No one left behind: policies in support of NEETs

On 27 May 2025, the Policy Learning Platform is hosting an online workshop focusing on policies in support of NEETs. 

In 2023, 9.5% of young people (18–24) in the EU left education or training early, meaning they had completed at most lower secondary education and were not enrolled in further learning (Eurostat, May 2024). Tracking this group is important because early school leavers often face difficulties entering the job market.

As education plays a growing role in hiring decisions, leaving school too soon can have long-term effects on individuals and society.

Among early leavers in 2023, 47.4% were employed, 30.5% were unemployed but looking for work, and 22.1% were neither working nor seeking employment (Eurostat, May 2024).

At the same time, 11.2% of young people (15–29) in the EU were NEETs—neither in employment, education, nor training (Eurostat, May 2024). The rate was highest among those with lower education (12.9%), compared to 11.6% for those with a medium level of education and 7.8% for those with higher education.

Supporting young people in transitioning from education to work is crucial, as being disconnected from both can have long-term negative consequences for individuals and society (Eurostat, May 2024).

The event aims at looking into two main elements: 

1. presenting different national and regional initiatives for preventing and reducing early school leaving (dropouts), both form a strategic and pragmatic point of view 

2. presenting different successful approaches to tackle the reintegration of NEETS to either work or education as experienced by members of the Interreg Europe community. 

Agenda

Please note that this is an interactive e-workshop, and we highly encourage your active participation!

To get the most out of the session, we recommend having your microphone and camera on during Q&A sessions and working groups, allowing for better engagement and exchange with speakers and fellow participants.

13:00 Welcome and introduction
Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform Team

13h15 Session 1: Preventing early school leaving

Keynote speech

• Completed Education 2013 – 2024 initiative: Reducing early school leaving with a multi-level governance approach 
  Gunnar Anderzon, Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions  

Interreg Europe good practices in the spotlight 

• Early Leaving from Education and Training (ELET) – The Way Forward 2023-2030 strategy 
  Dr. Pamela Marie Spirelli, Jobsplus, Malta, atWork4NEETs project, Malta  

• Anlehre und Anlehre+ Vocational integration through support in dual training 
  Chantal Fijalkowski, ZAWM, Belgium 

          Q&A session 

          Joint work – Co-creation of policy recommendations 

14h40 Coffee Break

15h00 Session 2: Reintegrating NEETs to the labour market 

Keynote speech

• The Youth Guidance Centres model 
  Anders Bergström, Norden Association, Sweden 

Interreg Europe good practices in the spotlight 

• Profiling of NEETS participating in the PLYA project 
  Jana Rožac, Employment Service of Slovenia, atWork4NEETs project, Slovenia 

• Trokut Šibenik’s NEET Academy 
  Diana Mudrinić, Trokut Šibenik incubator for new technologies, Croatia 

       Q&A session 

       Joint work – Co-creation of policy recommendations 

16h20  Wrap-up and close

16h30- End of online event

16h30 -17h00
Online expert helpdesk 

From 16h30 to 17h00 CEST, the experts for a more Social Europe are available to discuss specific needs and policy challenges during a 10-minute online policy helpdesk meeting. You can indicate your interest and topic of discussion in the registration form below. 

Registration

To access the registration form, please login or create an Interreg Europe community account.