Two new studies build on recent literature on youth employment and experience from the ground to analyse the implementation of the Youth Guarantee in Member States six years after the adoption of the Council Recommendation.

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A new study on the Youth Guarantee in light of changes in the world of work looks at the implementation of the Youth Guarantee and emerging challenges related to young people’s transition into the labour market, with a particular focus on changes in the world of work. These changes relate to increasingly complex school-to-work transitions and new challenges arising from rapid technological developments that may affect the labour market prospects of young people.

The first part of the study identifies key aspects of Youth Guarantee implementation and develops a Youth Guarantee typology. The overall findings highlight the role of EU funding, the increased spending on active labour market policies in some Member States and the introduction of reforms to national youth employment policies.

The second part provides a comprehensive overview of the current and future challenges for youth in the labour market, looks at how these challenges will affect different groups of young people and examines the potential role of public policies in addressing them.

Public Employment Services are central players in the implementation of the Youth Guarantee. They cover a wide range of responsibilities in management, coordination and direct service provision, being the main providers of employment interventions. A new study on the implementation of the Youth Guarantee by the Public Employment Services discusses the success factors and key challenges that Public Employment Services experience in the delivery of the Youth Guarantee. The study is based on six country case studies (Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal and Sweden). 

The study comes up with a number of recommendations to improve the implementation of the Youth Guarantee by the Public Employment Services, including:

• the creation of a national Youth Guarantee coordination committee
• more flexibility regarding the provision of offers
• holistic service provision for young people
• pro-active outreach
• early career-guidance
• additional indicators
• and better tracking systems.