Youth & Work and Differdange work together to fight youth unemployment

From now on, the municipality of Differdange, the Social Office and Youth & Work are working together to help young people between 16 and 29 years old to find training or work, together with existing organisations.

“Youth & Work supports motivated young people to find their voice. This means finding out what they want and how they can achieve it, have access to good education and employment and become financially independent,” explains Kristina Nincevic, coach and shareholder of Youth & Work.

On site, Vicky Wagner, who has worked in the social sector in Luxembourg for decades, will accompany the young people as a coach. The participation of the young people is voluntary and free of charge.

Vicky Wagner on the approach: “We believe that every young person wants to find his or her own way, even if life is difficult for him or her. We encourage them in this and help them to discover their abilities. We support and encourage them, taking into account all areas of life. So we promise them that we will accompany them until they find a job.”

On average, the youth unemployment rate is currently 18.7%, which is 3 to 4 times higher than the general unemployment rate. Early school leavers, the long-term unemployed and young people in precarious living situations have little chance of getting a job or training place. Two of the most important reasons why young people do not find a job are very low self-esteem and lack of positive role models.

• Young people with a healthy overall condition (especially mental health) are better able to take responsibility for their own lives in the long run.
• Holistic, relationship- and resource-oriented coaching and mentoring achieves measurable changes in young people in the short, medium and long term. Their social and communicative skills, their sense of responsibility and their willingness to work increase significantly. As a result, 80% of the young people can be successfully integrated into the training and job market. After one year, almost 65% of the young people say that their lives have improved significantly.