Youth Employment Inititative adopted in Italy: 1.1 billion euro to tackle unemployment

The European Commission has adopted the national Operational Programme for the implementation of the Youth Employment Initiative in Italy. This Programme will mainly contribute to implementation of the Youth Guarantee, the EU-wide 6-billion euro reform aiming to ensure that every young person up to 25 years (up to 29 in Italy) is presented with a quality offer of employment, education or training within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education. 20 Member States (with regions with youth unemployment over 25%) are eligible for this Programme.

The Italian Programme is the second to be adopted by the Commission after the French one in June. Under this Programme, Italy will mobilise €1.5 billion from various sources, including €1.1 billion from the European budget, both from the Youth Employment Initiative, from which Italy is the second largest recipient of funds, with over €530 million, which will be spent in almost all Italian regions under the coordination of the Ministry of Labour, and from the European Social Fund.

“Italy’s programme implementing the Youth Employment Initiative is very ambitious: it should reach over half a million young Italians currently out of employment, education or training. This reflects the urgency of giving every young person a real chance in the labour market,” said Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion László Andor.

All beneficiaries should be offered a large variety of tailored actions: information and guidance sessions; vocational training; work placements; apprenticeships, in particular for the youngest; traineeships, not only limited to the most qualified (graduates); promotion of self-employment and self-entrepreneurship; transnational and territorial professional mobility opportunities; and finally, a civil service scheme with a possibility to certify the acquisition of new skills. Italian regions are key actors for the success of this programme: they have designed specific interventions tailored to their needs and consistent with the local socio-economic context. They will benefit from the support of all key players, in particular the Public Employment Services which are in the process of revisiting their procedures to offer innovative activation measures.