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Description
Investments in the green economy are going to be the key driver of post-pandemic recovery and are set to radically change our economy and society. To ensure that such transformation is inclusive and sustainable, policymakers shall be able to deploy new solutions to increase participation at all levels, particularly among the most vulnerable.
INTERCEPT project aims to unleash the potential of 300 youths aged 25-29 in Italy, Malta and Lithuania who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs) by analysing their needs and developing as well as evaluating an innovative pilot scheme that will facilitate their integration within the green labour market. The initial research phase of the project denotes that in 2020, 18.6% of youths aged 25-29 in Europe were NEETs and it transpires that the cohort in south Italy and Malta is typically composed of females with lower secondary education and limited job experience. In comparison, the NEETs cohort in Lithuania appears to hold a secondary level of education and originates from smaller municipalities or rural areas. Upskilling activities emerged amongst the best practices to support NEETs and this led to the deployment of a survey amongst employers and related stakeholders to ensure consistency between labour force competencies and demand in the green economy. Results have further contributed to the creation of a training programme for youths which will be launched together with a three-month work exposure opportunity. The scheme will equip NEETs with training and work exposure opportunities based on research about the specifics of the target group as well as the meta-analysis of previously implemented active labour market policy (ALMP) practices. At the end of the intervention, the INTERCEPT project expects to gainfully employ 80 youths and further evaluate the schemes to develop policy recommendations for the European Institutions.