- The Foundation wants to highlight Spain’s low utilization of the European Social Fund (ESF), one of the main financial instruments of the EU to support employment, social inclusion, and education.
- Finnova reiterates its commitment to the training of young people and their inclusion in the labor market.
12/08/2024, Brussels. Finnova Foundation celebrates International Youth Day today, August 12th, by highlighting Spain’s poor performance in utilizing the European Social Found, one of the EU’s main financial instruments for supporting employment, social inclusion, and education. For the 2014-2020 budget period, the state has not accounted for 33% of the allocated funds: of the €16.226 billion granted to Spain, our country has only justified €10.920 billion.
On International Youth Day, the Finnova Foundation emphasizes the importance and necessity of allocating all these funds to facilitate young people’s access to the labor market. The European Social Fund finances projects that promote education and training to enhance skills and ease the transition into the labor market, such as the Youth Guarantee (Garantía Juvenil), which ensures that young people receive an offer of employment, continued education, apprenticeship training, or an internship within a certain period after leaving formal education or becoming unemployed.
Source: European Commission
Leading in Youth Unemployment
The data on the absorption of the ESF is even more alarming considering that Spain tops the list for youth unemployment in the EU. According to Eurostat data from June 2024, 25.9% of those under 25 are unemployed, a figure that is double the average rates in the Eurozone and the European Union, which were around 14%.
European Programs and Policies to Improve Youth Opportunities
The European Union plays a crucial role in the lives of young people by offering a variety of programs and policies aimed at enhancing their opportunities and well-being. Erasmus+, one of the most well-known programs, allows young people to study, train, gain work experience, and volunteer abroad. The goal is to improve young people’s skills and employability. In terms of employment and training, Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) ocuses on regions with youth unemployment rates above 25%. It funds projects that provide young people with opportunities for employment, education, and training. The EU also supports young entrepreneurs, particularly in the tech sector, by providing funding, training, and access to networks through Startup and Tech Entrepreneurship Initiatives.
Juanma Revuelta, recipient of the European Union’s Erasmus Award, encourages the use of the European Social Fund (ESF) to finance professional mobility abroad within the framework of programs such as Eurodyssey, a youth exchange initiative promoted by the Assembly of European Regions (AER). Launched in 1985, the program aims to provide young Europeans with opportunities to undertake professional internships abroad, thereby enhancing their employability and fostering cultural exchange. “Only three autonomous communities in Spain (Valencia, Catalonia, and Murcia) make use of this program,” Revuelta points out.
Finnova and its Commitment to Young Talent
Finnova is dedicated to promoting young talent, having trained over 600 young people at its offices in Brussels and Spain, with the aim of addressing the shortage of professionals in European affairs. The foundation has more than 50 collaboration agreements with various European entities for hosting young talents. In 2022, collaboration agreements were signed with 36 universities, mostly from Spain but also from countries like Belgium and Italy. The foundation hosted 57 university students and 7 vocational training students from 8 countries (Belgium, USA, Italy, Portugal, Brazil, France, Gambia, and Spain) to carry out their curricular or extracurricular internships.
The Foundation recognizes the importance of investing in young people, providing them with a first job opportunity that allows them to begin their professional journey while also developing the skills they acquired during their studies. To achieve this, it works closely with various mobility programs promoted by regional and autonomous governments. An example of this is the GENIUS program by the Diputación de Tarragona, a project that enhances the employability of unemployed individuals with university degrees or Advanced Vocational Training through professional internships abroad.
The TALENTIUM program by the Diputación de Jaén is developed by the Provincial Council of Jaén as part of the Employment and Business Plan for the Province of Jaén. It offers 27 scholarships that involve internships at public or private entities in Brussels, tailored to the individual training paths and preferences of the young participants. The scholarship provides a first professional contact with the European Union and aims to equip young people with skills they can bring back to Jaén to contribute to territorial development.
The Catalan Program Talent Factory provides opportunities and training for young people. It offers European training placements in Brussels for Spanish youth residing in EU countries who are under 30 years old, as well as for entrepreneurs of any age. Lasting between three and seven months, this initiative aims to professionalize candidates in European policy, communication, and legislation, focusing on areas such as tourism, energy efficiency, sustainability, and management of cooperation affairs.
‘Logro-Europa’ is an Erasmus+ project developed by Finnova and promoted by the City Council of Logroño in collaboration with the educational institutions IES Comercio, IES Batalla de Clavijo, IES La Laboral, IES Duques de Nájera, Paula Montal, Sagrado Corazón Jesuitas, and the Integrated Public Center for Distance Vocational Training of La Rioja. The project offers final-year students and recent graduates the opportunity to undertake high-quality internships at organizations in European Union countries
The Finnova Foundation also collaborates with national entities such as the National Youth Guarantee System, which, through the Chambers of Commerce and the PICE Mobility Plan Program, offers opportunities for stays abroad. Additionally, the Finnova Foundation hosts entrepreneurs through the Erasmus+ Young Entrepreneurs program, a transnational exchange initiative that provides novice entrepreneurs and individuals looking to start a business with the chance to learn from experienced entrepreneurs managing small businesses in other participating countries. Finally, Finnova also offers employment opportunities through theNextTalentGeneration platform, which specializes in finding European training internships.
Finnova also offers online courses through the “EU TRAINING PLATFORM”, where it provides training on European institutions and project financing tools within and outside the European Union. These courses have a market value of €400 but are offered at no cost to those who meet the requirements of being registered in the National Youth Guarantee System, being students, or being unemployed. In 2022, 1,376 students registered, and 1,422 enrollments were recorded across various courses. The learning methodology combines interactive games, tutorials, and constant support throughout the training. Upon completion, participants have the option to receive an official certificate issued by Finnova. Currently, courses focused on the European funds for 2021-2027 and the LIFE program for environmental funding are available, with upcoming courses on funds for circular economy, start-ups, social fields, and EU communication.
Finnova, partner in Erasmus+ Projects
EDUDEMOS is a new European project focused on sustainability and digitalization in vocational training. Led by the Technik macht Spaß – Gerda Stetter Stiftung foundation in cooperation with FINNOVA, the Sergio Alonso Foundation, IES EL RINCÓN, and GBS St.Gallen, the project has received €250,000 in funding and will run for 21 months. The project aims to enhance the digital skills of young Europeans to contribute to the fight against climate change and environmental protection. To achieve this, it seeks to provide sufficient knowledge and educational resources for students at participating educational institutions to develop sustainable models and projects, such as small wind turbines and systems capable of collecting solar energy and water. Once these models are developed, all information will be compiled into three distinct guides detailing the step-by-step development process, making it easier for other educational institutions to replicate the sustainable models and contribute to their proliferation.
Manufacturing 4 All e is a project led by the City Council of Onil, in partnership with the Italian MESTIERI LOMBARDIA Consorzio di cooperative sociali S.C.S., the Norwegian FunkWeb Suksess for alle, and our Foundation. Its goal is to create an educational and training model for unemployed young people to contribute to the municipal transformation towards a more digitalized business environment and foster greater entrepreneurial spirit among citizens. With a budget of €60,000 funded by the Erasmus+ program, this European project will encourage the involvement of unemployed youth and existing industries in the project’s implementation regions through an educational, digital, and entrepreneurial transformation process. The ultimate aim is to find innovative solutions to a common problem in many Southern European regions: industrial recession, youth migration to large cities, and consequently, the negative demographic growth of certain areas.
BETTEREU aims to bring the European Union closer to young people in Bétera; OPORTUNITATS-UE focuses on opportunities and participation for the youth of Bétera at the local, national, and European levels; and MOV-EU is a youth movement in Alfafar promoting empowerment in democratic participation in Europe. These are other examples of projects that encourage youth engagement in European affairs.
The EDGE Project, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Network focused on the employability of researchers and doctoral graduates, is led by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) in Spain and involves various partner organizations, including Finnova. The project’s main focus is on enhancing the employability of researchers and doctoral graduates. As a partner entity, Finnova will oversee, host, and provide training to research staff at its facilities.
Additionally, the foundation has been involved in other projects such as DESTINE, an initiative aimed at promoting online vocational training that supports diversity, inclusion, and tolerance, and YOU&EU, which aimed to engage young people in European affairs.