An international conference was held in Vienna on Thursday 9 June to discuss the training and labour market challenges that young people face in the Danube region in the context of the war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
The 10th International Stakeholder Conference of Priority Area 9 (PA9) “People and Skills” of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) took stock of existing initiatives and developments at EU and macro-regional levels, and discussed how empowering young people through education and training, as well as labour market policies in times of crisis, can contribute to a more dynamic Danube region. A publication on Ten Years of Investing in People and Skills in the Danube Region, including an ETF article, was launched at the meeting, and will become available shortly. The event was hosted by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour and the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research.
The European Union has designated 2022 as the European Year of Youth, highlighting the role of young people for the future of Europe. The EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) covers key areas that affect the lives of young people: education, training, the labour market and inclusion. The labour market actions of PA9 include cooperation, innovation and digitalisation of the labour market in the Danube region, as well as the integration of vulnerable groups, the fight against poverty and inclusion for all.
The impact of COVID-19
Dr Mario Steiner of the Institute for Advanced Studies Vienna gave the keynote speech: “Impact of the Pandemic on Education, Employment and Equity – Making Sure Young People Are Not Left Behind”.
Steiner related the results of surveys on the impact of lockdowns on learning competencies, with teachers particularly concerned. “There is a learning loss of about 40% of the normal school year’s progress pupils would have made if schools had not been locked down,” he said.
The impact is expected to have consequences on the transition to work. Of concern is that the pandemic reversed trends in early school leaving, as prior to 2020, early school leaving had decreased in two-thirds of all countries in the Danube Region.
Due to the pandemic, the survey found that males were more likely to leave school, as were non-EU citizens, having early school leaving rates of around 27-28%, compared to EU nationals of 8%. The number of 15 to 29 year-old NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) also rose during the pandemic, to 12-13% for EU nationals, and 27-28% for non-EU citizens. In the Danube region, the NEET rate had dropped to 14% in 2020, but has since risen.
“We need interventions targeted at the education system. On one side, short term measures, and at the other, a far looking strategy to ensure the resilience of the education system,” said Steiner.
The Ukrainian crisis
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused significant disruption to the country’s education system, said Oleksandra Husak, Priority Area Coordinator, Ministry of Education and Science, Ukraine.
“Almost 2,000 education institutions have been damaged by bombing and shelling, with around 200 completely destroyed. Some 600,000 school students and 25,000 school teachers are temporarily residing in the EU,” she said. “We need changes in approaches to defining what professions will be more up-to-date in war time and in the post-war period – construction, agriculture, pedagogic specialties, IT. Investment in human capital is key. We are piloting methodological approaches for these needs in different spheres of the economy, and what is important is continuity” she said.
The majority of Ukrainian refugees are in neighbouring countries. Maryna Tverdostup of the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, noted that the majority were 18 to 25 year old women with children. She that while the refugees’ formal educational levels were “substantially higher” than the EU average, labour participation of young Ukrainian women in the Danube Region was very low.
Tverdostup highlighted Slovakia, where 6,000 people had found a job as of May, but despite 20% having a university degree only 4% had a job that required that level of education.
She said that was a pressing need to provide accessible and affordable childcare to enable young Ukrainian mothers to work. “This needs to be quick and un-bureaucratic, and ideally centralised. Educational credentials also need to be recognised,” said Tverdostup.
In the afternoon, four working groups discussed a range of issues: integrating refugees in the labour market and education; promoting green and digital skills and jobs for young people; strengthening skills and empowering young people in the COVID-19 recovery and beyond; and overcoming marginalisation: Young Roma in times of crisis.
Ulrike Damyanovic, rapporteur from the ETF, highlighted in plenary key messages from the discussion on green and digital skills. “To reach out to young people and truly involve them in the reform process and to foster comprehensive LLL reforms is key, so are relevant, timely and accessible offers for upskilling and re-skilling", she said.
Roma in the Danube
There are an estimated 10 to 12 million Roma in Europe, with around two-thirds in Eastern and Central Europe. Researchers discussed the challenges Roma face in education and labour market participation, with the Danube Transnational Programme involving 15 partners from 10 countries working on Roma.
“The Roma face enormous challenges in social and economic inclusion – high rates of poverty, poor housing, disproportionate health problems and a lack of access to, and poor quality, education,” said Tamara Muhič, RIS Dvorec Rakičan, Murska Sobota, Slovenia, which runs the DREAM ROAD project.
In Slovakia, there are 450,000 inhabitants of Roma origin, with 417,000 living in Roma communities. “More than 10,000 children fail school every year,” said Milisav Milinkovic, EHO, Novi Sad, in Serbia. Only 80% of Roma in Slovakia had enrolled in first grade elementary school that had previously attended preschool, compared to a (national) average of 98%. Only 64% graduate school, compared to 93% (nationwide), while 22% of Roma go to high school versus 89% of the general population.
Vera Messing at the Centre for Social Sciences, Central European University, said that discrimination against Roma in the work place needs to be addressed to lower unemployment rates and bolster labour market participation. “Around 51% are employed. Of that, around 30% are self-employed, which is very common among the excluded, and 20% are in education. Employment is skewered with 39% in the public sector, and only fifth in the private sector. Without access to the private sector, the largest and best paid job segment, the labour market integration of Roma will remain only partial,” she said.
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