Youth employment and the future of work
Research seminar : Youth Employment and the Future of Work
European Youth Centre, Strasbourg, France. 21-24 May 2007
From Paris to Warsaw, young people in Europe are facing great challenges in the labour market. The challenges of globalisation, technological development and migration - just to name a few - are posing both threats and opportunities for young people in Europe today. The active participation of youth in the labour market and the problems of youth unemployment are high on the European and national policy agenda.
Thus, under the Partnership in the Youth Field between the Council of Europe and European Commission, a timely research seminar was organised on this key topic. The Seminar was entitled Youth Employment and the Future of Work. It was 8th research seminar of this kind organised in the framework of the Youth Partnership since 2003. Hosted at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg, France, this research seminar gathered more than 20 participants from all over Europe and beyond, to exchange their views on the theme. A wide range of perspectives and backgrounds were represented, crossing academic disciplines, professional fields and geographical boundaries.
During the three days in Strasbourg, the research seminar was organised in six sessions, including four thematic workshops. Each one was devoted to a particular aspect of youth employment. After a brief round of introductions and an institutional welcome from the Partnership, participants were given the opportunity to discuss in small groups the emerging issues of youth employment in their home countries and the European context. These were later presented to a plenary. The plenary discussion was followed by presentations from the Council of Europe and European Commission on their respective policies surrounding the seminar theme, its place on the current political agenda and the issue of governance in respect of youth employment across Europe.
The first thematic workshop was on education-to-work transitions and European labour mobility followed by a session on Youth Employment – Policy and Practice. The third workshop discussed the issue of Gender, Family and Work. The session was concluded with a keynote address from Professor Janine Goetschy of the Universities of Nanterre and Brussels. She provided a comprehensive assessment of both the Lisbon Strategy and the Open Method of Co-ordination and considered their implications for EU youth and employment policies.
Locality, Identity and Inclusion was the focus of the final thematic session. There tends to be less research concerning low income jobs than that conducted in respect of well paid and highly skilled occupations. The effects of social exclusion, poverty and precarious poor work on young people's social transitions were described vividly. The issue of discrimination and equal opportunities was at the centre of the discussions.
On the last day, participants worked in smaller groups to discuss, formulate and share the tentative conclusions and policy recommendations for the four thematic sessions. Issues not covered by the Seminar were also raised. Moreover, participants evaluated the Seminar and shared suggestions for the content and conduct of future Research events.
Throughout the Research Seminar, the diverse realities, problems and challenges of youth employment across Europe were highlighted. The Seminar proved to be a good venue for both early-stage and senior researchers, local practitioners and policy makers to discuss this important topic at the European level. Whilst these hot debates were matched by the warmth of the weather in Strasbourg, the issues were subjected to cool analysis and reflection by the participants. One notable absence from the Seminar was that of the business sector and social partners. It is therefore envisaged that efforts will be made to engage the business community in future Research Seminars.
The research seminar was convened by Jonathan Evans, University of Glamorgan (Wales) and Wei Shen, Loughborough University (England), supported by the Youth Partnership research officer, Marta Medlinska.
The various sessions were chaired by the two conveners, the research officer and Andreas Walther from the University of Tübingen & IRIS Tübingen (Germany), who had agreed to chair the final session.
- Seminar report by Jonathan Evans
- Publication : Youth employment and the future of work (2010). Edited by Jonathan Evans and Wei Shen. Council of Europe, 2010. 978-92-871-6657-9
Monday, 21 May 2007
Afternoon
- Introductory session: Setting the Framework
- Welcome words
- Introductions: Participants, Chairs, Preparatory team
- Presentation of the Seminar: broader context, aims and objectives, programme and approach
- Mapping the scene: key youth employment issues on national and European level
- Introductions by the Council of Europe, the European Commission and the European Youth Forum
- Discussion
Tuesday, 22 May 2007
Morning - Session I: Education-to-Work Transitions and European Labour Mobility
- Labour Market Success of Young European Graduates by Ms. Katariina Koskinen, Research Unit for the Sociology of Education, University of Turku, Finland
- Fight or Flight? Exploring Employment Uncertainty and Geographical Mobility amongst Youth in Portugal and Northern Ireland by Dr. David Cairns, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portual
- The Young and the Market of Employment in Morocco by Pr. Abdelfattah EZZINE, Academic institute of the Scientific Research, University Mohamed V – Souissi, Rabat / Morocco
Afternoon - Session II : Youth Employment: Policy and Practice
- Changes in young peoples' mental health after participation in an Active Labour Market Programme. Some empirical findings from both East and West Germany by Dr. Heike Behle, Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick, UK
- The Youth Employment – Polish Regulations by Dr. Anna Musiała, Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznań, Poland
- Youth Employability Program for European Macedonia by Ms. Kristina Velkovska, Balkan Children and Youth Foundation, Macedonia
- Open Method of Coordination: Better governanace for enhanced participation and higher employment by Mr. Krzysztof Nowaczek, Research Unit on European Governance, Turin, Italy
Wednesday, 23 May 2007
Morning - Session III : Gender, Family and Work
- Youth Transitions in the South Caucasus: Connections between employment, housing and family by Dr. Gary Pollock, Department of Sociology, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
- Unemployment Experience of Youth in Turkey by Ms. Kezban Celik, Department of Sociology, Middle East Technical University, Turkey
Guest lecture
- The Lisbon strategy and its implications for EU youth policies by Pr. Janine Goetschy, CNRS, University of Nanterre and University of Bruxelles, Institute for European Studies, Brussels, Belgium
Afternoon - Session IV : Locality, Identity and Inclusion
- Poverty, precariousness & poor work: the transitions of young people in contexts of social exclusion by Dr. Tracy Shildrick, School of Social Sciences & Law, University of Teesside, UK
- The Face of the Youth Unemployment - Victim from the Past Triple X process or a Sparking Plug for the Future by Mr. Bo Sundström, The County Board of Municipalities in Gavleborg, Sweden
- Young Estonians & Non-Estonians in labour market by Mr. Siim Krusellm, Statistical Bureau in Estonia
- Assessing and Developing Youth Employment and Work Policy in Turkey by Ass.Pr. Serdar M. Degirmencioglu, Beykent University Department of Psychology, Istanbul, Turkey
Thursday, 24 May 2007
Morning
- Final session: Drawing conclusions
- Formulating conclusions and recommendations
- Final discussion
- Closing addresses
- Evaluation of the seminar
- Closing of the seminar