Overall, the evaluation has found that EU support in the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) and European Social Fund (ESF) has provided a clear benefit as it has increased the amount of youth employment initiatives and the number and range of young people receiving support. The specific focus on youth employment has raised the profile of youth employment issues across the EU.
Particularly helpful in this regard has been the emphasis on the needs and problems of young people not in employment, education or training (and not just the unemployed), with a greater focus on the disadvantaged and the upper end of the age bracket (from 25 to 30 years old).
The evaluation recommends that future programmes continue to identify and recruit young people not in employment, education or training to youth employment operations. This requires taking a range of innovative approaches, especially as the proportion of low skilled inactive people increases.
