EU-ILO Youth Guarantee Technical Assistance Facility
What is Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) on the Youth Guarantee in the WB-6?
The EC-ILO Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) on the Youth Guarantee (YG) in the Western Balkans (WB-6) is an instrument designed to provide tailored advice and expertise to all stakeholders involved in the design, implementation, and monitoring of the Youth Guarantee (YG).
This initiative builds on the EC-ILO Joint Action on the Youth Guarantee, whereby the ILO assisted EU Member States in enhancing institutional capacities for the implementation of the youth guarantee, including monitoring. Additionally, starting in 2017, the ILO has been working with the Government of North Macedonia in the implementation of the pilot youth guarantee and its scaling up. A number of tools, knowledge resources, and lessons learned have emerged from these technical assistance packages, which can provide guidance to the WB-6 during the establishment of a youth guarantee.
What does EU-ILO TAF on the youth guarantee provide?
The EU-ILO TAF offers technical support across various key technical domains, including:
- Legislative reviews and amendments to facilitate the establishment of the YG;
- Policy reviews and advice on reforms and policy actions supplementary to the YG;
- Technical reports and guidance tools for enhancing the overall functioning of YG implementation mechanisms;
- Functional assessments, technical guidance, and capacity building of public employment services to effectively deliver YG services;
- Assessment and advice on enhancing performance monitoring and evaluation systems to facilitate YG reporting according to EMCO indicators;
- Analyses and advice on strengthening education and training systems relevant to YG implementation;
- Learning packages to support human resources involved in YG implementation;
- Peer learning events facilitating knowledge exchange among practitioners from the Western Balkans and EU Member States, with technical facilitation by the ILO, to address practical implementation issues.
Why Apply for Support through the EU-ILO TAF on the Youth Guarantee?
- The EU-ILO TAF is demand-driven, responding to specific country needs;
- The EU-ILO TAF leverages the technical competencies and expertise of the ILO and the European Training Foundation (ETF) in areas related to the Youth
- The TAF operates regionally, ensuring that all Western Balkans economies have access to comparable quality services and guidance, promoting culture of coordination and peer learning among them, as well as triangular cooperation involving carefully selected good practices from European Public Employment Services and other institutions.
KEY INFORMATION on funding
The EC-ILO TAF pools multiple sources of funding. In order to start activities in July 2021, seed investments were made available by the ILO. Furthermore, there are ongoing projects, under the administrative responsibility of the ILO, where some resources are pledged against supporting specific countries on their pathway to establishing a youth guarantee. Additional resources will be mobilized as the WB-6 move through the different stages of implementation of the youth guarantee.