The Hungarian Government considers it a key task to help young people obtain skills sought-after on the labour market as well as work experience and jobs after they have completed their studies, Minister of State for Employment Sándor Czomba said at a press conference held in Rakamaz, at the Hegyalja Festival.

Youth unemployment has been a grave issue for Europe as the low employment and high unemployment rates for the 15-24 years age group are signalling. The latter figure is above 30 percent in eight EU member states, the Minister of State said at the event held at the Festival's “Career Factory”. According to data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), the respective figure for Hungary is 27 percent, which indicator is “somewhat better, but still too high”, Sándor Czomba said.

He explained that the Government intends to provide reasonable chances for young people to have stable jobs over a long-term time horizon via the measures implemented so far and the overhaul of the vocational training, adult education and tertiary education systems. Speaking about the recently launched Road to Your Job scheme, the Minister of State emphasised that young people who opt for a vocational training course but who are unable to advance to higher education due to their family background or lack of resources may receive a grant for up to two years in grades seven and eight of primary school or the first year of a vocational training course.
Depending on scholastic record, the scholarship may range between 10-18 thousand forints per month. Students, who must learn a skill high in demand and also have a student contract, may be allotted subsidies totalling as much as 50-60 thousand forints per month, Sándor Czomba said. The programme, which will be operative from the beginning of July until the end of August and has a budget of HUF 1.5bn, is expected boost student work by supporting the summer employment of full time students aged 16-25 years in four, six or eight hour shifts via  local governments.

Speaking about the details of the programme, Sándor Czomba said that local governments who become involved in this scheme may receive the equivalent of 100 percent of the monthly wage expenditure for the students they employ, up to HUF 100 000 (EUR 345). The fact that more than ten thousand applicants have registered within just a couple of days signals how successful this scheme has become. With the help of the first Job Guarantee Programme the Government launched last year, 7200 young people found a job after having completed their studies between September and December last year, and 4000 of them are still employed, Sándor Czomba said.

Given the success of the scheme, the programme was re-launched as of this March, and as a result, 3500 career-starters aged 15-24 years now have a job, but this number is expected to increase to 7000-8000 by the end of the year. With respect to the Job Protection Action Plan, Sándor Czomba explained at the press conference that 215 thousand young people under the age of 25 years are currently in employment in Hungary, and the Government is safeguarding their jobs through employers’ contribution allowances.

The fact that there are some 8000 new beneficiaries registered in the system indicates that the programme helps the creation of new jobs in addition to preserving existing ones, the Minister of State said.

(Ministry for National Economy)