News

On 27th January 2015, social partners from 14 EU Member States held the final conference of a one-year project entitled ‘More and better jobs for young people in commerce’.

The main focus of the project was about increasing opportunities for young people and for companies to invest in quality jobs. European social partners identified and analysed challenges and solutions, as well as national best practices in the areas of employment, recruitment and solidarity between youngest and older workers.

Recent European studies proved that those Member States providing quality jobs and effective social protection, as well as investment in human capital, have proved to be more resilient to the economic crisis.

Laila Castaldo, Policy Officer for Commerce at UNI Europa xplained, “Although the working population in the EU is getting older, the retail sector has a great potential to attract talented young people. It already employs more young people compared to other sectors. Let’s use this project as a new kick start to show the value of social partnership in successfully boosting youth employment. ”

To tackle youth unemployment, UNI Europa will address the following recommendations, and ask:

EU policy makers to…:

make adequate and more financial resources available through both public and private investment via a better cooperation between VET bodies, companies and public authorities
improve coordination between national and EU funding policies
secure access to funding for commerce social partners at national level

National social partners to:

work together in a spirit of dialogue and cooperation
invest in training for those with a low level of education and the unskilled
secure a good entry-level for job seekers in terms of growth and career opportunities
find negotiated solutions to address the evolving needs of companies and workers alike
disseminate best practices identified in the sector

This is the video sreened during the final conference: http://youtu.be/GCvvPIxnQEA