Policy problems and perspectives discussed at final EXCEPT conference
Policy makers, stakeholders and researchers discussed policy implications of EXCEPT project at the panel moderated by Ruth Santos-Brien, Coordinator of Mutual Learning database at DG EMPL, ICF Consulting. Involved in the discussion were:
Sandra Bohlinger, Dresden Technical University, Germany
Michael Gebel, Co-coordinator of EXCEPT, University of Bamberg, Germany
Massimiliano Mascherini, Senior Research manager, Social Policy Unit, Eurofound
Claudio Spadon, Director of the Work Policies Agency in Piedmont region, Italy
Followed by Q&A
Panellists expressed the main take-away messages and reflected on EXCEPT findings.
Massimiliano Mascherini talked on need for policy coordination. He stressed that youth is a diverse population and therefore there is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Some are close to the labour market, some need support, some need experience and some need motivation and additional services first to be reintegrated to the society and then to the labour market. Therefore, there is a huge need for coordination of labour market actors and providers and social policies services to address all the needs of youth.
Sandra Bohlinger discussed the balance between higher education and vocational education.
“Whenever young people may go to, ensure that this is not only includes general type of education, but also that it actually meets the labour market demand. And for that you need to cooperate with employers.”
Michael Gebel talked on trade-offs policy measures, like expansion of higher education and increase in policy benefits.
For example, higher unemployment benefits help to mitigate the negative impact of unemployment on health. On the other hand, from other research we know that higher benefits may keep people out of labour market. It is up to society to decide which dimension is more important.
Claudio Spadon discussed the difference between the policies on the national, regional and local level and the correct policy for each level. Such policies as Youth Guarantee are nationwide, but at the same time, many young people say they are very complicated by bureaucracy, as all the expenses must be reported. On the other hand, situation in each city and even district of the city can be very different. Sometimes it is not enough to work only with youth, but to start with a family and it is better done on the local level.
