Round table discussion INFLUENCE OF OPEN YOUTH WORK ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF YOUTH GUARANTEE Conclusions and recommendations 9th December 2015 Expert Roundtable organised by Lithuanian Ministry of Social Security and Labour together with State Youth Affairs Department and Agency of International Youth Cooperation brought together researchers, policy-makers from different policy sectors, representatives from employment, business sector and NGOs to discuss influence of Open youth work to the implementation of Youth Guarantee. This discussion is a follow-up of Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU efforts to strengthen cross-sectorial cooperation in the youth policy field, development of integrated youth policy and exchange of good practices of social inclusion of young people, especially those not in an employment, education or training (hereinafter – young people in NEET). It was agreed that it is too early to assess the impact of the Youth Guarantee initiative, but it is thought that increased political attention and its’ measures have positively influenced youth employment situation. Open youth work, in this context, means reaching a greater number of young people, providing personalized assistance and counseling. Additionally, it functions as instrument of prevention and early intervention. In order to improve the quality of Open youth work, to enhance its positive impact on the implementation of Youth guarantee, all stakeholders working with and for young people at European, national and local levels, should:
1. Recognise Open youth work; promote its impact and added value: -
Youth work is cross-sectorial by it’s nature, it contributes to a wide range of policy areas, but should not be limited a purpley instrumental role in reaching, for example, youth employment, or other targets;
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Open Youth work provides young people the opportunity to engage in activities, it meets their interests and needs. This improves their social
inclusion, while competences aquired in the non-formal way increases their employability; -
Open youth work enables deeper understanding of the challenges faced by young people and changing trends, which helps to better tailor services to the specific needs of young people;
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Due to cross-sectorial nature of Open youth work, its effectiveness depends on the cooperation of different institutions and organizations. Thus it is necessary to strengthen cooperation between the different authorities at European, national and local levels;
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Open youth work acts as an empowerment tool, and also as an effective prevention and early intervention instrument. The earlier work with a young person is started, the more cost-effective measures are. The longer a young person does not enter employment, the more it will cost economicaly and socialy in the long run.
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Open youth work creates an individual relationship with a young person and civic society. Young peoples invlovement should not be complusory; on the contrary, support systems should be built around the young person, involving youth workers, youth information and counseling services etc.
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Open youth work can reach a lot of young people, including young NEET. However, not all Open youth work programmes and methods should solely focus on this particular group of young people.
2. To strengthen cross-sectorial cooperation, develop youth-friendly environment -
It is diserable to create a youth friendly social, economic and political environments. Employment policies should also be youth friendly - involve young people in the planning and implementation processes, be understandable and attractive to young people;
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As open youth work is an holistic and inclusive practice, it should not be assessed only as tool to gain employment related skills. Creating and maintaining an individual relationship with a young person requires an understanding of the context, the social sphere, and the importance of postive regard, which can contribute to character development. Character building though sometimes underestimated, has a very big influence on a young person’s prospects in the labour market and elsewhere.
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Effectiveness of Youth Guarantee initiative depends not only on the measures used, but also on the economic situation. The programme should focus on the effective early intervention measures that enhances opportunities to enter employment or training.
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Professional orientation and career quidance should help realisticaly assess the situation of the labour market and expectations of young peope; disproportion between numbers of young people in higher education and vocational training should be decreased.
3. Further develop network of institutions and actors involved in open youth work and strengthen individualized service provision for young people -
Use of information technologies should be integrated into work with young people. On the one hand it helps to attract young people who are currently not involved, on the other hand, the use of information technology motivates young people to participate;
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More attention should be paid to work with families, help developing parenting skills, using mentoring programmes – develop feelings of attachment and belonging;
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In order to reach disadvantaged young people, systematic work with young people on the streets (outreach and detached youth work) should be further developed. Respectively, mobile services for young people should de developed in the rural areas. It is important that such services operate on a regular and systematic basis;
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Offering Open youth work services and other forms of provisions, it is important to take into account the different youth age groups and their specific needs and challenges;
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To ensure high quality open youth work, there should be a wide array of measures to support youth workers preparation, recognition and competence development.