CESI Youth Board – Promoting youth employment in COVID-19 times

ounger generations are preparing themselves for the second hit of their lives. After alarming levels of youth unemployment provoked by the 2008 financial crisis, these levels are once again skyrocketing, especially in Southern Europe, because of the COVID-19 health and economic crisis. CESI Youth board welcomed the timely reinforced Youth Guarantee, which was the subject of the online conference co-organised with StartNet and the European Youth Forum in July 2020. Nevertheless, these numbers will continue rising if not more is done.

“It is time we think of the people behind the figures: the friends who already lost their jobs, those who might not be able to pay for university, those scarred with the fear of uncertainty. It is of the faces behind the numbers we need to think when adopting new policies”, commented CESI Youth Representative, Matthäus Fandrejewski.

Valentina Viviani, CESI Youth Vice-President, continued “it is not enough to have an employment offer, we need to guarantee quality standards and fight precarious employment, which mostly affects younger generations, as well as ensuring their access to social protection schemes”.

For the upcoming months CESI Youth will continue focus its work on youth employment and quality of opportunities, access to social protection schemes by younger generations and the EU Green Deal. Furthermore, CESI Youth is preparing its motions for the upcoming CESI Congress, whose central theme will be “30 years of commitment. Now more than ever.”

“We have challenging times ahead, but we are committed to continue protecting young workers”, concluded Mätthaus Fandrejewski.