The Youth Guarantee Support System (YGSS) is a tool for the local government with the purpose of mapping out young people who are nor working or studying (NEET youth) and, if necessary, proactively offering them targeted support, primarily for continuing their education and/or reaching the labour market. Otherwise, it could have serious consequences for the society, such as a strain on the social security system or multiple social or structural issues.
The purpose of this study was to provide an assessment of the relevance, impact, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and sustainability of the implementation of the YGSS. Overall it was found that YGSS is effective and its implementation along with support measures have significantly helped young people enter into the labour market and/or to continue education in Estonia, which is also impacted by labour market measures, networking, individual counselling and proactivity play.
The study shows that the YGSS is relevant in contributing to the participation of non-active youth in the labour market and/or their continued education as it increases the probability of reaching the youth in need of assistance, enables proactive supporting of the young individual and provides, as a case management model, guidelines for supporting the young individual, taking their individual needs and opportunities into account. Considering the multitude of services and opportunities aimed at young people, it is also relevant to pay attention to enhanced cooperation with other service providers.
The report indicates several aspects which could allow to achieve the set objective more efficiently and get a better overview of the outcome in the future. For example, only approximately half of the individuals in the list of young people potentially in need of assistance (NEET youth) based on the registries were contacted and contact was achieved with one-fifth of them.
In addition, the study shows that the implementation of the YGSS is not sustainable without support from the Ministry of Social Affairs. Continuous application of the YGSS is supported not only by state financing but also by increased awareness, increased promotion of the efforts of those working with young people and the presence of strong cooperation networks.