Young people not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET): Evidence from Cyprus

Author: Katerina Georgaki, MSc Counselling Psychologist  

Across Europe, there has been increasing concern over the rising number of young people not in employment, education, or training (NEET). NEET status has been found to have negative consequences for individuals, communities, and societies, such as lower well-being, increased social exclusion, and reduced economic development (Rahmani & Groot,2023).  

Since January 2024, the Department of Labour of Cyprus, is implementing, an Outreach Project which entails comprehensive interventions tailored to the challenges faced by NEET youth in Cyprus. The Contracting Authority for the Project is the Department of Labour, and the Contracting Body for the Implementation is the consortium of Insights Market Research (IMR) Ltd and Interhorizon A Ltd. The project operates via national funds and also has the contribution of EU Cohesion Policy Funds 

Community engagement 

This project is an initiative serving both the Department of Labour’s social outreach pillar and broader societal needs. In addition, it includes provision of services for an Operational Unit of Employment Counselors with the aim to:  

• detect NEET youth aged 15-29, (not registered in the Public Services for Unemployed Registry) in the community 
• provide specialised and personalised employment services to them 

The Operational Unit of Employment Counsellors operates in all districts of Cyprus, conducting activities to approach, attract, guide and support NEET youth. The activities expand from city centres to more secluded areas of the districts. They include the counsellors touring in villages and city centres, in places where NEET youth is likely to be located in each district, approaching them and promoting the project’s services. Moreover, the Counsellors utilise structured alliances with stakeholders in communities, like municipal authorities, NGO’s, and counselling centres in order to form collaboration that will allow NEET youth to be informed and engaged to the project’s services.  

Personalised services 

The comprehensive personalised service process for NEET youth, includes conducting a personalised interview, recording the profile of the unemployed, providing professional counseling and guidance to improve their employability through referrals to appropriate training programs, searching for and finding suitable work. One of the tools used by the professionals of the project is the ARISTON psychometric test, which is used to support tasks related to the analysis of personality, occupational and career counselling as well as personal development. 

Results of the first year of implementation 

The project has already been implemented for one year. According to the results, the Operational Unit of Employment Counselors conducted more than 430 promotional activities all over Cyprus, in order to approach and attract NEET youth.  More than 14,800 young people (ages between 15-29 years old) were informed, 814 young people in NEET status where located, 400 young people in NEET status were also supported, with a total of 717 meetings having been held with them. 

As the Project contractor Christina Kokkalou states: “Employment is a fundamental pillar of the economy and social cohesion. For young people, joining the Labour market is not just a matter of survival, but a source of personal satisfaction, development and social integration. However, many young people are facing difficulties due to the lack of work experience, low educational level and long periods of time away from employment,”. 

The provision of services through the Operational Unit of Employment is expected to conclude its operation in August 2025, while there is also the potential of its expansion for another 21 months. The Outreach Project ’s operation so far has been proven beneficial both for the individuals who are served, as well as for the Labour market and society as a whole.