The IQ-Net group of European managing authorities and implementing bodies from 13 countries met this week for the 35th IQ-Net conference in Stirlingshire, Scotland, on 2-4 December 2013. The conference was hosted by the Scottish Government and chaired by John Bachtler of EPRC.
Opened by Shane Rankin, Head of the European Structural Funds Division in Scotland, the main focus of the conference was on the role of Cohesion policy in combating youth unemployment. This issue is currently a top priority for the European Commission and many European governments, with youth unemployment rates exceeding 70 percent in some countries. The EU financial allocations to Member States include ring-fenced funding for a Youth Employment Initiative for countries/regions suffering from higher rates of youth unemployment, and several other measures are being promoted notably through the European Social Fund.
Discussions were supported by an IQ-Net research paper prepared by Sara Davies and Stephen Miller of EPRC, which looked at how Structural Funds can be used to tackle youth unemployment. A conference presentation was also given by Teresa Regio of the European Commission's DG for Employment and Social Affairs, highlighting the role of the ESF and the new Youth Employment Initiative.
Conference discussions also covered the preparations of IQ-Net partners for the 2014-20 programme period, supported by presentations by Heidi Vironen and Rona Michie of EPRC, which reviewed the current state-of-play of programming Partnership Agreements and Operational Programmes. This demonstrated some concern among IQ-Net authorities at the Commission's interpretation of the new regulatory requirements and apparent inconsistencies in the advice being given to Member States.
Finally, Frederike Gross, IQ-Net Network Manager, provided an overview of future network developments for the next phase of IQ-Net starting in 2014. Following the Conference debate, the IQ-Net group undertook a study visit to see examples of youth employment initiatives in Scotland.
The first of these were employability initiatives run by Falkirk Council which include support to people considering business start-ups and measures to increase the employability of young people. The group also had a meeting with the Princes Trust in Edinburgh, where it heard a series of inspiring personal stories by young people helped by the Trust as well as presentations by Trust mentors and employers working with the Trust. The meeting with the Trust also included a keynote question-and-answer session with the Scottish Government Minister for Youth Employment, Angela Constance MSP, said to be Europe's only dedicated youth employment minister.