INITIATIVES TO COMBAT YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

For many years, the City of Copenhagen has focused on young recipients of cash assistance. This has meant that youth unemployment has fallen drastically through the 1990s. However, despite these good results, there is still need for intensive work for large groups of young people receiving cash assistance.

The City of Copenhagen will enhance initiatives for young recipients of cash assistance who have been receiving benefits for a longer period. These people will be offered actual jobs or a place in ordinary education rather than a long employability enhancement programme.

Partnership with business

The future small generations of young people provide an obvious opportunity for cooperation between a municipality and businesses in order to involve more young people in the labour market. The City of Copenhagen will enter into partnerships with enterprises in Copenhagen in order to ensure jobs and work-experience places for unemployed young people.

Placing young people in the labour market is to be supported by mentor schemes where municipal job consultants are available to solve problems for both enterprises and the young unemployed. The social responsibility of enterprises is increased when the municipality commits itself to intervening in any conflicts and to dealing with the majority of the paperwork.

Immediate employability enhancement programme or rehabilitation

Current initiatives will continue, including through an immediate employability enhancement programme for young people applying for cash assistance. In addition, the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs has allowed The City of Copenhagen to implement a test scheme on rehabilitation of maladjusted young people between 16 and 18 years old. The scheme is based on the "Spearhead" Project, which creates paid or subsidised work for young people under 18 years old. The City of Copenhagen hopes to expand the target group to include young people over the age of 18.

Training/education and job guarantee for young people

Cooperation between the Administrations of Education and Youth and the Family and Labour Market of the city of Copenhagen has created a training/education and job guarantee for all young people under 18 years old. More specifically, all young people from 15 to 17 receive an individual education plan. Cooperation forms a good foundation to support the transition from school to working life, to ensure continuity into training/education and work, and to prevent marginalisation for young people in Copenhagen.