European Year of Youth Hub

COVID-19 ended a six-year trend of declining in youth unemployment, as youngster were overrepresented in the sectors most impacted by pandemic restrictions and more likely to work on temporary contracts or part time. Mental health and general well-being of youngsters were also greatly impacted by the pandemic, contributing to a decrease in life satisfaction with nearly two-thirds of young people at risk of depression. Moreover, their participation and access to education were heavily disrupted, affecting youngsters from vulnerable groups the most. It had detrimental effects on youth learning and skills accumulation, affecting their labour market inclusion.

Currently, youth unemployment in the EU is 2.5 times higher than the general unemployment rate, with non-standard work rates remaining very high among them. These are often precarious, low-paid jobs that provide little employment or social protection, leading to insecurity and precarious working conditions. Now, we are facing new challenges and crises: the war in Ukraine – with many children, women and young refugees arriving to Europe and the cost-of-living crisis, that will affect the most those who are already struggling. Moreover, the green and digital transitions are bringing changes to the labour markets, creating labour shortages but increasing up- and re-skilling needs, at the risk of leaving low-trained, low-experienced young people even further behind.

Some measures were introduced to support young people during the pandemic. These included the reinforced European Youth Guarantee, national initiatives to keep young people in education, and measures to reduce barriers to existing financial support. However, many of these policy responses were temporary. Thus, there is a clear need for reinforced support and comprehensive, long-term policy strategies for youth.

2022 is the European Year of Youth, shining a light on the importance of European youth to build a better future – greener, more inclusive, and digital. You can discover below what Eurodiaconia has done for the youth and the European Year of Youth campaign!

Together with our members, we work on building and advocating for better employment and education opportunities for the youth. We advocate for inclusive and quality education and training as a tool to tackle intergenerational poverty, unemployment, and social exclusion. We have been working for years to ease youth access to employment and education, improve their overall wellbeing, participation, and social inclusion, and advocating for better opportunities for the youth, particularly for NEETs and marginalised groups.

September 2018

Empower You(th) toolkit. Training of innovative models and methods in youth work here.

December 2019

Research paper Fighting youth unemployment, marginalisation and radicalisation through social inclusion in Europe here.

June 2022

Read our briefing on Pathways to School Success here.

September 2022

Breakfast Roundtable Tackling Youth Unemployment in Europe – placing young people at the center

We organised a breakfast roundtable at the European Parliament hosted by MEP Leila Chaibi, Vice Chair EMPL Committee of the European Parliament. During the event, we discussed the challenges youth face when accessing the labour market and reflected on the perspectives of young people across Europe.

Access to Employment Network Meeting in Latvia focussed on Youth Access to Employment.

Against the background of the European Year of the Youth 2022, the participants listened to testimonies from young experts by experience and Eurodiaconia members, discussed some of the proposals the EU has put forward, such as the Reinforced Youth Guarantee or the ALMA initiative, and shared ideas on how to ensure that young people from disadvantaged and marginalised groups reach these initiatives and get better access to quality jobs. Read the report of the event here.

Three young people had the opportunity to showcase the video they made to highlight the youth’s well-being. Watch them below!