Recent policy developments related to those not in employment, education and training (NEETs)

Commentary

It seems that the ‘NEET’ phenomenon is becoming increasingly recognised as an important indicator of exclusion among young people. However, the term ‘NEET’ does not necessarily reveal the great heterogeneity within this group. This comparative analytical report has found that for this reason Member States often do not implement policies for NEETs in general but focus their policy responses on certain sub-groups of the overall NEET population. The differing needs of each sub-group can thus be taken into consideration in order to develop more tailored and personalised support. Other countries focus on a specific sub-group of NEETs, but across the whole population (in other words, not specifically focusing on young people). In fact, the ERM country experts regarded only one in five of the identified ‘NEET-relevant’ measures as being NEET-specific; those remaining were available to a broader target group.

On the basis of our investigation, across Europe there seems to be a greater focus on some sub-groups of NEETs than others. At the moment, unemployed youth, early school leavers and young people whose qualifications do not meet labour market needs seem to receive significant attention from policy-makers, according to the ERM country experts, who were asked to identify which sub-groups of NEETs are of particular concern for public policy.

A significant majority of recently introduced ‘NEET-relevant’ measures are national in scale. Information on the funding sources of NEET-relevant measures is somewhat fragmented but the funding seems to stem primarily from public sources. Around three-quarters of the measures covered by this report are funded by the state. Most of them are fully funded by the Member States, with around a quarter cofinanced by the ESF. Fewer than one in ten are funded by private sources, such as NGOs or private foundations. 

While it is not possible to calculate the number or share of NEETs who make use of the measures available to them, there is some evidence to suggest that in many cases the demand for specific NEET measures exceeds the supply. This is a particular concern in the context of the economic crisis, which has seen the number of NEETs growing rapidly. Most importantly, there are rising numbers of young people who live on the ‘margins of society’ and are, or feel, disengaged. These hard-to-help groups are often unwilling or unable to make use of services available to them.

The research found that Member States are introducing a wide range of measures. The ESL measures include both preventive and reintegration measures. There is clearly a growing awareness that too many young people drop out of school or training for reasons which could have been prevented. As a result, there seems to be a growing recognition of the need to tackle disengagement as early as possible and to introduce targeted interventions in particular. Nevertheless, there also seems to be a tendency in the Member States towards ‘tougher’ policy measures, emphasising the responsibilities of young people themselves, and of their parents and schools. Reintegration approaches tend to offer flexible rather than rigid pathways back to education or employment and are usually tailored to the needs of the participants, with support from a range of specialists. Alternative methods of delivery are often used for the provision of ‘second-chance’ learning, based on consultation and collaboration with stakeholders from outside the public sector.

Member States have implemented a range of policies and measures to try to facilitate the transition from school to employment, including providing information, advice, guidance and work experience opportunities, improving the relationship between education and the world of work, providing guarantees of employment or training, and specialist job-search assistance. Member States are also investing in opportunities for young people to improve their employability by participating in apprenticeships, internships and (re)training courses. In addition to a lack of work experience or qualifications, NEETs can face a range of practical and logistical barriers to employment and can therefore benefit from support measures such as adapted workplaces, or additional support related to childcare, transport or language competency. Also, faced with high levels of youth unemployment, some countries have chosen to implement measures which can stimulate demand for young employees, such as subsidised jobs or reductions in social security contributions for employers.

The stakeholders involved in delivering measures to improve the labour market positions of NEETs vary depending on the goals and purpose of the measures. Most of the ESL policies are implemented by public authorities without significant involvement from social partners, though their involvement tends to be more common in reintegration-focused policies dealing with VET and other work-based training opportunities for early school leavers. NGOs have a particularly important part to play in the implementation of ESL policies in many urban areas as well as eastern European countries, and especially in the context of policies targeting minority groups such as the Roma and migrant children.

The situation is quite different with NEET-relevant labour market measures; around half of the labour market-focused measures were implemented either on a tripartite basis with public authorities or on a bipartite basis by the social partners. Employers, business and trade federations, trade unions, NGOs and the public employment services all have an important role to play in ensuring that young people can improve their employability and make a successful transition to the labour market. Other important partners, especially in the context of disengaged young people facing multiple barriers, include organisations such as social and health authorities

Several different ways of bringing together stakeholders or ensuring that all stakeholders are signed up to the same agenda can be identified. These might include, for example, agreements between the different partner organisations, collective labour agreements or simply collaborative approaches to delivery.

This review has also shown that the labour market prospects of young people seem to be particularly sensitive to the economic context; they do not benefit as much as older workers from phases of economic growth and suffer more during a downturn (OECD, 2008).

In some countries, the economic crisis has brought the issue of NEETs to the fore, while in others it has led to new measures being introduced to support young NEETs, or to the alteration or expansion of existing measures. Nevertheless, as a consequence of the crisis, many governments have had to make cuts that have affected the provisions for NEETs. Moreover, it is not just public sector finances which have been affected.The impact on the private sector can have a knock-on effect on the success of measures that might help NEETs, due to the lack of employment and apprenticeship opportunities.

To conclude, while there has been action to tackle the NEET phenomenon at both EU and national level, it seems there is room for improvement in a number of areas. The policy mix and measures to be adopted in each country of Europe will of course depend on the context and the profile of young NEETs in that country; however, some key evidence emerges from this review.

There is the need to recognise the diversity within the NEET group, which means that the policy response must be comprehensive and multifaceted.

Furthermore, in the context of globalisation and the shift towards a knowledge economy, young people need to be equipped with the right mix of both job-specific and cross-cutting core skills to be able to access the labour market. Likely to be particularly effective are NEET-relevant policies based on a coordinated, partnership approach that ensures stakeholders from outside the public sector, including the social partners and employers, are consulted and involved. Working life familiarisation opportunities and the availability of comprehensive information, advice and guidance are other key ingredients in supporting young people in finding employment.

Finally, due to the lack of data and long-term follow-up of NEETs, it can be difficult to decide what type of interventions work better than others. In fact, there is a lack of systematic evaluation of the adopted measures, and it seems that more evaluations of NEET-relevant measures should be carried out. This is particularly important in the current economic context, when evidence is required to identify and implement those measures which are most efficient and cost-effective.

Jo Hawley, Anne-Mari Nevala and Tina Weber, GHK Consulting Ltd