24 August 2021 – 8 projects out of 138 project proposals were selected for funding at the second call for proposals under the Fund for Youth Employment. The projects will tackle the issue of youth unemployment by working in three main priority areas: analysis and research; innovation and exploration; transfer of know-how and good practice.
Fund for Youth Employment
In 2017, the Donor States Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway established the Fund for Youth Employment with a budget of EUR 60.6 million to help the institutions across Europe find new ways of tackling youth unemployment. Youth unemployment is a major issue and challenge for the whole of Europe – it leaves young people faced with poverty, prevents them from fully participating in the society, and takes a toll on their health, well-being and professional future. That is why we need to come together and act together for common European solutions.
The Fund for Youth Employment already supports 25 projects that promote sustainable and quality youth employment in 15 beneficiary states, as well as Ireland, Italy and Spain. Slovenian project partners participate in 5 projects.
Fund Operator, i.e. Ecorys Polska in consortium with Italian company JCP Consulting, works closely with Financial Mechanism Office to manage the Fund for Youth Employment.
Selected projects
The second call for proposals under the Fund for Youth Employment (Unlocking Youth Potential) with the available funding of EUR 11.5 million closed in January 2021. The funding was made available for project proposals focused on ensuring access to employment, education and training.
The competition was strong; out of 138 project proposals, 8 projects comprising eight lead partners, 48 project partners from Beneficiary States, 22 expertise partners (8 from Donor States and 14 non-beneficiary EU member states not beneficiaries for support under the EEA and Norway Grants and 1 international organization) were selected for funding. Working in three priority areas (analysis and research; innovation and exploration; transfer of know-how and good practice), these projects aim to target 1,300 researchers, 500 SMEs and reach out to as many as 10,000 young adults.
The results of the call were announced in early June, and in July, the early orientation session was held for the awarded projects where the project representatives had a chance to present their ideas and approaches. The contracting process is underway as well as preparations for implementation kick-off in autumn.
Infographic – selected projects
2 projects with project partners from Slovenia
EURIBOR
Project EURIBOR – Promoting sustainable actions for empowerment of vulnerable groups of young women is focused on the transfer of know-how and good practice on outreach, employability and employment initiatives. Best proven methodologies of expertise partners from Germany and Austria will be implemented by nine partners from Bulgaria, Italy, Malta, Poland, Slovenia (Vocational Centre Obala) and Spain. The project seeks to incorporate successful schemes which are focused on reaching out hard-to-reach women aged between 24 and 29 years in vulnerable situation and listening and responding to their individual needs which address barriers to active participation in education or work. EURIBOR will aim to improve employment situation of young women and increase the number of young women benefitting from social inclusion.
Stay-on
In the EU, rural areas are affected by a higher share of NEETs (not in employment, education or training), and a higher proportion of the population faces the risk of social exclusion. The main goal of the project Stay-on is to create conditions that enable young people to ”stay on” by ensuring their access to opportunities, benefits, services and jobs. The project aims at fostering youth empowerment and providing adequate skills for the rural labour market, such as digital skills, abilities to manage environmental impacts and personal development. The project is based on an innovative bottom-up multi-stakeholder participation method, where transnational external actors facilitate local communities’ capacity to mobilize internal resources and unlock youth potential in rural areas. The lead partner from Greece cooperates with beneficiary partners from Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia (BB Consulting) and Germany.
Stay tuned for more information and follow these websites: Fund for Youth Employment, Ecorys Polska, EEA and Norway Grants
If you have any questions about the Fund for Youth Employment, please contact the Fund Operator Ecorys Polska at eeagrants@ecorys.com.