The European Council reached agreement on the Youth Guarantee Recommendation

The European-wide Youth Guarantee took a step forward, as on the 28th February, the European Council reached a political agreement on the Youth Guarantee Recommendation presented by the European Commission in December 2012.

“Under the Youth Guarantee Member States should put in place measures to ensure that young people up to age 25 receive a good quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within four months of leaving school or becoming unemployed.” – European Commission

The Youth Guarantee has already been implemented in some European countries, such as Finland and Austria, where it has proved to be worth the investment. The Youth Guarantee Recommendation is introducing clear benchmarks for the Member States and precise guidelines for establishing the national Youth Guarantee schemes. The Recommendation also calls for: strong partnerships with all stakeholders; ensuring early intervention and action to avoid young people becoming or remaining NEETs (not in employment, education or training); taking supportive measures that will enable labour market integration; making full use of EU funding to that end; assessing and continuously improving the Youth Guarantee; and implementing the scheme rapidly.