Youth unemployment is a major challenge facing EU Member States.  Some even consider the problem to be out of control.  It is estimated that across the EU, 23.5% of young people up to the age of 25 are jobless.   In some of the countries the figures are extremely worrying.   In Spain and Greece alone, it is estimated that around 60% of young people are unemployed.

The youth unemployment rate in Malta is also significant.   According to figures published by Eurostat, unemployment among Maltese youth stood at 16% up to January, 2013.  Apart from not being able to sustain themselves and their habits, unemployment causes a lot of frustration among the younger generation and does not auger well for the future economic success of Malta. That is why this problem deserves our full attention in the coming years.

The problem of youth unemployment across the EU  gives good reason for  the decision of the Irish Presidency of the European Council, which has just come to an end, to move the issue  to the forefront of discussions during its semester by focusing on the encouragement of jobs and growth apart, of course,  from security which were the main themes of its Presidency. 

At the end of its six months, apart from the 200 policy commitments, including more than 80 legislative instruments, the Irish Presidency prides itself to have achieved major results that contribute to the creation of employment opportunities and promote economic growth. In particular, with respect to youth unemployment, the Irish Presidency succeeded in reaching agreement on the Youth Guarantee recommendation which is a set of measures to drive down unemployment.  For the first time, up to €8 billion dedicated to tackling this issue, will be frontloaded into the early years of the 2014-2020 funding period. 

In its final report summarising its achievements, the Irish Presidency says that providing opportunities for young people in order to avoid the creation of a ‘lost generation’ was a key element of its  overall theme of stability, jobs and growth and one which the Presidency was determined to address head on.  At the end of its mandate the Irish Presidency managed to broker an agreement on a Council Recommendation on the Youth Guarantee aimed at ensuring that young people, up to the age of 25, who are not working or studying, receive an offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or traineeship within four months of becoming unemployed or completing their studies.  The Recommendation aims to ensure a smooth transition between education and work.

It is worth pointing out that it was the Parties of European Socialists that first proposed the setting up of the Youth Guarantee Scheme even though the conservatives tried to take credit for this initiative.  As Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said, it is not important of who came up first with the idea.  What is important is that all of us work to address the problem.

We intend to launch formally this initiative in Malta next year.  More than 350 youths aged between 16 and 25 will benefit from the programme.  Around €2 million will be allocated for this initiative which we hope will also be supplemented by EU Funds and which will guarantee that every young man and women of 16 years and over will be either continuing his/her studies, be undergoing training or be in employment.

This will be in line with the conclusions of the June  European  Council which agreed that the training and educational systems should be programmed to address the unemployment problem  in particular  among youths so that they will acquire the skills needed to face the challenges in the world of work. In this way, the Council is putting money where its mouth is because it agreed on immediate actions, including the mobilisation of up to €8 billion in support of youth employment.

In implementing this programme we will be fulfilling another of our electoral promises.  Point 85 of the Electoral Manifesto has exactly the same objectives of the Youth Guarantee scheme.

When participating in the launching of the Young Business Entrepreneurs’ initiative some week ago , involving five youths who benefitted from EU Funds in order to encourage others like them to contribute towards economic growth by creating employment opportunities for themselves, I  could not help noticing the mission statement of these entrepreneurs which says that they will strive to promote measures and mechanisms for youth entrepreneurship, to influence the policy of national institutions, while promoting a culture among young people of job creation rather than job seeking.

 I suggested then and I will repeat here, that when drafting policies about youth involvement in society, policy makers should keep in mind such a mission statement.

 I strongly believe that given the right education, training and skills our youths are resourceful enough to come up with innovative ideas to fend for themselves.

Dr. Ian Borg is the Parliamentary Secretary for EU Presidency 2017 and EU Funds