Brussels, 17 November 2015
Today the European Commission together with
companies launch the European Pact for Youth, a mutual engagement of
business leaders and the EU to create a culture of business-education
partnerships to improve the chances for young people of getting a job,
at the Enterprise 2020 Summit.
Today the European Commission together with
companies launch the European Pact for Youth, a mutual engagement of
business leaders and the EU to create a culture of business-education
partnerships to improve the chances for young people of getting a job,
at the Enterprise 2020 Summit.
The Pact, initiated by The European Business Network for Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR Europe), is an appeal to all business, social
partners, education and training providers and other stakeholders to
develop or consolidate partnerships in support of youth employability
and inclusion. Together we will support the creation of 10,000 quality
business-education partnerships, with the shared target to establish
together at least 100,000 new good quality apprenticeships, traineeships
or entry-level jobs.
Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, said: "Our
top priority has been to get Europe growing again and to stimulate good
quality job creation. I welcome these business-education partnerships
leading to 100,000 new youth opportunities. It builds on the successful
European Alliance for Apprenticeships. The Commission, together with
business, is moving now towards one quarter million new opportunities
for young people across Europe". I look forward to many more businesses
and associations joining this Pact to boost opportunities for young
people in Europe.”
Etienne Davignon, President of CSR Europe said:...
“With
the Pact, our ambition is to deliver a long standing impact for young
people’s future jobs and Europe’s sustainable competitiveness.
Business-education partnerships are a must! We are confident that this
will be a game-changer, much like Erasmus has been over the past 28
years.”
The
European Commission will provide technical support to the Pact and
assist the participating stakeholders in its implementation. The
outcomes of this joint work will be presented at the 1st
Enterprise-Education Summit in December 2017.
This initiative has the endorsement of His Majesty the King of the Belgians, and the Presidents of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, and the European Council, Donald Tusk.
The
Pact aims to help build a pro-youth and pro-innovation Europe by
creating a fair and equitable culture of partnerships between business,
education and young people. These partnerships are designed to enhance
the quality of training and skills that young people can acquire,
including transversal digital, entrepreneurial, green and soft skills.
Examples are initiatives that support non-formal and informal learning,
projects that boost apprenticeships or aim to make learning science and
technology more attractive. Finally, they will support Europe’s teachers
and particularly, equip young teachers with the necessary skills to
become leaders in the classroom.
Background
About the European Pact for Youth:
In
order to be competitive in the global market, companies in Europe more
than ever need young people with the right skills. At the same time,
Europe has a significant untapped human capital potential. To achieve
higher sustainable growth and more innovation, and take full advantage
of the skills and talent available in Europe, business and the education
sector need to open up to the world and to each other.
About the European Alliance for Apprenticeships:
The
Alliance brings together public authorities, chambers of commerce,
industry and crafts, businesses, social partners, education and training
providers, regions, youth and non-profit organisations, think tanks and
research institutes in order to promote apprenticeship schemes and
initiatives across Europe.
Last June, more than forty companies and other organisations joined the Alliance and committed to providing a total of 140,000 apprenticeships and training to young people.
About the Summit:
The Enterprise 2020 Summit is the latest step in a series of initiatives launched last June in Milan as part of the Enterprise 2020 Manifesto.
The
Manifesto called on businesses and governments to work together and
take action on three strategic priorities during the next five years:
- Make employability and inclusion a priority across boards, management and value chains;
- Stimulate companies to engage as committed partners with communities, cities and regions to develop and implement new sustainable production methods, consumption and livelihoods;
- Place transparency and respect for human rights at the heart of business conduct.
