BRUSSELS – On May 23-24, officials from the Western Balkans, Turkey and partners under the Eastern Partnership will learn about Member States best practice in supporting youth employment and entrepreneurship. The gathering marks the twentieth anniversary of European Commission’s institution building instrument, TAIEX, and brings together former and current beneficiaries, matching supply and demand in technical assistance.
Ambassador Ingrid Brocková, Director General for Economic Cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic will open the seminar together with Dušan Chrenek, Head of the European Commission Representation in Slovakia. Skills development for young people, needs of the labour market as well as initiatives supporting youth entrepreneurship will be at the centre of the discussions.
For the EU, rooting out youth unemployment and creating job and entrepreneurship opportunities are top priorities. Young people entering the job market are often the first hit by economic crisis, recession or stagnation. Therefore a series of initiatives has been put in place to tackle this issue and to provide youth with the necessary tools to build their professional life.
TAIEX is the European Commission’s Technical Assistance and Information Exchange instrument. Its aim is to provide candidates and potential candidates for EU membership, and the EU’s eastern and southern neighbours, with technical know-how and legislative expertise. TAIEX organises workshops, expert missions or study visits so that experts from the EU Member States’ public administrations can pass on tailor-made expertise to address short-term institutional or capacity-building needs.