Informal EPSCO Council, Luxembourg

While signs show a slight fall in the youth unemployment level, fact is that around 4.5 million young people are still unemployed, BusinessEurope commented. One solution is to put in place the conditions fostering cost-effective engagement of employers in apprenticeship schemes and initiate a cultural change to give a positive image of them to companies, young people and society at large. Facilitating women’s access to work is another challenge in Europe and should be viewed as a key driver of growth. In addition, more should be done to address gender segregation on labour markets.