Uruguay
Strategies for youth employment
- Strategies for youth employment
- Yes
Youth employment strategy planned in the next 2 years
- Discussions within the government
- No
- Consultations with national-level stakeholders (e.g. employers’ and workers’ associations, youth councils, etc.)
- No
- 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)
- No
- 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:
Funding from the National Institute of Employment and Vocational Training (INEFOP) and the Social Security Bank (BPS).Youth in the national development / employment strategy
- Youth in the national development / employment strategy
- Yes
Additional information:
Uruguay includes youth as a target group in its adopted National Employment Policy and related legal and policy instruments. • Law No. 19.973 on Employment Promotion includes provisions that specifically incentivise the hiring of young people. These measures aim to support access to employment for groups facing greater barriers in the labour market, including youth. • Youth are also recognised as a priority group in the Youth Employment Act and the Promotion of Youth Entrepreneurship Act, both of which aim to create better employment and self-employment opportunities for young people. • The “I Study and Work” Programme (Programa Yo Estudio y Trabajo) is another key initiative that facilitates young people's integration into the labour market by offering opportunities to gain work experience while continuing their education.Countries with national goals for youth employment
- Countries with national goals for youth employment
- Yes
Additional information:
Uruguay has national measures in place to promote youth employment, including specific programmes and legal frameworks that target young people. Under Law No. 19.973 on Employment Promotion, the "Youth modality" (Modalidad Jóvenes) has been actively used to increase youth employment placements, although no specific percentage target has been set. The number of young people placed in jobs under this scheme has grown significantly in recent years: • 2021: 923 insertions • 2022: 3,610 insertions • 2023: 3,525 insertions Additionally, the "I Study and Work" Programme (Programa Yo Estudio y Trabajo), which operates in the public sector, provides job opportunities for young people who are also continuing their education. The number of participants employed each year is as follows: • 2020: 535 • 2021: 700 • 2022: 622 • 2023: 668Countries with quantitative targets for youth employment
- Countries with quantitative targets for youth employment
- Yes
Additional information:
Under the framework of Law No. 19.973, several youth-specific employment modalities have been established, which aim to promote the labour market integration of young people. These include: • First work experience • First work experience in the public sector (which includes the "I Study and Work" Programme) • Protected youth employment • Temporary subsidy for unemployed youth • Paid formative internships In all these cases, employers receive financial subsidies for hiring young people under these modalities. In addition, the law also covers unpaid formative internships and work placements for recent graduates, further supporting the transition of young people into the labour market.Policy areas in national youth employment strategies
- Macroeconomic and Sectoral policies
- No
- Enterprise Development
- No
- Education, Training and skills development
- Yes
- Labour Demand
- Yes
- Labour Law and Legislation
- Yes
- Labour Market Policies
- No
- 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)
- No
- Assessment of youth employability (alignment of youth qualifications and skills to labour market needs)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Monitoring and evaluation of youth employment interventions (e.g. active labour market programmes)
- No
- 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)
- No
- Assessment of youth employability (alignment of youth qualifications and skills to labour market needs)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Monitoring and evaluation of youth employment interventions (e.g. active labour market programmes)
- No
- 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)
- No
- Consulted
- No
- Informed
- No
- Not involved
- No
Countries with national partnerships for youth employment
- Countries with national partnerships for youth employment
- Yes
Additional information:
2025: The ‘I Study and Work’ programme is implemented through an inter-institutional agreement between educational institutions and the world of work. At various times, technical assistance and exchanges with the ILO and UNESCO have taken place. For the implementation of Law 19973, there is ongoing coordination with departmental and local commercial and industrial centres. Within the framework of the redesign of public employment services, there is coordination with institutions and organisations that work specifically with young people. ____ 2022: No _____ As of 2019, the Inter-institutional Commission (which elaborates and articulates actions and programmes to promote decent work for young people in coordination with the MTSS) will include the social actors: the most representative organisations of employers and workers (art. 1 Law 19.689, which amends art. 3 Law 19.133).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
Additional information:
2025 Uruguay has received support from the ILO through technical assistance from the Regional Office in Chile and CINTERFOR, as well as through scholarships for officials at the Training Centre in Turin. 2023 ILO-Cinterfor - Financial support for Conversations on the Future of Work