On this page

1. Governance

2. Cross-sectoral cooperation

Governance

The Ministry of Labour, along with its affiliated administration, the National Employment Agency (ADEM; Agence pour le développement de l'emploi) are the main governmental authorities responsible for youth employment. The Ministry is responsible for the development and direction of the employment policy and the general coordination of work. It also drafts the legislation in this domain.

The main role of the National Employment Agency is to register unemployed persons as jobseekers, to serve as a contact point for employees and to organise career guidance for young people under 30 years of age as well as adults. It also advertises job vacancies, assists employers in hiring jobseekers and allocates unemployment benefits.

Additional bodies contribute to the process of defining top-level policies related to youth employment and entrepreneurship:

• The National Youth Service within the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth plays an active role in policy-making in the field of youth employment.
• Entrepreneurship falls into the competence of the Ministry of the Economy (ministère de l'Économie) and its affiliated General Directorate for SMEs and Entrepreneurship, which is a contact point for small and medium-sized businesses. It is responsible for authorising business establishments, providing aid to SMEs, overseeing commercial practices and simplifying administrative procedures for businesses.
• Trade unions and the Chamber of Employees form the main non-public actors in the regulation and implementation of policies in the field of youth employment and entrepreneurship. While membership in trade unions is voluntary, membership in the Chamber of Employees is mandatory for all employees or pensioners, excluding civil servants and public sector employees. Trade unions and political parties have youth departments/sections where young people can engage and represent their interests. In addition, several trade unions focus specifically on young people (see 5.3 Youth representation bodies).
• In addition to its traditional role as a professional chamber, the Chamber of Employees informs employees and pensioners about economic and social developments (e.g. inflation and wage costs). Through its training body, the Luxembourg Lifelong Learning Centre also plays an important role in providing training for young professionals, adults, and staff representatives, as well as promoting lifelong learning and socio-economic education.
• Regional or local authorities are not directly involved in the development of policies in the field of youth employment and entrepreneurship. However the Association of Luxembourg Cities and Municipalities (Syndicat des Villes et Communes Luxembourgeoises, Syvicol), which is composed of local representatives, promotes the interests of the cities and municipalities. It gives opinions concerning draft legislation which have an impact at local level.

Cross-sectoral cooperation

The governance approach to youth employment and entrepreneurship is characterised by the cross-sectoral cooperation between ministries, departments and state or non-state agencies. The interdepartmental committee, which is composed of representatives of different governmental departments, is an important body involved in policy-making in the field of employment and entrepreneurship (see: 1.4 Youth policy decision-making).