OECD Youth Policy Toolkit

2. Pillar III – Support for young people within the labour market

The OECD Council recommends that Adherents to the Recommendation on Creation Better Opportunities for Young People (OECD, 2022[1]) support young people in their transition into and within the labour market, and strive to improve labour market outcomes for young people, and especially those in vulnerable and/or disadvantaged circumstances.

Recommendation III.1

Promote job creation, address barriers to labour market entry and transitions, and ensure quality jobs are available for all young people.

Relevance

Economic downturns, such as the global financial crisis in 2009 and the COVID‑19 pandemic in 2020, tend to have a strong impact on young people’s position in the labour market. Young people are often the first ones to lose their jobs during economic downturns as they are more likely to have temporary contracts and fewer company-specific skills (OECD, 2021[2]). This effect is evident in the rise of youth unemployment rates, which increased dramatically in the early 2010s and to a lesser extent in the early 2020s (OECD, 2024[3]). In such exceptional circumstances, temporary hiring subsidies or job retention support could be useful to promote job creation and job stability (OECD, 2021[4]).

Individual characteristics, such as low education, economic hardship, migration background, and health or social problems can pose additional challenges in the transition from school to work (OECD, 2016[5]). For instance, young people from lower socio‑economic backgrounds may have limited access to education, training, and professional networks, which can hinder their job prospects. They may also face financial constraints that limit their ability to pursue certain career paths or opportunities for advancement. Young migrants or children of migrants may encounter obstacles such as language barriers, lack of recognition for foreign qualifications, and discrimination in hiring based on their immigration status. (OECD, 2021[6]). Accessibility problems, especially for those with disabilities, present barriers to full participation in the job market, with little having changed on average across the OECD area in the participation gap between people with disabilities and those without disabilities (OECD, 2022[7]). Imbalances can also be found for gender, as the employment rate on average for OECD countries was 46.2% for young men compared to 39.6% for women in 2022 (OECD, 2024[8]). Young people living in rural areas encounter limited job opportunities due to jobs often being disproportionately located in urban areas.

This diverse set of challenges underscores the urgency of addressing these issues and fostering an environment that supports the successful integration of young individuals into the workforce. Investing in more and better quality jobs and fair hiring practices for young people is an investment in the future well-being of individuals and societies alike. For individuals, it means enhanced financial independence, skill development, and the ability to contribute meaningfully to society. Societies, in turn, benefit from a more dynamic and diverse workforce, fostering innovation and economic growth. Additionally, increased labour market participation among young people can mitigate social inequalities, hence promoting a more inclusive and equitable society in the future.

Box 2.1. Young People’s Voices

“Ban unpaid internships.”

Young people starting out in the job market mention facing difficult working conditions. They find that they are more likely to be stuck in low-level jobs with unfair treatment, like missing out on bonuses and benefits that their more experienced colleagues get and dealing with imbalanced workloads. Many young people also point out that young workers are more likely to face job insecurity, unfair hours, and low pay, especially in gig economy roles.

Consultations with young people and youth organisations.

Policies and Practices

1. Implementing sound macroeconomic and sectoral policies, including through investment in the green transition to align job creation for young people with environmental goals and sustainable development.

2. Introducing and adapting targeted and time‑limited hiring subsidies and/or tax incentives, as appropriate, to facilitate the employment of young jobseekers, with close attention to misuse.

3. Improving employment opportunities for young people in rural areas, non-metropolitan areas and all areas experiencing socio‑economic disadvantages through local, tailored and targeted initiatives, including through investment in transport and flexible housing support.

4. Tackling discrimination and encouraging diversity and inclusion in hiring practices through legislation and policies that counter prejudice and stereotypes.

5. Facilitating the provision of job opportunities for young people with severe labour market barriers as a pathway towards stable and long-term employment.

Youth specific OECD indicators

• Youth employment rate by age group, 15-24 year-olds, (OECD, 2024[9])

• Youth unemployment rate, 15-24 year-olds, (OECD, 2024[3])

• Hiring subsidies and financial incentives for employers to recruit young people, (OECD, 2021[2])

Youth employment subsidies – Multiple countries

Context

Various countries have implemented different types of youth employment subsidies over the years. Carefully targeted hiring and wage subsidies can be cost-effective ways of helping young unemployed people into jobs. For instance, Chile introduced the Youth Employment Subsidy (Subsidio al Empleo Jóven) in 2009, a hiring subsidy that targets financially vulnerable young workers. The programme was conceived against the background of high inactivity and unemployment rates among young people relative to older populations. As another example, Hungary introduced a 90‑day job trial wage subsidy in 2015 as part of the Youth Guarantee programme, an EU co-funded active labour market initiative to contribute to reducing unemployment among young adults. Other countries that have implemented hiring subsidies that target young people include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, and Türkiye. Those subsidies typically aim to increase the proportion of young workers in employment and improve their future labour market outcomes. They often focus on low-income young people or those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Description

The Chilean Youth Employment Subsidy provides wage support for dependent and independent workers aged 18‑24 who belong to the most vulnerable 40% of the population based on the Social Protection Index. The total subsidy amounts to 30% of registered gross wages, up to an annually inflation-adjusted cap. The subsidy is split between workers and their employers who each claim their share independently. The Hungarian 90‑day job trial was a subsidy available to skilled young adults not in education, employment or training, who were registered with the public employment service. In the framework of the Youth Guarantee active labour market programme, the jobseekers needed to be under 25 years old, and had to obtain their last qualification in 2011 or afterwards. The 90‑day job trial subsidy covered employers’ full wage costs of a new and additional hire working at least four hours per day. Support was capped at twice the guaranteed minimum wage per month and three times the monthly limit for the whole 90 days for full-time workers.

Outcomes

Hiring subsidies often prove to be effective at raising the likelihood of employment of young people in the short term, as well as improving their later labour market outcomes. For example, the Chilean subsidy covered around 70 000 people in 2009, rising until 2015 before plateauing at around 300 000 until 2022. One evaluation tracks workers who received their first payment between 2012 and 2013 for 24 months or until they turn 25. The study finds that the impact of the subsidy on the probability of formal employment is around 3 percentage points on average. The authors also show significant positive effects on wages, with greater positive impacts for younger workers.

A 2023 evaluation of the Hungarian 90‑day job trial finds that participation in the job trial improved labour market outcomes after six months. Cumulatively over six months after programme completion, participants spent 13‑20 days more in employment than the control group, with earnings 61% higher than the monthly minimum wage. Positive returns remained, but had diminished, after 12 months. Since lower-educated participants saw comparable or greater effects on their employment probability and cumulative earnings, the evaluation also recommends targeting lower-educated young people in the job trial to reduce the deadweight loss of the programme.

Further reading

Centro Microdatos (2011[10]), “Evaluación de Impacto del Programa de Subsidio al Empleo Joven”; CEPAL (2023[11]), “Subsidio al Empleo Jóven (2009- )”; Krekó et al. (2021[12]), “Can a short-term job trial programme kick-start young jobseekers’ career? Evaluation of the 90-day job trial in Hungary”; OECD (2021[2]), “What have countries done to support young people in the COVID-19 crisis?”; SENCE (2022[13]), “Informe de resultados evaluación de impacto SEJ”.

This practice also supports the implementation of provisions IV.1 of the OECD Recommendation on Creating Better Opportunities for Young People (OECD, 2022[1]).

Green Initiatives – Multiple countries

Context

The green transition on the labour market is crucial to mitigate climate change and ensure sustainable development. This transition also impacts the labour market as new jobs and skills are required, and existing jobs need to be performed in a more sustainable manner. Recognising the opportunity these new jobs can offer for new labour market entrants, multiple countries across the OECD are implementing initiatives to assist young people in entering green jobs, including in Estonia, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, and Spain.

Description

Green initiatives vary widely in their operations. The YENESIS (Youth Employment Network for Energy Sustainability in Islands) programme, launched in 2018, targets young people who are not in employment nor in education or training (NEETs) and living on islands in Estonia, Greece, Italy, Norway, Portugal, and Spain, and in two non-OECD countries (Croatia and Cyprus). Funded by the EEA and Norway Grants, the programme aims to assist 25 000 young people in finding employment, create 3 500 NGO and social enterprise jobs, and help 1 800 young people start their own businesses. Phase one included training, international study visits, and half-year internships in green companies. Phase two, which started in 2022, added training in climate adaptation, sustainable food and water systems, and the circular economy to the programme.

The EGREJOB (Euro-Mediterranean Green Jobs) project, funded by the European Union over 2014‑16, aimed to boost youth employment in the green economy. It provided training to young people, 50% of whom were women, analysed the development prospects of green work in the region, and raised awareness about the green economy. The project operated in France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and eight non-OECD countries.

Luxembourg’s Fit 4 Green&Build Jobs programme, running from 2015 to 2020, supported unemployed young people aged 18‑29. Participants received training in working sustainably in the construction sector and were offered trainee/internship positions with participating companies. The programme subsidised up to 50% of the trainee’s salary for 12 months, aiming for full-time employment afterwards.

The PEP (First Professional Experience) programme in Spain, which ran from 2022 to 2023 as a pilot within Spain’s policy lab, aimed to provide young residents of Madrid with employment. Participants, who are all under the age of 30, received mentoring and a personalised educational itinerary, and placement with a company. At least 20% of the job placements were allocated to green jobs focused on environmental preservation and restoration.

Outcomes

These policies to create green jobs are promising, with some still ongoing, though not all have been fully evaluated. The YENESIS programme had 12 participants per country and led to the creation of an online platform for best practices and a green skills guide for schools. EGREJOB trained 100 people in renewable energy, eco-building, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, eco-tourism, and waste recycling. It also produced a charter in which participating companies recognise the importance of green jobs and commit to disseminating the project’s results. Fit 4 Green&Build Jobs trained 223 young people in 2018, and another 173 participants in 2019, with over 70% finding employment. Participation numbers for the other years are unavailable. The PEP Programme, part of Spain’s policy lab, is being run as a randomised controlled trial, with results to be published later. So far, 421 young people with low employability have participated.

Further reading

ASCAME (2020[14]), “Euro-Mediterranean Green Jobs Charter”; Comunidad de Madrid (2023[15]), “Primera Experiencia Profesional (PEP)”; EEA Grants (undated[16]), “Youth Employment Network for Energy Sustainability in ISlands – YENESIS”; Europapress (2024[17]), “Dos de cada tres participantes en el programa Primera Experiencia Profesional de Pinardi consiguen empleo”; European Commission (2018[18]), “FIT4 Green & Build Jobs - trainings for NEETs in the construction sector”; Goffin (2019[19]), “Au Luxembourg: Les emplois verts sont en pleine croissance”; SEI Tallinn (2022[20]), “Policy recommendations YENESIS”; Tuscany (2013[21]), “EGREJOB”.

This practice also supports the implementation of provisions II.4, II.7, III.3, and III.4 of the OECD Recommendation on Creating Better Opportunities for Young People (OECD, 2022[1]).

WANTO Grant – United States

Context

While women make up half of the workforce in the United States, they made up two‑thirds of the workforce in the 40 lowest-paying occupations in 2021, jobs like retail workers, servers and childcare workers. Women often encounter barriers when entering nontraditional career paths, such as technical and engineering jobs, which are among the highest-paying occupations in the United States. Access to these higher-paying fields would help lift low-income women out of poverty and promote gender equity in the workforce. Recognising the importance of addressing gender inequity, the US Government established the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grant in 1992. WANTO aims to assist employers in recruiting, training, and retaining women in non-traditional occupations.

Description

In 2023, the US Department of Labor (DOL) allocated USD 5 million to fund up to 14 WANTO grants aimed at enhancing women’s representation in industries where they are typically underrepresented, including construction, transportation, information technology, manufacturing, and cybersecurity. The overarching objective of the programme is to dismantle barriers and establish equitable pathways for women to excel in non-traditional occupations. The programme targets diverse subgroups of women, including low-income women, women of colour, veterans, previously incarcerated women, refugees, and single mothers.

More specifically, organisations and institutions can receive a grant to implement technical assistance activities to enhance women’s access to Registered Apprenticeship (RA) programmes in nontraditional sectors. These activities include the development of pre‑apprenticeship programmes and skills trainings, provision of ongoing guidance to employers and unions, and establishment of support groups and building networks to bolster women’s retention and advancement. Recipients can allocate up to 15% of their funds to supportive services such as childcare, housing, transportation, and job-related tuition costs, to ensure that women are able to participate in the technical assistance activities. In order to implement the technical activities, recipients often collaborate with various partners including education and training providers, workforce intermediaries, employers, industry associations, supportive services providers, and unions.

Outcomes

The WANTO grant, which saw six organisations receiving a combined total of USD 4.1 million in 2020, has undergone multiple evaluations over the years. Findings show its effectiveness in supporting women’s participation in Registered Apprenticeship programmes. By educating employers and unions on fostering supportive environments and providing essential services for women, WANTO has proven beneficial in enhancing their retention and advancement in nontraditional occupations. Women themselves remark that WANTO recipients helped them build their basic skills and manage expectations about nontraditional occupations. A study from 2005 underscores the positive impact of WANTO activities on women’s employment outcomes, with participants more likely to secure better-paying nontraditional jobs compared to their counterparts without access to such programmes. To further optimise effectiveness for programmes like WANTO, efforts should focus on providing women with more information and conducting targeted outreach initiatives.

Further reading

Butrica, Kuehn and Sirois (2023[22]), “Women in Apprenticeships and Nontraditional Occupations in the US”; Mastracci (2005[23]), “Persistent Problems Demand Consistent Solutions”; National Women’s Law Center (2023[24]), “Women in low-paid jobs”; Reed et al. (2012[25]), “An Effectiveness Assessment and C-B Analysis of Registered Apprenticeship in 10 States”.

This practice also supports the implementation of provisions II.4 and II.7 of the OECD Recommendation on Creating Better Opportunities for Young People (OECD, 2022[1]).

Recommendation III.2

Ensure that workplaces are barrier-free and that jobs are fair, safe and contribute to healthy and meaningful lives for young people, and reduce the percentage of young people in precarious employment.

Relevance

Young people embarking on their professional journeys often encounter a myriad of challenges once they secure employment. Demanding work cultures and long working hours take a toll on the stress levels of (full-time) employees in the OECD. For instance, 42% of full-time employees reported being stressed in OECD countries in 2017‑19, posing a significant risk for mental health, cardiovascular diseases, and musculoskeletal disorders (OECD, 2022[26]). Mental health is particularly dire for young workers, as the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression among them surged dramatically during the COVID‑19 crisis. Even after the reopening of economies, rates remained higher than pre‑crisis levels, highlighting the persistent challenges faced by young people compared to other age groups (OECD, 2021[27]). Low mental well-being among young workers not only affects their productivity and job satisfaction but also strains healthcare systems and social support networks.

As other generations, young people are also confronted with discrimination at the workplace, which perpetuates, amongst others, gender inequalities and racial biases. Discriminatory practices entrenched in laws, norms, and practices, contribute to persistent gender gaps in employment within the OECD and hinder women’s professional advancement (OECD, 2023[28]). In addition, over 20% of 15‑34 year‑olds with foreign born parents report feeling that they belong to a group that is discriminated against on the grounds of ethnicity, nationality, or race (OECD, 2021[6]). Such discrimination not only stifles opportunities for career advancement but also undermines the morale and sense of belonging among these groups.

In tandem with these challenges, the rise of precarious employment arrangements, including gig work and flexible contracts, further complicates the landscape for young workers (ILO, 2022[29]). While these arrangements offer flexibility, they often lack job security, benefits, and legal protections. Job instability and unfair labour practices perpetuate inequalities and erode social cohesion. Furthermore, union membership among young workers is low, as young people represent only 7% of total union members in the OECD area, and are the age group least likely to unionise in all countries (OECD, 2019[30]). As a result, many lack the collective representation and bargaining power necessary to address issues of fair wages, benefits, and workplace conditions.

Addressing these challenges and improving the working conditions of young people is necessary for sustainable economic growth and for a healthier and more engaged workforce. Investments in promoting mental health and well-being in the workplace can lead to higher productivity and lower healthcare costs. Moreover, fostering inclusive and equitable workplaces not only enhances individual opportunities but also promotes diversity, innovation, and social progress.

Box 2.2. Young People’s Voices

“Young people have a different idea of what work should be like.”

They mention having a tendency to see work differently, valuing meaningful jobs and a stronger work-life balance more than older generations seem to do. Some young people remark that older generations could actually learn a lot from the perspectives and values of their younger counterparts.

Consultations with young people and youth organisations.

Policies and Practices

1. Guaranteeing labour rights and standards, adequate pay and access to social protection for young people regardless of employment status, including for informal workers, platform workers and other types of workers in non-standard jobs.

2. Stimulating social dialogue and effective collective bargaining to ensure fair working conditions and labour market outcomes, including adequate pay, for young people across all sectors and employment types, including for those in student jobs, internships and non-standard jobs.

3. Addressing and tackling all forms of discrimination, violence and harassment in the workplace through appropriate regulations and tools, and ensuring recourse and remedy mechanisms are accessible and effectively protect potential young victims from retaliation and reprisals.

4. Integrating mental health and well-being considerations in workplace policies to ensure that jobs contribute to healthy lives for young people.

5. Providing support and workplace adjustments and accommodations, where appropriate, including for young people with health conditions and disabilities.

Youth specific OECD indicators

• Temporary employment, 15-24 year-olds, (OECD, 2024[31])

• Job satisfaction, 16-29 year-olds (OECD, 2024[32])

• Risk of losing job, 18-29 year-olds (OECD, 2023[33])

Other related indicators

• How do collective bargaining systems and workers’ voice arrangements compare across OECD and EU countries?, (OECD, 2023[34])

• Gender wage gap, (OECD, 2024[35])

• Strictness of employment protection - temporary contracts, (OECD, 2021[36])

• Legal LGBTI inclusivity, (OECD, 2020[37])

Enabling Accessibility Fund – Canada

Context

Persons with disabilities often face difficulties in accessing employment and fully participating in community, which leads to higher levels of economic and social exclusion. In 2022, there was a notable 16 percentage point difference in employment rates between Canadians with and without disabilities – among young people aged 16‑24 the difference reached 10 percentage points. Additionally, 15.2% of Canadians with a disability had less than 50% of adjusted median household income, compared to 7.2% of Canadians without a disability.

The Enabling Accessibility Fund, which was founded in 2007, uses grants and contributions to help Canadian organisations and communities pay for the capital costs of increasing the accessibility of their facilities. The money is intended for construction and renovations of buildings and to improve information and communication technologies (ICT). In 2017, a youth innovation component was added to the Enabling Accessibility Fund, with the aim of empowering young people to improve their communities and workplaces.

Description

The Enabling Accessibility Fund consists of three components: a small projects component, a mid-sized projects component and a youth innovation component. To receive funding within any of these components, projects need focus on workplace or community accessibility and safety for persons with disabilities, and specifically relate to the retrofitting, renovation or construction of facilities, or the provision of ICT. Organisations can apply for the small projects components to receive a contribution of up to CAD 200 000, for a maximum project duration of a year. The mid-sized projects component has a contribution limit of CAD 3 million and a maximum project duration of 2 years.

The youth innovation component aims to enhance youth awareness of accessibility needs, barriers and opportunities within their own communities. This initiative involves the appointment of “youth accessibility leaders”, who work with local organisations to enhance accessibility and safety in workplaces and public spaces through smaller-scale projects. The fund’s youth component aims to empower young persons with disabilities to advocate for themselves and enables them to propose tangible accessibility solutions when meeting with organisations. Organisations are eligible for a maximum grant of CAD 12 000 for these youth-driven projects, with an expected project duration of up to a year.

Outcomes

Between 2009 and 2021, 5 571 projects have received funding from the Enabling Accessibility Fund. The Enabling Accessibility Fund has disbursed CAD 95.3 million in grants and contributions between 2016 and 2021. The most commonly funded projects involved installing accessible doors, accessible washrooms, ramps, and elevators. 73% of the projects focused on workplaces led to improved safety and/or a decrease in liability concerns.

The youth innovation component has funded 651 projects since 2017 and helped 389 youth leaders advocate for young people with disabilities. According to a recent evaluation, youth projects funded by the Enabling Accessibility Fund have amongst others: increased access to physical spaces (74%), created a more inclusive environment where everyone feels they belong (74%), and increased opportunities to participate in services/programmes (62%). The evaluation also emphasised the importance of keeping youth leaders engaged to take part in future projects and suggested compensating them for the time dedicated to the projects in order to improve continued engagement.

Further reading

Employment and Social Development Canada (2022[38]), “Evaluation of the Enabling Accessibility Fund - 2016 to 2021”; Government of Canada (2023[39]), “About Enabling Accessibility Fund”; Government of Canada (2023[40]), “Poverty and low-income statistics by disability status” – Dataset; Statistics Canada (2023[41]), “Results from the Labour Force Survey 2022”.

This practice also supports the implementation of provisions V.2 of the OECD Recommendation on Creating Better Opportunities for Young People (OECD, 2022[1]).

Removing sub-minimum wage for young people – Belgium

Context

Many countries implement sub-minimum wages for young people, with the aim of encouraging youth employment. However, these laws often create disparities based on age, which can be perceived as discriminatory. Furthermore, young workers earning the youth minimum wage can have difficulty earning sufficient income levels despite their active participation in the workforce. To combat age discrimination and following the lobbying and advocacy actions of trade unions, Belgium gradually abolished the sub-minimum wage for 18‑20 year‑olds at the national level between 2013 and 2015.

Description

Belgium operates with a nuanced minimum wage system where sectoral regulations take precedence, and national standards set the minimum threshold. Consequently, there are multiple minimum wage levels depending on the sector, with sectoral rates often surpassing the national baseline. Both labour unions and their youth branches actively campaigned for years to eliminate youth sub-minimum rates at the national level, using for instance lobbying and media campaigns. Between April 2013 and January 2015, the Belgian Government phased out youth sub-minimum rates for workers aged 18 to 20, resulting in wage increases of 6% for 20‑year‑olds, 12% for 19‑year‑olds, and 18% for 18‑year‑olds.

Nevertheless, the sub-minimum youth rates were reintroduced in 2019, as the government wanted to promote the hiring rate of (unexperienced) young people. However, to offset wage loss, employers who reduce young employees’ wages are obliged by law to provide them with an additional monetary compensation equal to the difference between the general minimum wage and the youth minimum wage. However, employers do not have to pay social security contributions over this compensation, unlike what would be needed for a higher wage.

Outcomes

The reform targeted the national sub-minimum wage, but its impact differed per sector. According to Ministry of Work data, approximately 43% of all sectors previously maintained degressive minimum wages for young workers. However, 64% of these sectors had already eliminated youth sub-minimum rates before the reform, with several sectors initiating this change as early as 2007. During the reform period between 2013 and 2015, 12% of sectors removed the sub-minimum youth wages.

A difference‑in-difference study of the affected sectors showed that the abolishment of the sub-minimum rates positively impacted wages and the likelihood of continued employment but negatively influenced the rate at which young people were able to enter into the workforce within these sectors. In practice, the decline in hiring induced by the higher minimum wage was almost offset by the decrease in young people leaving their jobs. Overall, the measure proved effective in achieving wage increases without significantly impacting unemployment rates, although its impact was somewhat mitigated by sectoral agreements.

The reforms of the sub-minimum wages for young people also served as a noteworthy example of the value of collective bargaining for young workers. Trade unions effectively advocated for young workers by initially pressing for the removal of youth rates and subsequently for the implementation of wage compensation upon reinstatement.

Further reading

Berntsen (2019[42]), “Vakbonden en jongeren”; Federale Overheidsdienst (2019[43]), “Starterslonen voor jongeren”; López Novella (2018[44]), “Removing youth sub-minimum wage rates in Belgium: did it affect youth employment”; Pulignano & Doerflinger (2014[45]), “Belgian Trade Unions and the Youth: Initiatives and Challenges”.

Friendly Work Space Job-Stress-Analysis – Switzerland

Context

Poor-quality jobs, bad leadership, and psychosocial stress in the workplace can put mental health under strain. In addition to the negative consequences for individuals, mental ill-health also imposes major costs to employers in terms of lower productivity. According to Health Promotion Switzerland, 28.2% of Swiss employees experienced critical levels of job stress in 2022. An earlier study in 2018 showed that the youngest Swiss employees (those between 16 and 24 years old) experience the highest levels of stress, and the highest stress-related productivity losses, at estimated losses of 21.1% of the working time compared to 12% for 40‑54 year‑olds. To address job stress, the Swiss Government has implemented various initiatives, including the “Friendly Work Space Job-Stress-Analysis”, also known as “S-tool”, which was introduced in 2012. This initiative aims to assist companies in identifying stress factors within their workforce so that proactive measures can be taken to ensure that jobs foster healthy lives for employees.

Description

The basis of the S-Tool is a web application, featuring an online survey for employees and a platform for project leaders to set-up and oversee the survey. There is a specific S-tool available for teachers and other people working in schools, now known as School acts (Schule handelt). Companies utilise the S-Tool to evaluate employee’s stressors, well-being, and the available resources across different organisational levels. The S-Tool generates survey evaluations for companies and individual employees, typically presented in graphs. Companies are provided with insights on where elevated stress levels exist within their organisations, the available relief resources in the company, and comparative benchmarks against other companies and previous survey outcomes. Additionally, individual employees receive feedback with tips for stress relief. Post-survey, the companies need to interpret the evaluations and ensure that employees are informed about the results and any subsequent steps.

Outcomes

An evaluation of the S-tool in 2018 showed that companies made use of S-tool 326 times between 2012 and 2017. 60% of surveys were conducted in large enterprises, although the number of small and medium-sized businesses saw an upward trend during that period. The school-specific S-tool was piloted in 8 different schools in between 2015 and 2017.

Users of the S-tool are generally very positive about its usefulness. 84% of project leaders would recommend the S-tool to other companies. More than half (54%) of project leaders surveyed credited the S-tool for helping them identify specific blind spots within their organisations. To address stress in the workplace and design appropriate measures, companies primarily relied on S-tool data related to elevated stress levels, existing resources in the company, and results for specific parts of the company. Notably, a third of project leaders and nearly 30% of surveyed employees reported seeing significant positive impacts due to the use of the S-tool. These impacts included improved processes for resilience against stress, reduced stress levels, and fewer absences.

However, care should be taken to discuss the survey results with employees and to respond accordingly. Lack of transparency and lack of action can lead to unintended negative effects. Approximately 15 to 19% of employees expressed disappointment due to the company’s lack of (visible) action.

Further reading

Health Promotion Switzerland (2022[46]), “Job Stress Index 2022”; Schoch and Keller (2017[47]), “Evaluation S-Tool in Schulen”; Stocker et al. (2018[48]), “Evaluation S-tool”.

This practice also supports the implementation of provisions IV.5 and VI.1 of the OECD Recommendation on Creating Better Opportunities for Young People (OECD, 2022[1]).

Recommendation III.3

Strengthen employment services and support available for young people of all labour market statuses.

Relevance

Employment services can help reduce youth unemployment by providing young people with the resources, support, and guidance they need to find suitable job opportunities (OECD, 2016[5]). As young people may lack relevant work or job search experience and have limited professional networks, job search assistance, career counselling and mentoring, resume writing support, and interview preparation are all useful employment services to help them effectively navigate the labour market. Other active labour market programmes, such as employment incentives, training and skills development programmes, job creation, and entrepreneurship programmes are additional tools to bring more young people into the labour market.

As resources of public employment services are limited, profiling tools can help them to deliver employment services more efficiently by ensuring that the more costly, intensive services are targeted at those jobseekers who are most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed (Desiere, Langenbucher and Struyven, 2019[49]). The detailed information on the employment barriers facing jobseekers obtained through the profiling process can be used to tailor services more closely to their individual needs.

Recent advances in digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence offer significant opportunities for public employment services to deliver better services to young people (OECD, 2022[50]). In response to the COVID‑19 pandemic, public employment services made significant changes to their services and operations. Many of these changes initially consisted of investments in IT infrastructure to enable them to deal with increased client numbers and offer service continuity, while more recent efforts are focussing on improving and modernising profiling and job matching tools.

However, not all young people who are unemployed or inactive reach out to public employment services for support, for a variety of reasons: they may not be entitled to income support; they may not be aware of the support they can receive; or they may lack trust in public authorities (OECD, 2020[51]). In 2022, only 42% of unemployed 15‑24 year‑olds were registered with the public employment services in European OECD countries. Evidence from the global financial crisis has illustrated that re‑engaging young people in education or work becomes increasingly difficult after long periods of inactivity (OECD, 2016[5]). Outreach strategies in collaboration with regional and local stakeholders have proven successful in reaching out to unregistered unemployed and inactive young people, including peer-to-peer outreach, collaboration with associations and community-based organisations, national outreach strategies, and institutional mandates (OECD, 2020[51]).

Finally, the green transition is changing jobs, skills, and economies, generating both new challenges but also new opportunities. As new types of jobs are emerging while others are disappearing, employment services need to be aware of current and future labour market demand at the local level to guide young people towards sustainable employment (OECD, 2023[52]).

Box 2.3. Young People’s Voices

“The labour market is very demanding for entrants.”

Young jobseekers indicate having a hard time getting clear and helpful information about job opportunities and what skills and diplomas they need to apply. Without this information, it is difficult for them to create applications that match what employers want. Young people also say that employers’ high expectations for skills and experience make it even harder for young job seekers to start their careers.

Consultations with young people and youth organisations

Policies and Practices

1. Utilising profiling tools to ensure early identification and prioritisation of young people at risk of long-term unemployment, underemployment and/or inactivity, and to target employment services and programmes more efficiently to young jobseekers facing multiple labour market barriers.

2. Investing in high-quality and accessible digitalised and mobile services where appropriate, to reach a larger number of young people.

3. Offering counselling services based on reliable and relevant information on labour market prospects, education and training options, and skills in demand, to empower young people to make informed career decisions.

4. Facilitating mentoring programmes, targeted guidance and post-placement support for young people in vulnerable circumstances, especially those with a lack of local networks, to help them gain a foothold in the labour market.

5. Expanding learning opportunities, including language classes and information and technology courses, especially for young people with low qualifications and skills, through strong partnerships with employers, education and training providers, and the social economy.

6. Providing support and training for young people pursuing careers in green industries.

Youth specific OECD indicators

• Youth not in employment, education or training (NEET), 15-24 year-olds, (OECD, 2024[53])

• Share of unemployed people who are registered with the public employment service, 15‑29 year‑olds (OECD, 2021[2])

• Youth not in employment, education or training (NEET), 18-24, by OECD region (TL2), (OECD, 2024[54])

Other related indicators

• Public spending on labour markets, (OECD, 2024[55])

DUO for a JOB – Belgium, France, and the Netherlands

Context

DUO for a JOB is a non-profit association that brings young migrant jobseekers in contact with experienced workers. The programme started in 2013 in Brussels and was the first Social Impact Bond in continental Europe. The Social Impact Bond provided the necessary start-up funding from public and private investors and allowed the association to grow into a fast-growing social enterprise. DUO for a JOB is co-financed by the European Union. By 2023, DUO for a JOB had 17 branches covering 13 Belgian, 3 French and 1 Dutch cities.

Description

DUO for a JOB is a free intergenerational and intercultural mentoring programme. It aims at enhancing access of young immigrant jobseekers to the labour market and to foster social cohesion by connecting them to older professionals. The jobseeker must be aged 18 to 33 and have a non-EU nationality and/or one (grand)parent born outside of the EU. They must have a valid long-term residency permit and speak either English, Dutch, or French. The mentor must be over 50 years old and have professional experience.

Potential mentors and jobseekers first attend an information session and a co‑ordinator from DUO for a JOB assesses their background, expectations, and personality. The mentor also attends a training course comprising eight modules of half a day where they learn about the methodology of DUO for a JOB and key mentor qualities and are sensitised to the jobseekers’ socio‑economic realities. Mentors can meet every two months with each other to exchange their experiences (compulsory two times per mentee). Following the intake interview, the jobseeker is matched with a mentor, based on the sector, interests, spoken languages, and personality. These steps take between 15 days and 1 month.

Over the course of 6 months, the mentor and jobseeker meet 2 to 3 hours a week. The duo starts by setting up a realistic and practical career action plan for the jobseeker. The mentor is there to provide the young individual with the necessary tools for the job search. DUO for a JOB also offers workshops on job interview preparation and conducts interview simulations with the help of Human Resources (HR) volunteers from partner companies, who help with writing and reviewing CV’s and cover letters. Some branches provide speech therapy and professional help to mentors on how to address psychological well-being of jobseekers. Mentors also get the opportunity (if relevant) to enhance their numeric skills, participate in additional workshops on cultural time‑perception at work, and have a guidebook at their disposal written by mentors.

Outcomes

The Brussels Employment Observatory evaluated the programme three years after its initiation. The employment results of the 322 young immigrants who participated were compared to a control group composed of more than 4 000 job seekers with the same demographics (age, gender, nationality) recently registered at the Brussels Employment Office Actiris with the same profile. The participants’ employment rate was 28% higher and around 44% had a stable job (of more than 3 months) within 6 months after finishing the programme, which was twice the share of the comparison group. The 2022 DUO for a JOB country reports show that since 2013, seven out of ten participants have found a job, internship or education path within the first 6 months of finishing the programme. One out of two have found a stable job within the first 12 months. Participants also report feeling more independent and confident.

Further reading

Dermine. (2019[56]), “Contrat à impact social : une opportunité pour le financement de l’action sociale ?”, Informations sociales; DUO for a JOB (2023[57]), “DUO for a JOB”; KOIS (2023[58]), “DUO for a JOB: the first SIB in continental Europe”; OECD (2016[59]), Understanding social impact bonds.

Vision Plan Programme – Korea

Context

Young people’s transition from school to work in Korea became more challenging after the 1998 financial crisis and policy interest in young people who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET) has grown since then. Many young people face multifaceted reasons to why they are not engaged in economic activity, often including low human capital, psychological needs, and/or lack of social support.

The Vision Plan Programme was a pilot youth employment support programme developed by the Community Chest of Korea, which is the largest community-impact charity in the country. The programme aimed to offer holistic support to young people in disadvantaged situations.

Description

The Vision Plan Programme was a comprehensive NEET prevention and employment support programme implemented as a pilot in 11 community social welfare centres nationwide from 2016 to 2018. The prevention component focused on 14‑19 year‑olds, and the employment support component focused on 20‑24 year‑olds by providing various employment and training support services.

The programme aimed to smooth the transition to adulthood of young people, focusing on recipients of the National Basic Living Security, single‑parent family support, and low-income families. Participants were recruited through local community children’s centres, social work offices in schools, and youth counselling and welfare centres.

Self-growth plans were at the heart of support. Recipients and social workers co-developed these plans through counselling and case management meetings, taking account of interests, aptitude, talents, and desired career. The plans incorporated self-monitoring that incentivised individual responsibility.

The programme offered a broad range of tailored and holistic services for an average of 21.5 months for each recipient. Academic and vocational training was delivered alongside psychosocial support, and music, and physical activity courses. In this, the programme aimed to build social skills and promote mental health and well-being, while also tackling root causes of the challenges that young people face. Therefore, the programme included work with families through family coaching and local communities through neighbourhood activists’ training and networking.

Outcomes

A total of 1 780 people participated in the programme during the three‑year period. Out of these, 866 were aged 20‑24. Focusing on the employment support component for 20‑24 year‑olds, one evaluation finds significant effects on job-seeking intentions and exits from NEET status. The analysis uses data from annual community surveys from 2016 to 2018 conducted on young people in 11 implementation areas (including both participants and non-participants in the Vision Plan Programme) and six comparison areas. About 82% of the programme participants participated in the survey. Using a difference‑in-difference model, the evaluation finds a statistically significant increase in job-seeking intention of the treatment group between 2016 and 2018 relative to the comparison group. The NEET probability of the treatment group also decreased more in the treatment group than in the comparison group.

Further reading

Osborne and Vendenberg (2022[60]), “Youth Employment Support in Asia and the Pacific: What Works”; Park et al. (2020[61]), “An evaluation of the youth employment support programme in South Korea: Focusing on the outcome of preventing NEET”; United Way (2023[62]), “South Korea: Community Chest of Korea”.

This practice also supports the implementation of provisions II.4, IV.3 and IV.5 of the OECD Recommendation on Creating Better Opportunities for Young People (OECD, 2022[1]).

FutureBOS – United States (Boston, Massachusetts)

Context

Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds can face major challenges in entering the labour market. Disadvantaged youth, especially from lower-income and ethnic minority backgrounds, face higher drop-out rates and are more likely to become NEET (not in employment, education or training). In Boston, Massachusetts, United States the City’s Youth Employment and Opportunity (YEO) Office administers FutureBOS, a summer youth employment programme (SYEP) that provides summer part-time employment and coaching for young people aged between 14-24 to support their entry into the labour market.

Description

Introduced in the early 1980s, FutureBOS, offers part-time summer employment for over 9 000 young people (2023) in Boston between the ages of 14 and 24 for a six‑week period over the summer. FutureBOS provides young people with up to 25 hours of work per week, paid the Massachusetts minimum wage. The City Hall offers young people subsidised or unsubsidised employment based on an application process. Boston finances providers to run the selection process. Young people in subsidised jobs can join an additional programme, known as SuccessLink. As part of this programme, young people receive job-readiness training from a provider. FutureBos places young people in jobs with non-profit organisations, an agency of the city, or a private company. In 2023, over 200 employers worked with the Boston City Hall as part of the programme. The objective of FutureBOS is to help young people enter the labour market and reduce socio‑ethnic employment inequalities between young people. The City Hall mobilised around USD 18.7 million from local, Massachusetts state and private financing to support the youth summer jobs in 2023 alone.

Outcomes

Multiple FutureBOS evaluations have been undertaken, which have noted its strong outcomes for youth target groups. An evaluation by Modestino and Paulsen (2019) based on randomised admission lotteries measures the effects of FutureBOS on academic performance. The study compared the outcomes for 1 186 student applicants who were randomly selected into the programme with those for 3 049 applicants who were not. The evaluation found that those that participated were 4.4 percentage points more likely to complete secondary school (high school) on time. Programme participants were 2.5 percentage points less likely to leave secondary school early. Students posted higher academic results compared to the control group the first year after completing FutureBOS.

Counterfactual evaluation also reveals longer-term benefits for at-risk young people participating in the Boston SYEP. Based on administrative records from 12 to 18 months after 2015 participation, data show a 35% reduction in violent crime in the participating group. The data suggests participants strengthened their social and emotional skills through the programme, an increase which was correlated with a decrease in crime. Employment outcomes, including recruitment and wages, were higher in the year immediately following programme participation in 2015, though not significantly different than those of the control group during this time. Employment did grow for those who gained job search skills, such as writing a cover letter or training for interviews.

Further reading

Boston Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development and Northeastern University (2017[63]), “Reducing Inequality Summer by Summer: An Analysis of the Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of Boston’s Summer Youth Employment Programme”

Modestino and Paulsen (2023[64]), “School’s Out: How Summer Youth Employment Programmes Impact Academic Outcomes”

OECD (2024[65]), “Boston’s landmark programme for disadvantaged youth: futureBOS”.

This practice also supports the implementation of provisions II.4 and III.1 of the OECD Recommendation on Creating Better Opportunities for Young People (OECD, 2022[1]).

Recommendation III.4 

Promote equitable access to entrepreneurship, including social entrepreneurship, through counselling (including post-creation coaching), training of entrepreneurial competencies, and access to finance and networks, and facilitate the promotion of innovative entrepreneurship in post-secondary institutions.

Relevance

Young people have high entrepreneurial interest and ambition, yet few are working on start-ups or operating new businesses. A recent EU survey shows that nearly four‑in-ten young people (15‑30 year‑olds) indicate a preference for self-employment over working for somebody else. However, only 9% of youth (18‑29 years old) in OECD countries were actively working on a start-up in the period 2018‑22 and another 5% were managing a new businesses (GEM, 2023[66]). This gap can be explained in part by the disproportionate barriers that youth face in business creation, including limited access to finance and networks; lower levels of entrepreneurship skills; limited access to entrepreneurship training, coaching and mentoring; limited entrepreneurship education in school curricula; and institutional incentives (OECD/European Commission, 2020[67]).

Improving access to entrepreneurship for young people has been a priority for OECD governments for several decades, as a means of improving access to the labour market and stimulate innovation. Recently governments have individually and collectively renewed their commitments to support young people in business creation as many governments have implemented national-level youth strategies, action plans and tailored entrepreneurship support. Despite these efforts, young people remain vulnerable in the labour market and continue to face many barriers to business creation. Furthermore, the COVID‑19 crisis and recent economic challenges such as the cost-of-living crisis have highlighted the continued labour market vulnerability of young people, notably young entrepreneurs (OECD/European Commission, 2023[68]).

Entrepreneurship support programmes can be an effective tool for supporting young people in business creation and development (OECD/European Commission, 2023[69]). The objective of youth entrepreneurship schemes is often to help young people acquire entrepreneurship skills, acquire experience, build networks and improve access to financial resources so that they can improve the chances of successfully transforming their ideas into a business (OECD/European Commission, 2023[68]).

To bridge the gap between ambition and action, policy makers need to both promote equitable access to universal entrepreneurship support programmes and offer targeted support schemes (e.g. dedicated youth entrepreneurship measures) that meet the needs of young people. Youth entrepreneurship support schemes need to be flexible to meet the very different needs of young entrepreneurs and the different sectors and markets in which they operate.

Box 2.4. Young People’s Voices

Young people criticise schools for rarely promoting or supporting entrepreneurship during education, which they feel makes young people less likely to consider it as a career option. In addition, getting funding for a business can be really difficult for young people due to age restrictions, complicated rules, and bureaucracy, making it hard for them to access the funding that they need.

Consultations with young people and youth organisations

Policies and Practices

1. Using awareness campaigns and entrepreneurship education to ensure that young people are aware of the potential opportunities in entrepreneurship, including in social entrepreneurship.

2. Offering support in coherent packages including counselling, training and access to finance and networks.

3. Engaging with youth entrepreneurship networks and organisations during the design and delivery of support schemes to improve their relevance and boost awareness of available supports.

4. Favouring the provision of repayable start-up finance to support business creation instead of large non-repayable grants.

5. Facilitating the provision of training and tools for trainers and coaches to promote equitable access to relevant entrepreneurship supports for young people.

Youth specific OECD indicators

• Young self-employed (20-29 years old for men and women) (OECD, 2024[70])

• Share of young people (18-30 years old) working on a new start-up, 2018-22 (OECD, 2023[71])

• Proportion of young early-stage entrepreneurs (18-30 years old) who expect to create at least 19 jobs over the next five years, 2018-22 (OECD, 2023[72])

Young Entrepreneurs Succeed! – Greece, Italy, Poland, and Spain

Context

Support for entrepreneurship can help young people from under-represented and disadvantaged communities to access economic opportunities. Launched in 2018, the Young Entrepreneurs Succeed! (YES!) project aims to facilitate youth entrepreneurship in Greece, Italy, Poland, and Spain. YES! is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment.

Description

YES! supports young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) with various services to start and grow a business or to find a job. The programme is implemented by eight partner organisations, including Autoocupació (Spain), the Development Agency of Karditsa (ANKA, Greece), Youth Business Poland (Poland), and Microfinanza (Italy). By January 2021, these partner organisations had delivered 49 entrepreneurship training courses, totalling to more than 2000 hours of entrepreneurship support. YES! supported about 1 100 young people between 2018 and 2021, with young women over-represented among beneficiaries in 3 of the 4 countries: 62% in Italy, 58% in Poland, and 70% in Spain.

The project is centred on training courses but also includes coaching and mentoring opportunities offered by partner organisations, which often support the identification of start-up finance. Implementation varies across countries to reflect diverse local contexts and needs. For example, in Greece, ANKA focusses on developing capacity and empowering disadvantaged groups, such as NEETs in Roma communities, while Microfinanza in Italy delivers supports to young people from groups that are under-represented in entrepreneurship, notably (young) women, migrants and refugees. All partner organisations offer a range of training courses to support potential entrepreneurs, including courses on digital marketing, business management and business planning. Some of these courses are tailored for specific groups such as training for the professional make‑up sector for young Roma women in Greece. Several implementing organisations, such as Microfinanza in Italy, offer free coaching and mentoring to participants and help them identify sources of start-up finance. A unique aspect of the YES! project is that it includes an online peer-learning platform (“Thinking Space”) that offers resources for young entrepreneurs on a range of themes such as NEETs and the future of work.

Outcomes

Project evaluations were conducted in each of the four countries to assess the short-term impacts of the training courses, covering the period September 2019 and January 2021. Participants completed a questionnaire on the first and last day of training courses – about 38% of overall participants completed both. The country-specific evaluations considered soft (i.e. emotional capabilities and social benefits) and hard outcomes (i.e. economic benefits: disposable income and unemployment benefits). Key evaluation findings include improved entrepreneurial confidence (i.e. “I can do it”) among older young people in Italy (25‑29 years old) and young women (20‑29 years old) in Greece and Poland. In addition, improved employment outcomes (i.e. NEET participants moved into self-employment, employment or education) for many participants were statistically significant. In Greece, nearly 15% of NEETs (25‑29 year‑olds) taking training moved into self-employment, employment or education by the end of the project. Similarly, 34% of NEET participants with university degrees in Spain and 44% in Poland were no longer NEETs at the end of the project.

Further reading

Parola et al. (2021[73]), “Impact Assessment Report 2021: Greece”; Parola et al. (2021[74]), “Impact Assessment Report 2021: Italy”; Parola et al. (2021[75]), “Impact Assessment Report 2021: Poland”; Parola et al. (2021[76]), “Impact Assessment Report 2021: Spain”.

This practice also supports the implementation of provisions II.4, III.3, and IV.3 of the OECD Recommendation on Creating Better Opportunities for Young People (OECD, 2022[1]).

Yes I Start Up – Italy

Context

Young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs) face challenges integrating into the labour force and are at a high risk of having long spells of unemployment, which can negatively impact their career trajectory in the long-term. The Yes I Start Up initiative is an Italian entrepreneurship training programme that ran as a national programme from 2018 to 2022 as part of the Youth Guarantee programme, an initiative of the European Commission, and continues in three regions: Calabria, Sicily and Tuscany. It was developed by the Italian Agency for Microfinance and was financed by the National Agency for Active Labour Market Policies (ANPAL) with co-financing from the European Commission. By 2020, the programme was delivered by more than 500 active training structures.

Description

Yes I Start Up promotes self-employment and entrepreneurship among NEETs between the ages of 18 and 29 by providing free entrepreneurship training, mentoring and support services. The programme delivers a standardised curriculum through a network of local training providers, including public training institutions, universities, private consultancy companies, associations, and chambers of commerce. There are 60 hours of online classes delivered across 15 modules over the course of 35 days in groups of 4‑12 participants. The young entrepreneurs learn how to create a business plan and complete a loan application. The training also covers market studies, SWOT analysis, examination of the local or regional socio‑economic context, and territorial dimensions. Participants receive an additional 20 hours of personalised tutoring with a coach and can access financial support through the SELFIEmployment Fund, which is managed by Invitalia, the National Agency for Inward Investment and Economic Development. The Fund provides zero‑interest loans ranging from EUR 5 000 to EUR 50 000. Participants are also accompanied by an Invitalia tutor for a year and a half who provides support and advice throughout the post-training phase.

Following the COVID‑19 pandemic, the programme was digitised through the creation of an e‑learning platform programme with no reported drop in the quality of training. The new training format expanded outreach to rural areas and improved the quality of monitoring the activities and participants. Due to the success of the programme with NEETs under 29 years old, it was expanded with dedicated modules for women and long-term unemployed people of any age.

Outcomes

From 2018 to 2020, 350 training sessions were offered, with 1 700 NEETs completing the course. Across all regions, women accounted for between 34‑46% of all participants. Around half of the YISU programme graduates created a business and nearly 22% were in employment 3 months after the programme. Following the training, about 1 in 4 participants (586 people) applied for funding through the SELFIEmployment Fund, of whom more than one‑third (208 people) successfully received funding. 97% of 135 participants who received funding were still in operation 3 months later. By March 2021, 1 555 enterprises had received EUR 52 million from the Fund, which led to 2 746 new jobs.

ANPAL evaluated the YISU programme two years after its introduction. The evaluation considered performance metrics (e.g. microloan acceptance rate, businesses started, business survival and jobs created) of 1 508 YISU participants and 1 369 SELIEmployment Fund recipients from May 2018 to September 2020 and compared these metrics to non-YISU participants and non-financed businesses. The evaluation suggests that companies financed by SELFIEmployment Fund have a higher survival rate than unfunded ones (97% vs. 83% as of August 2020).

Further reading

ANPAL (2021[77]), “Progetto Yes I Start Up - formazione per l’avvio d’impresa: Rapporto di valutazione in itinere”; Ente Nazionale per il Microcredito (2023[78]), “Il Modello Yes I Start-Up Italy”.

Young Rural Entrepreneurs – Colombia

Context

Young people in rural communities have limited employment opportunities. Entrepreneurship can offer a viable and sustainable method for generating income and increasing productivity and competitiveness in rural areas, especially for young people and other vulnerable population groups (e.g. people with disabilities, women, ex-prisoners, veterans). The Young Rural Entrepreneurs (Jóvenes Rurales Emprendedores) aimed to promote rural entrepreneurship among youth from low socio‑economic backgrounds between the ages of 16 and 25 years old in Colombia.

Description

Young Rural Entrepreneurs was a business training programme offered by the National Training Service (Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje; SENA), a national public institution in Colombia. The programme sought to address un- and under-employment of low-income youth aged 16‑25 in rural areas by providing training in strategic areas (e.g. agriculture, livestock, fishing, agro‑industrial, commercial and service areas), increasing their employability, and strengthening their entrepreneurial skills.

Training programmes offered were organised at the municipal level. Courses were developed in partnership with local actors (e.g. unions, business associations) and content was tailored to the needs of each municipality. Courses were typically 5‑6 months long. The programme ran from 2003 to 2013, operating through SENA vocational centres in 167 municipalities at the onset. By 2008, the programme was in 1 091 municipalities and had 257 000 graduates. In 2009, there was a change in the programme and a greater emphasis was placed on entrepreneurship until it ended in 2013. While most of the entrepreneurship training courses focussed on supporting businesses in the agricultural and food preparation sectors, all types of businesses were supported. Training covered business management, including marketing, managing employees and accessing external finance.

Outcomes

Evaluation findings show that participating in JRE had a positive impact on youth entrepreneurship as participants were between 75% and 88% more likely to be carrying out procedures to set up a business. Participating in the programme also increased the probability of hiring personnel by more than 50%. The evaluation also found that JRE‑supported businesses had more customers and that the young entrepreneurs had more business knowledge and larger networks, including relationship with workers, suppliers and partners. Moreover, the programme also significantly contributed to the likelihood of being employed (14% more likely than the control group) as well as improved hourly labour income (by COP 5 000, equal to EUR 1.18). However, there was no significant effect on employment quality, access to financing, use of accounting and relationship with clients.

Further reading

Steiner et al. (2010[79]), “Evaluación de Impacto del Programa Jóvenes Rurales Emprendedores del Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje – SENA”

References

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