Youth on the move?

The EU is worrying about education

As youth is a priority for the EU, the Commission is proposing to have as an objective to realise a functional strategy for promotion and developement of the youth policies: education and mobility that will increase the competitiveness on the job market. The goal of this strategy is to improve the global performance of European education, strengthen cross national cooperation and student mobility, modernize universities and enhance employment prospects for young people. How to be smart without adult education?

The Youth on the Move initiative also aims at reducing unemployment by means of promoting the mobility of young workers across the EU countries. One criticism the initiative has to face is that it concentrates very much on higher educated people (as pointed out by the European Youth Forum as well), but it should not be looked over that increased mobility also applies for workers without a university degree.

Exchange programmes for adults like Leonardo or Grundtvigof course already exist, and some concerns were already expressed about Youth on the Move replacing these educational programs for adults. http://www.ep-webeditors.eu/2010/03...

The main problem of the 2020 initiative is rather that it does not emphasise the importance of lifelong learning at all, which should be an essential component of a smart and inclusive growth.

Mobility as antidote for unemployment?

Another question is whether the increased mobility of workers is a good solution for reducing unemployment. Unbalanced migration between countries already causes problems as the flow of workers usually takes only one direction. Thus, although the increased mobility of workers is important for gaining professional and personal experience, it is doubtful whether it is the antidote of unemployment in all parts of the EU.

Some measures should also be taken to support the proposals, as offered by the Committee on Culture and Education. This way the initiative of the Youth on the Move may lead to the increased mobility of the workforce and the co-operation of the member states, which is without doubt the way for a smarter and more inclusive Europe.

It looks nice on the paper but it also should be applied on practice. It is not an utopia, all these principles and targets can be reached, but successful implementation should be measured.