A NEW campaign has been launched to tackle Ireland’s historically high youth unemployment.
Dublin MEP Emer Costello (Lab), Northside TD John Lyons (Lab) and Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte were on hand to launch the European Youth Guarantee campaign in Dublin last week.
The campaign is aimed at bringing together employers, training agencies, and education services to guarantee each unemployed young person a quality job, work placement, training, combined work and training or further education within a specific period of becoming unemployed or leaving full-time education.
Ballymun could be the first area to put this approach to the test.
The Department of Social Protection has submitted a proposal for e250,000 from the European Commission for a ‘preparatory action’ Youth Guarantee scheme in the Northside community, which is due to run from April 2013 to April 2014.
The aim of the scheme will be to engage with 90 young unemployed people per month in Ballymun to identify and address their individual needs and to guarantee each one a work placement, training, education or a job over the course of the pilot programme.
Ms Costello has high hopes for the new approach, which has already proven highly successful in Austria and Denmark where it was first pioneered.
“Unemployment, particularly youth unemployment, is the biggest challenge facing Ireland right now – we risk losing an entire generation with almost one-third of young Irish people and nearly one-quarter across Europe currently without work, many for a year or more,
? she stated.
“This approach works in Austria and Denmark, which have youth unemployment rates of 10 per cent and 14 per cent respectively, compared to the EU average of almost 23 per cent, and it should now be taken up by Europe as a whole using the European Social Fund.
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According to Labour TD for Dublin North West, John Lyons, with 30 per cent youth unemployment in this country, Ireland is being
“held back with so many young people on the sidelines
?.
“To help turn the tide on youth unemployment, I’m supporting the campaign for a European Youth Guarantee which would give young jobseekers the tools they need to unlock their potential and realise their ambitions,
? he stated.
“Momentum is building on this policy with a decision due soon on EU funding for a pilot Youth Guarantee in Ballymun next year.
“If it goes ahead, it would be central to our campaign to put youth unemployment on the agenda during our presidency of the European Union.
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