Innovative methods for employment services to improve outreach to young people

26/10/2021

Local NGOs may support public employment services in reaching young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and also by providing mentoring for youth or sensitization for employers.

All this was discussed by Ágota Scharle, Senior Researcher at BI, at the 1st Innovation Society Forum organized by the Regional Civil Centre (ReCIK) Foundation on 21 October 2021 in Miskolc.

The main objective of the event was to bring together businesses, NGOs, and public institutions in the region to explore alternative solutions and opportunities that can help alleviate labour shortages. The forum also provided an opportunity for representatives of employment centers, local NGOs working in the field, and potential employers to exchange experiences and identify points where their activities could be connected or complemented by one another.

Among others, the speakers at the event included Dr. Szabolcs Menyhárt, Head of the Employment Department of the Government Office of B.-A.-Z. County, Ágnes Pető, Head of the Employment Pact Programme of the City of Miskolc, and Dóra Szendrák, Head of the Regional Civil Centre Foundation, the main organizer of the event.

In her presentation, Ágota Scharle talked about innovative national and international methods to help young people in entering the labour market. Based on the results of our research in the framework of the Youth Employment PartnerSHIP international project, she reported that the 90-day job trial programme, for example, has been shown to increase the chances of unemployed young people in finding a job, but does not always reach those most in need. She also stressed the need for public employment services to work more closely with local NGOs and communities who have a better understanding of the composition and needs of unemployed youth in their vicinity. Such local knowledge can come from social workers, mentors in student dorms, sports club coaches, Roma municipalities, etc. NGOs can also help in providing personalized mentoring for young people and in sensitizing employers to employ more disadvantaged young workers.

Ágota Scharle's participation in the 1st Innovation Society Forum was supported by the international project Youth Employment PartnerSHIP funded by the EEA and Norway Grants. One of the objectives of the research project, which started at the end of 2018, is to measure the effectiveness of labour market programs for young people in Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Spain.