Employment
Young people living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods can experience various forms of discrimination in access to work, and are often isolated from centres of employment or work under precarious working conditions.
Public authorities should consider the specific challenges faced by young people entering the labour market when developing employment policies and strategies and devise strategies for quality employment for young people. The access to work for young people should be secured through quality and properly paid apprenticeships and vocational education programmes which are inclusive, linked to employment opportunities, and include a clear career path. Legislation should be developed to guarantee paid internships leading to employment. Information, career guidance and on-the-job work experience in both the public and private sectors should be also inclusive and accessible.
Specific programmes should be made available for young people facing obstacles to access employment, such as the ‘youth guarantee’ scheme, or funding schemes, such as micro-finance and co-operative finance programmes for entrepreneurs.
Programmes for young parents should be also set up such as an affordable public child-care and incentives that encourage employers to offer working conditions that consider the needs of young parents and allow them to have a well-balanced work and family life.
Partnerships need to be established between youth workers and all relevant local and national bodies, including local authorities, educational institutions, local business and trade unions organisations. These partnerships should acknowledge the role of non-formal education and community work in employment of young people.
Read more about employment (Chapter 6 - Publication Taking it seriously)