STYLE Strategic Transitions for Youth Labour in Europe

Strategic Transitions for Youth Labour in Europe (STYLE) is a large-scale research project funded by the European Commission with a €5 million award through the Seventh Framework Programme. Professor Jackie O’Reilly is coordinating the project involving collaboration between 25 research partners, an international advisory network and local advisory boards of employers, unions, policy makers and NGOS from 19 European countries.

Research aims to examine the obstacles and opportunities affecting youth employment in Europe. Visit the STYLE project website for more information.

@StyleEU

Project timeframe

This research project commenced in March 2014 and will continue until September 2017.

Project objectives

The aim of this project is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the causes of very high unemployment among young people and to assess the effectiveness of labour market policies designed to mitigate this phenomenon. This aim will be achieved through 10 objectives organised around 12 research, dissemination and management work packages:

To achieve a critical mass of resources in collaboration with stakeholder communities (WP2)
To provide a critical evaluation of the performance of countries and regions (WP3)
To assess the prospects for policy transfer mechanisms (including those under the European Social Fund) (WP4)
To provide a critical review of the mismatch in supply and demand (WP5)
To examine the consequences of mismatch in terms of labour mobility and migration for young people within the EU (WP6)
To analyse the nature, rate and success of business start-ups and self-employment for young people (WP7)
To examine the cultural context of family organisation and the pathways to enhancing independence (WP8)
To map out the voices of vulnerable young people by identifying their different values and aspirations (WP9)
To analyse the nature and mechanisms of flexicurity regimes and how they contribute to overcoming youth unemployment (WP10)
To advance the knowledge base by publishing an ‘International Handbook on Strategic Transitions for Youth Labour in Europe’ (WP11)

Project findings and impact

The central concept informing this project is based on a policy performance and learning approach to the problems of overcoming youth unemployment for different groups of young people.

Using a comparative framework, that is sensitive to the impact of historical and regional legacies, our analysis enables us to both identify where policies are working and why. It illuminates when and how labour market analysis informs policy formulation, implementation and evaluation.

This requires a multi-disciplinary and internationally comparative perspective. It provides a recent historical analysis accounting for factors prior to, and following on from the recent periods of economic crisis. We are involved in an ongoing process, including a wide range of EU stakeholders, to inform the research and disseminate the results about what works under different institutional conditions.

Findings and impact will be recorded here at the end of the project in 2017. For interim findings and further information, please visit the STYLE website.

MRM-SS-CROME-style

Read the Hard Evidence: how integrated are young EU migrants into the UK workforce? article in The Conversation by Thees F Spreckelsen and Martin Seeleib-Kaiser.

Research team

Professor Jackie O’Reilly

Professor Angie Hart

Dr David Lain

Dr Claire Stubbs

Carolina Zuccotti

Project management team

John Clinton

Alison Gray

Chris Matthews

Rosie Mulgrue

Vivienne Vine

Output

Visit the STYLE website for the latest outputs, including policy briefs, working papers, publications, press reports, videos and news.

Partners

Research organisations

Institute for Employment Studies, United Kingdom

Institute for the Study of Labor, Germany

Centre for European Policy Studies, Belgium

TARKI Social Research Institute, Hungary

University of Trento, Italy

National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland

Democritus University of Thrace, Greece

University of Oxford, United Kingdom

Economic and Social Research Institute, Ireland

University of Salerno, Italy

University of Oviedo, Spain

University of Tartu, Estonia

Cracow University of Economics, Poland

Slovak Governance Institute, Slovakia

Metropolitan University Prague, Czech Republic

Grenoble School of Management, France

University of Tilburg, Netherlands

University of Graz, Austria

Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

Norwegian Social Research, Norway

Swedish Institute for Social Research, Sweden

Koç University Social Policy Center, Turkey

University of Turin, Italy

EurActiv, Belgium

Project advisers

Consortium Advisory Network (CAN)

Business Europe

EurActiv

European Youth Forum

International Labour Organization ILO

European Trade Union Institute (ETUI)

SOLIDAR

OECD: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

Ose

Eurofound

DG-EMPL

Local Advisory Boards (LABS)

Employers, government agencies, NGOs and unions

Chartered Institute for Personnel Development (CIPD) HR Employer

Unison, UK

Tomorrow’s People, UK

Young Fabians’ Policy Commission on Youth Unemployment, UK

North London Citizens, UK

Brighton & Hove Economic Partnership, UK

National Economic and Social Council, Ireland

Tecsupport, Ireland

ServeCentric, Ireland

mykidstime.ie & the Ahain Group, Ireland

Institut De Travail GSEE, Greece

Komotini Muniiicipality, Greece

ARSIS (NGO for the Support of Youth), Greece

Confindustria, Italy

Agenzie per il Lavoro e L’Istruzione (ARLAS), Italy

Centri per L’impiego e Pari Opportunità Salerno, Italy

Impresa Sociale Ouverture (NGO), Italy

GiOC – Gioventù Operaia Cristiana (NGO), Italy

Ufficio Pio, Italy

FLC-CGIL (trade union), Italy

CCOO (trade union) of Asturias, Spain

FADE (employers’ association), Spain

UGT (trade union) of Asturias, Spain

Public Employment Service of Asturias, Spain

Association of Young Entrepreneurs of Asturias, Spain

Instituto de Formacion y estudios Sociales (IFES), Spain

European Economic and Social Committee, France

Association Française des Managers de la Diversité, France

Cologne Institute for Economic Research, Germany

DGB (German Trade Union Federation), Germany

Budapest Chance Nonprofit (NGO) for job-seekers, Hungary

JÓL-LÉT (NGO), Hungary

Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund, Estonia

Employers Union of Małopolska, Poland

Stowarzyszenie Nasza Inicjatywa NGO, Poland

Profesia (online job portal), Slovakia

Central European Labour Studies Institute, Slovakia

Research Institute for Labour and Social Affairs, Czech Republic

Czech National Disability Council, Czech Republic

Educa International, Czech Republic

Labour Office of the Czech Republic, Czech Republic

Vakcollege Groep, Netherlands

Vocational education Labour market, Netherlands

FNV (trade union), Netherlands

Tilburg Law School, Tilburg University, Netherlands

AK Steiermark (Employers’ association), Austria

Labour market office Steiermark, Austria

LO (TU Confederation), Denmark

DA (Confederation of Danish Employers), Denmark

Center for ungdomsforsning Institut for Education, Denmark

Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), Norway

Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO), Norway

Swedish Ministry of Finance, Sweden

Education Reform Initiative (think-tank), Turkey

Mayısta Yasam Education Cooperative, Turkey