Building Learning Societies: Promote Access and Participation in Lifelong Learning for NEETs

SOLIDAR welcomes Monday’s Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council Conclusions on enhancing the social inclusion of young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) and calls upon the Council and EU Member States to promote better access and participation in lifelong learning for NEETs.

According to the latest figures, approximately 14 million people are not in employment, education or training (NEETs), which makes up 15.4% of the 15-29 year old population in Europe. The economic crisis and its consequences are having the biggest impact on young people and is costing an equivalent of 1.2% of European GDP.

SOLIDAR therefore welcomes the Council conclusions on enhancing the social inclusion of young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) of 25 November 2013 calling on Member States to take immediate action to promote youth employment, education, training, non-formal and informal learning, voluntary engagement, participation and social inclusion of youth.

In order for Member States to take immediate action on this topic, further investment in lifelong learning – in particular non-formal and informal learning – are needed to ensure that these 120 million Europeans who are at risk of falling into poverty can be empowered to participate in society and find new employment opportunities. Read SOLIDAR’s recommendations to strengthen access and participation in lifelong learning around Europe.

To better facilitate the transition from education to employment and to bridge the gap between labour market demands and available skills, SOLIDAR calls upon the Council and EU Member States to promote better access and participation in lifelong learning of NEETs by:

§ Recognising the added-value of non-formal and informal learning for developing skills, needed to bridge the gap between labour market needs and available qualifications.

§ Promoting the validation of skills, competences and knowledge acquired through non-formal and informal learning within society and at the workplace.

§ Making lifelong learning a reality and foster the participation of people in education and training, especially those who are far from formal education and have a weak income position and young adults who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs).

§ Promoting social engagement, such as volunteering, to stimulate the modernisation of one’s skills portfolio and stimulate the utilisation of skills acquired in everyday life.

§ Developing policies that prevent skills obsolescence, stimulate continuous education and training opportunities to upgrade skills, knowledge and competences in order to keep up with changing demands.

§ Strengthening evidence-based policy making, promote the participation of (adult) education providers in decision-making processes at Member State and EU levels, in the framework of the Open Method of Coordination in Education.

For SOLIDAR, a well-coordinated process to define policy measures to support NEETs – in the context of offering education and training pathways for better skills development and transition from education to quality employment – is an essential part of building learning societies where young people are empowered and their skills and competences are both shared and developed.

SOLIDAR is a European network of 60 NGOs working to advance social justice in Europe and worldwide. SOLIDAR voices the concerns of its member organisations to the EU and international institutions across the policy sectors social affairs, international cooperation and lifelong learning. For more info www.solidar.org