Projects

Nurturing young talent to tackle unemployment

15/10/2012

© JAN

Now more than ever, unemployed young people are vitally in need of support to develop their talents. If they receive this, through a combination of work experience and education, they can find a way out of unemployment.

This was the ethos behind the Jongeren aanpak Noordoost-Brabant or JAN project in Den Bosch, Noordoost-Brabant, Netherlands. JAN saw several municipalities work together to prevent unemployment amongst young people. Based on a strong belief in the importance of nurturing the talent of young people, the project aimed to half the growth rate of youth unemployment by offering unemployed young people under the age of 27 access to education and training. The project also aimed to reduce early school leaving and offered support personnel who could guide young people as they tried to enter the labour market.

A strong testament to the success of the project is the fact that the unemployment rate amongst young people did not increase during the financial and economic crisis in the region of Noordoost-Brabant.

Project manager Karin van Meer notes, “The ESF project helped us to increase cooperation with and between organisations that are actively guiding young people seeking work.”