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Cyprus

Strategies for youth employment

Strategies for youth employment
Yes

Youth employment strategy planned in the next 2 years

Discussions within the government
Yes
Consultations with national-level stakeholders (e.g. employers’ and workers’ associations, youth councils, etc.)
Yes
A draft strategy already exists
No
Other (please specify)
No

Countries with national action plans for youth employment

Monitoring framework (timeline and activity/outcome indicators, e.g. youth labour market indicators)
Yes
Funding (indicative budget to implement the plan)
Yes
Institutional responsibilities (e.g. ministries/agencies in charge of specific planned activities )
Yes
Other, specify
No

Public funding for the national youth employment strategy

Public funding for the national youth employment strategy
Yes

Additional information:
- Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance - Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth - Human Resource Development Authority - Directorate General Growth, Ministry of Finance - RRF

Youth in the national development / employment strategy

Youth in the national development / employment strategy
Yes

Additional information:
- Cyprus National Reform Programme 2022 - Strategic Plan of the Department of Labour 2023-2025 - National Youth Strategy 2017-2022 of the Youth Board of Cyprus - National Action Plan for Youth Employment in Cyprus 2014

Countries with national goals for youth employment

Countries with national goals for youth employment
Yes

Additional information:
- By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value (European Commission). - By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training (European Commission). - The Human Resource Development Authority of Cyprus (HRDA), on the basis of its legal framework and Strategic Plan, implements a wide range of activities for the training and development of the human resources of Cyprus, providing employees and the unemployed with the opportunity of acquiring new or upgrading existing knowledge and skills. -The integration of the unemployed and inactive into employment, with particular attention to groups which are at risk of exclusion from the labour market such as young people, through the implementation of the Strategic Plan of the Department of Labour of 2023-2025. - The National Reform Program (NRP) 2022 has the goal 3.6. focused on " Addressing labour market, education and skills, and social challenges" and more specifically, "3.6.1 Taking measures to tackle youth unemployment and the high rate of young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs)"

Countries with quantitative targets for youth employment

Countries with quantitative targets for youth employment
Yes

Additional information:
The Cyprus Public Employment Service (PES) has set a yearly target of 15% of young registered unemployed aged 15-29 to participate in individualised counselling and support and a yearly target of 5% of the same group to be placed in a job. - The four mobile units of PES have the target to approach and provide individualised guidance and support to 2400 NEETs until June 2026. - The Labour Department provides support to employers to hire young people (aged 15-29) NEETs (target: 600 NEETs), for a 12 month period, following the completion of a two-month subsidised training period (2 months subsidised training and 10-month subsidised employment) by Q4 2025.Also the Labour Department provided support to employers to hire 2,295 young unemployed people aged 15-29 NEETs for a 12 month period through an Employment Subsidy Scheme which is running during the period 2020-2023. - The HRDA has submitted for inclusion in the Cyprus Operational Programme «THALIA 2021-2027», under the European Social Fund+, the Scheme «Training programmes for young people aged 15-29 not in education, employment or training (ΝΕΕΤs) to acquire basic knowledge and skills», which has been approved and it is currently in the designing phase. The acquisition of basic knowledge and skills (for example literacy, math skills, digital and technological skills, interpersonal skills, entrepreneurship) will help young people aged 15-29 to enter the labour market. In addition, upgrading existing and acquiring new knowledge and skills will help them exploit the employment opportunities that will arise in dynamic sectors of economic activity, such as the green and blue economy, and will prepare them suitably for the changing nature of work, especially that related to digital transition. The indicative target is for 2.800 NEETs to benefit from the Scheme.

Policy areas in national youth employment strategies

Macroeconomic and Sectoral policies
No
Enterprise Development
Yes
Education, Training and skills development
Yes
Labour Demand
Yes
Labour Law and Legislation
No
Labour Market Policies
Yes
Other (please specify)
No

Social partners' inclusion in the youth employment strategy

Workers
Implementation of youth employment strategies/programmes (e.g. social partners as official implementers of the strategy or programme)
Informed
Assessment of youth employability (alignment of youth qualifications and skills to labour market needs)
Consulted
Monitoring and evaluation of youth employment interventions (e.g. active labour market programmes)
Consulted
Awareness raising, marketing and promotion of youth employment (e.g. campaign to promote youth employment)
Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
Formulation of youth employment strategies (e.g. national action plan for youth)
Consulted
Development of youth employment programmes (e.g. sectoral programme with a clear target to employ X number of youth)
Consulted
Employers
Implementation of youth employment strategies/programmes (e.g. social partners as official implementers of the strategy or programme)
Informed
Assessment of youth employability (alignment of youth qualifications and skills to labour market needs)
Consulted
Monitoring and evaluation of youth employment interventions (e.g. active labour market programmes)
Consulted
Awareness raising, marketing and promotion of youth employment (e.g. campaign to promote youth employment)
Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
Formulation of youth employment strategies (e.g. national action plan for youth)
Consulted
Development of youth employment programmes (e.g. sectoral programme with a clear target to employ X number of youth)
Consulted

Youth-led organizatios' inclusion in the national strategy

Fully involved
No
Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
Yes
Consulted
No
Informed
No
Not involved
No

Countries with national partnerships for youth employment

Countries with national partnerships for youth employment
Yes

Additional information:
2023: Consultation and cooperation with local authorirites for the mapping and outreach of NEETs through the technical tripartite committee at local and central levels. ___________________-- 2022: Technical committees were drawn up in all regions with members from the social partners, local authorities, other departments of the Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Human Resource Development Authority and the Youth Board. The purpose of the committees was the sharing of information and knowledge concerning ways to reach and activate young people and to create synergies between the PES and other participant organizations in order to deliver actions for the activation of young NEETs.

Inclusiveness of vulnerable groups in national strategies

Women
Yes
Migrant Workers
No
NEETs
Yes
People with disabilities
Yes
Low skilled workers
Yes
Rural workers
Yes
Other (please specify)
No

Youth employment strategies and international cooperation

Youth employment strategies and international cooperation
Yes