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Youth unemployment becomes major problem in Latvia: Education Minister

Xinhua, February 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

Youth unemployment, which has risen to some 20 percent in Latvia, represents a major problem for Latvia and other countries alike, Latvian Education and Science Minister Marite Seile said here at the Eastern Partnership Youth Forum on Tuesday.

The minister indicated that Latvia's 20 percent youth unemployment rate was quite close to the EU average, but that in some member states as much as half of their young adult population was out of work.

"It definitely is not a good result. The prospect of long-term unemployment after finishing school may leave a serious impact on young people's future careers and professional development," the Latvian minister said at the conference.

Last year, Latvia launched a project in cooperation with local governments, and youth and volunteer organizations, aimed at helping young people who were not studying or working and often not even registered as unemployed find work. The project, which will continue until 2018, includes several initiatives intended to integrate some 5,000 young people into the labour market, Seile said.

The Second Eastern Partnership Youth Forum, which began in Riga on Tuesday, has brought together more than 200 young people, as well as education sector representatives and policy makers from the EU and Eastern Partnership countries. Endit