Youth Unemployment

Learning motivation – European problem?
Interview with Jamila, a young woman from Kabul about learning opportunities in Afghanistan. I am sitting in the GIZ office in Kabul, the headquarters of the huge project on reforms of vocational education and training in Afghanistan run in almost 60 schools all over the country. One of the members of the local staff

Good practices: Short workstays abroad combat exclusion
As the American drama film Precious (2009, based on the 1996 novel Push by the former social worker Sapphire) makes clear to a wider audience, much of what we believe in as standards of communication may not exist for young people who live in poverty, far away from social inclusion, solid education and regular work.

TED talks – inspiration or stand up?
Chances are, if you haven’t heard them, you will have heard of them. TED talks are lectures featuring high profile speakers, broadcast on the internet for free. The topics of the talks range from science to culture and societal issues. The talks are part of a special, privately-owned brand of event, the TED Conference, which

“Living in the dark…” European voices about work
Every unemployment statistic has a human story behind it. Here, four young Europeans talk about their relationship to work. Of the crushing lack of future prospects. Or, in abundance of work, of the voluntary decision to work less. “Just scraping along” Maria Salzano, 26, Naples, Italy Master in Biotechnology, unemployed I am Maria, 26 years

A Nordic perspective on youth unemployment
This article was originally published in Elm's predecessor media, LLinE. Introduction Youth unemployment has increased dramatically all over Europe since the financial crisis of 2008 although at different levels and speed in the individual countries. Rising youth unemployment in particular creates a strong feeling of urgency among all political leaders. Experience shows that young people

Need of enhancing core skills: the Greek case
In Greece, strong families may replace those social networks that might be helpful for employment. Source: Wikimedia Introduction Youth unemployment in Greece has increased dramatically the last four years (2008-2012). From 1985–2008, the rate of unemployment was between 25%–35% and was steadily higher than the EU19 average (OECD, 2009, p.12). However, in 2012 the unemployment

Promoting resilience in times of social and economical crisis: A critical agenda for lifelong learning
In the midst of serious youth unemployment in many parts of Europe, it feels reasonable to ask how can lifelong learning policies and practices best equip youth to thrive in the 21st century? While recognizing the complexity and multi-dimensionality of this question, in my editorial, I propose resilience as a pivotal lifelong learning agenda.