In an employment policy brief released in early April, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has restated the need for a European Youth Guarantee to be effectively implemented throughout the Member States.

The publication, titled Youth guarantees: a response to the youth employment crisis?, reviews the existing youth guarantees and underlines their “important role in keeping young people connected to the labour market or in education”.

A European-wide Youth Guarantee was recently adopted by the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) and backed by an initial funding of 6 billion euro from the EU budget. Thanks to the PES – PES Women – YES campaign ”Your Future is My Future”, the Youth Guarantee is closer than ever to becoming a reality in Europe.

The ILO review, which highlights the positive experiences with guarantee schemes over the years, also includes three concrete proposals to make the implementation of the youth guarantee a success: timely interventions for precise target groups, well-established administrative capacity and budget flexibility, and strong education and training systems. By following these prerequisites, youth guarantees can prevent “the scarring effects arising from long-term unemployment, including those related to negative wage effects”.

Following the publication of the policy brief, the ILO declared that; “it is ready to join forces with the European Commission to support EU Member States in implementing youth guarantees”.