Empowering Youth NEETs in the Southern Mediterranean Region

While countries in the Southern Mediterranean region have young NEET rates of up to 30%, with large gender gaps, policy priorities have progressed in recent years. Public employment services are gradually shifting their focus to include NEETs – such as discouraged youth, early school leavers, and young women with family responsibilities – alongside their traditional target groups of educated, unemployed youths.

This shift in strategy towards young NEETs needs to be accompanied by relevant legislation, policies and resources, as well as a shift in mindsets and a strengthening of capacities.

Main Components

The Y-NEET project’s long-term objective is to improve the situation of young NEETs in Southern Mediterranean countries by expanding employment and training opportunities for them, and making public policies and practices more effective and responsive to their needs. The project concentrates on three main outcome areas to achieve its objectives:

• improve knowledge and coordination;
• reinforce and/or develop innovative approaches to reach and support young NEETs;
• pilot adapted approaches in reaching out to and providing relevant employment services for youth NEETs; and
• build on existing policies and initiatives, and contribute to supporting their development, enhancement, coordination, integration and implementation.

For more information about the project, download the project brieffactsheet: