Youth Integration and Employment in Spain
Youth Policies in Spain
The Council of Youth
Created in 1983, the Council of Youth is a public law entity with legal personality. Its aim is to provide a channel to promote youth participation in the political, social, economic, and cultural development of Spain.
Members include:
- Youth associations or federations with a presence in at least 15 provinces or with at least 5,000 members.
- Youth branches of other associations (including political ones) that meet certain requirements.
- Youth associations serving young people.
- Youth councils in the Autonomous Communities.
Among its functions are:
- Working with the Administration to produce studies and reports on youth issues.
- Participating in advisory bodies of the State Administration on youth.
- Promoting youth associations.
- Supporting relations between youth organizations of the different Autonomous Communities.
- Proposing measures relating to youth to the government.
The Global Action Plan on Youth
This is the most current plan, resulting from collaboration between government bodies involved in youth-related issues. It emphasizes the need to address the welfare of young people from a holistic perspective that includes several policy areas. It has two key objectives:
- Foster the conditions that allow for autonomy, empowerment, and welfare of young people. This includes employability measures, access to housing, education programs for health, and healthy alternatives for leisure and recreation.
- Promote the values of solidarity and tolerance among youth. This includes support for disadvantaged groups, prevention of racism and violence, volunteering, cooperation, and other measures conducive to active participation in society.
To achieve these objectives, the Plan provides 27 measures and more than 200 specific actions.
Training and Employment
The plan focuses on new technologies, environment, and rural development. It also incentivizes labor supply and the quality of employment through:
- Contracts for training.
- Probationary permanent contracts for young workers under 30.
- Incorporating doctors into business research and development.
Health Education
Promoting healthy lifestyles and eliminating risk factors are key. This includes:
- Prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.
- Strengthening action towards social drugs through the Framework Program of prevention of smoking and alcohol consumption in young people.
- Attention to new consumer habits and pathologies associated with consumption of games and eating disorders.
Housing, Leisure, and Inclusion
The plan aims to:
- Improve access to housing assistance through acquisition and new forms of intergenerational or seasonal rental housing for students.
- Diversify the range of leisure and free time, along with the extension and improvement of the quality of cultural and sports infrastructure.
- Promote voluntary activity.
- Promote equal opportunities between young people with a particular emphasis on the prevention of exclusion and inclusion.
- Provide attention to groups with special situations, such as immigrants, migrants, and youth in prison.
- Implement innovative actions and credit programs for college students.
- Provide training for youth mediators and training in equal opportunities.
Resources include Youth Centers, day centers, occupational workshops, and more.
Employment Policy Priorities
A key priority is the fight against youth unemployment, as reflected in the Emergency Measures Act for Employment Promotion and successive plans. Measures have focused on supporting recruitment and self-employment, as well as developing training initiatives, especially in local areas.
Actions for the Promotion of Youth Integration and Labor
Measures to Promote Youth Employment: Recruitment Aid and Self-Employment
Various measures have been developed to promote the recruitment of young people, including:
- Economic incentives for job stability (permanent contracts).
- Specific forms of engagement to provide a first experience in the workplace.
Training Contract
Aimed at young people aged 16 to 21, it provides the theoretical and practical training necessary for skilled jobs.
Probationary Contract
Intended to facilitate professional experience for young people with university degrees, vocational training, or higher-level diplomas. It must be held within four years of completing studies.
Self-Employment Support
Measures are in place to support self-employment under different legal forms, including the formation of cooperatives, regulated by the Cooperatives Act.
the Cooperatives Act.