral approach between different policies. We need to improve the youth environment so that they can participate in society”. Figel also affirmed that it was essential to guarantee economic development and continue investing in young people, “investing better is investing sooner. This means investing at political and social levels: families, NGOs, teachers and employers in partnership with young people”. A partnership which Commissioner Figel considers essential between young people and the institutions. Jan Figel hammered home the fact that it was not possible to put in place youth policies without the help of young people. He explained that this did not mean presenting a communication of new initiatives but rather, “better use of concrete proposals from member states and the Commission”.
Vladimir Spidla noted that youth unemployment (15-24) was still too high, especially among young people without qualifications - early school leavers. The logical consequence of this situation is that it is extremely difficult for them to get into the labour market and stay in it. To find their place in a labour market increasingly dominated by new communication and information technology (CIT), based on the knowledge economy (which is itself based on the services industry), “We need extremely well qualified people that have benefited from the opportunities presented in the technology and communication domains but who also have good organisational abilities”, explained the commissioner who warned against the risk of young people being marginalised and transmitting their problems to their own children. EU27 unemployment in 2006 stood at 17.4% as opposed to 18.7% in 2005. Vladimir Spidla said that this fall was not enough and the figures suggested that member states would find it difficult to attain the youth unemployment target set out by the Commission for 2010 of 10%. He commented that rates varied considerably from one member state to the other, “ranging from 10% in Denmark, Ireland, Cyprus, Lithuania and the Netherlands to 25% in Finland, Slovakia, Sweden and Poland”.
The commissioner warned against courses offered to young people that were “unpaid or underpaid”. They go from one course to the other and do not find a job, Spidla asserted adding that “courses should be a stepping stone, a trampoline to getting a job. It is not voluntary work! A course is a situation targeted on qualifications and facilitating access to the labour market”. The commissioner said that it was imperative to fight “work disguised as a course” in companies.
In the context of social exclusion, a bitter Mr Spidla stressed that poverty also affected children and subsequently “one out of five children is living under the poverty line. Member states are committed to reducing these figures but things aren't moving enough”.
In the follow-up, the commissioner appealed for improved integration of young people from immigrant backgrounds into the labour market.
On the question of how the Commission can respond to fears from young people about waves of immigrants that cost companies less because the young people themselves do not have the qualifications to do the work given them, Figel commented: “Opening up to the outside world is positive but we need to invest in qualifications and training. We can't remain passive. If Europe wants to remain competitive, it must remain open and at the same time improve its parameters”. Vladimir Spidla announced that he was preparing a communication on non-declared work in the EU and stressed that “it is essential to avoid social dumping, non-declared work, work in poor conditions…abusive methods that are unlawful”.
Is there a risk of human sciences being placed at the bottom of the ladder in the desire to make Europe a pole of attraction for scientific and engineering studies? “We need engineers and people with qualifications in human sciences. The economy is also human”, replied Commissioner Spidla. Mr Figel affirmed that he was also an engineer and had no problem with human sciences, explaining: “I don't think there is a contradiction between the human sciences and new technologies. They complement each other”. He pointed out that the University Institute of Florence was set up more than 30 years ago and they were still talking about creating a European Institute of Technology. Figel concluded that “economic and societal aspects go together”.
How can Europe help talented young people leaving traditional educational establishments to use their particular competences in finding a job? Figel said that they had to develop creativity. He added that everyone had different skills and talents. He called for the “three T method - Talent, Technology and Tolerance” to be developed in order to create optimum conditions in Europe for creativity to flourish. Info: (http: //ec.europa.eu/youth). (gb/il)