On 7 December, Spain’s council of ministers approved an ‘action plan against youth unemployment’. The plan has been negotiated with employer groups and trade unions, as well as regional authorities who are in charge of active employment policies. The action plan comprises 50 measures, including a new status for interns at companies, help for those that have returned to the country having emigrated during the crisis, as well as the creation of a 3,000-strong network of career-guidance counsellors to help young people in their search for a job. Unfolding over a three-year period, from 2019 to 2021, the action plan will be supported with €2 billion of funding. The aim is to reduce the unemployment rate for people aged between 16 and 30 by five percentage points, down from 28% at present to 23.5% - the rate at the start of the 2000s, as well as to reduce the rate of job instability in this age group by 15%.
The main strands of the plan are as follows:
A boost to career guidance and entry into the employment market. The action plan will add 3,000 new career advisers to the public employment services (SEPE) in order to provide personal guidance and accompany young people as they decide which training path to go down and as they look for a job. Spain has one of the highest rates of unemployment in Europe, but only offers one career adviser per 105 job-seekers, compared to 73 in France and 48 in Germany.
A new status for company interns.
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