Youth employment in rural areas: Thematic Group concludes

Our Thematic Group on Rural Youth Employment: the Voice of Rural Youth met online at the end of last month for their second and final main gathering. Members of the Thematic Group (TG) had also been busy before the meeting sharing their perspectives on problems to solve and related good practices through a Twitter chat and other informal networking.

This TG’s second meeting advanced their first meeting findings and reflected on support programmes and tools that are available at different levels (EU, national, regional, local). The TG also further explored how to help rural youth employment in practice, including identifying functional youth employment support models in order to inform relevant policies​.

Funding opportunities from the CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs) were acknowledged for their potential to help facilitate urgently needed generational renewal among farmers and the wider ageing rural population. Presentations heard positive testimonials from the EU Erasmus Youth Entrepreneurs scheme and a national programme in Sweden funding work placements for school leavers.

Other case studies from the meeting looked at the Spanish Innovation & Talent programme from the Extremadura region, which provides apprenticeship contracts for unemployed people under the age of 30. More transferable opportunities from Spain were showcased involving a private crowdfunding model enhancing youth employment in agri-food supply chains. Finland explained how LEADER Local Action Groups (LAGs) can use a dedicated youth support fund and France shared insights about a local municipality grant support for local businesses employing young people. More information about all these cases is available on the event page presentations section.

Enabling rural youth employment

Reviewing success factors to enable rural youth employment, TG members reiterated the value of well-targeted communication and outreach and the importance of providing training (e.g. on business skills) as well as mentoring. Other valuable elements included the dissemination of best practices, establishing ‘ambassadors’ to promote knowledge and use of support tools, aligning the support to appropriate age groups and the overall need to promote positive aspects of rural life and agriculture. Details from the discussion are collected in Miro boards on the event page.

TG discussions also noted how disadvantaged groups such as young mothers, NEETs (not in education, employment or training) and long-term unemployed residents of regions under pressure from population loss have benefited from practices that fill gaps in the provision of business spaces or that reduce mismatches between skills and jobs. All ways of easing access to land acquisition were welcomed, migrants were recognised as representing a resource, and the need for careful coordination of projects, programmes and policies was again stressed.

Overall findings from the TG are now being collated to help inform relevant policies supporting employment for younger generations in rural Europe and a final output will be published soon on the Thematic Group page.