Growth and Reform Webinar: Young People and Work - Learning from Europe on Devolution
Devolution and what Andy Burnham calls 'rewiring the state' offers new hope in tackling the UK's NEET problem. In this session, the GRN asks what lessons can be learned from the Netherlands and other European countries - where NEET levels are significantly lower than the UK, thanks to decentralised approaches to employment and to welfare.
The recently published 'Young people and work: interim report' states plainly the opportunity and challenges for a local approach to addressing NEETs: 'There is a strong case for local leadership to address the NEET crisis. Labour markets are local. Transport is local. Employer relationships are local. The barriers young people face are strongly shaped by place. But devolution has created partial responsibility without full control'. So, how should we move forward policy and practice to support NEETs in the UK?
Looking across Europe, regional devolution in Denmark acts as a key accelerator in tackling the NEET crisis. Regional Employment Councils are responsible for coordinating between local authorities, employers and trade unions, as well as determining vocational education programmes, and ensuring employment support provided by municipalities aligns with national labour market needs.
In the Netherlands the Work and Social Assistance Act marked the beginning of the devolution of welfare and social assistance from central government to local authorities. Since 2015, Dutch municipalities have held further integrated responsibility for youth unemployment and benefits under the ‘Participatiewet’ (Participation Act), with financial risk-sharing built in: with employment-related social assistance being fiscally decentralised, councils that fail to move young people into work bear more of the resulting benefit cost themselves.
While UK devolution continues, we can’t match these examples yet. So, what lessons can we learn from the Netherlands and Denmark, where NEET levels are significantly lower? And what does this mean when considering options for devolution in the UK?
This webinar will bring together an expert panel including:
Shuab Gamote - Strategic Adviser to National NEET Commission and Co-author of ‘Inside the Mind of a Young NEET’
Dr Lynn van Vugt - Senior Researcher and Research Leader at the Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market at Maastricht University
Dr Charlotte Carpenter - Director of Skills, Inclusion & Public Service Reform at the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority
Ben Lucas (chair) - Executive Chair of the Growth and Reform Network and Founding Director of Metro Dynamics