Youth employment measures

Subsidies aiming to foster youth employment:

Through programmes to foster employment, the ESS enables subsides or partial reimbursement of expenses to be provided to employers for hiring new employees. Each year the government implements measures within the active employment policy, which also target young people. Some of hese programmes are: 'Hitrejši vstop mladih na trg dela (2024)', 'Vračilo prispevkov za prvo zaposlitev (until 2030)', etc. Young people who are registered as unemployed at the ESS can be involved in various ALMP programs as a priority target group.

The Youth Guarantee is a European Union initiative ensuring that every young person receives training, an internship, or employment within four months of becoming unemployed or entering the labor market. In Slovenia, individuals up to 29 years old can join the scheme by registering as unemployed. A total of 275.5 million  eur was invested in the 2016-2020 period.

In July 2017 the MDDSZ announced a Public call for co-financing projects promoting entrepreneurship among youth between 2017–2019 (Javni razpis za sofinanciranje projektov spodbujanja podjetništva med mladimi 2017–2019) that provided 1 mio EUR for promoting and supporting entrepreneurial activities among unemployed youth (under 29 years of age). 

In May 2018 the MDDSZ announced an Open call for co-financing innovative projects for youth employment for 2018 and 2019 (Javni razpis za sofinanciranje inovativnih projektov za zaposlovanje mladih za leti 2018 in 2019). The aim of the call was providing financial support for two innovative projects that would help youth unemployed with development of their competences and successful employment seeking.

National Youth Guarantee (YG) scheme:

The Implementation Plan for YG 2016–2020 (Jamstvo za mlade: Izvedbeni načrt 2016–2020) was adopted in 2016. From 2016 onwards it focused on addressing long-term youth unemployment through 15 measures across two areas: early action (for those not yet in the labor market) and activation (for quick labor market entry).

Early action and activation

1. Three systemic measures support early intervention and activation before labor market entry, with two targeting youth in education:Lifelong guidance
2. Systemic changes to traineeship
3. Reform of the VET system
4. Promotion of creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation: 
   Enhancing entrepreneurial skills via MGRT, SPIRIT Slovenia, and MIZŠ initiatives like Youth Start.
5. Scholarships

Activation of young people in the labour market

Four systemic measures are being implemented for quick activation of young people in the labour market. Six measures target unemployed youths 29 years of age and under.

6. Strengthening counselling work with youth at the ESS
   More trained career advisors at MDDSZ and ESS.
7. Prevention and detection of in the labour market
   Raising awareness and inspections
8. International mobility of young people
   Supporting EU job market access
9. Information and communication regarding the YG
10. Training and education of unemployed youth
    Enhancing employability via non-formal learning, on-the-job training (Usposabljanje na delovnem mestu), and mentorship programs like PUM-on (PUM-o; Projektno učenje za mlajše odrasle), Podpora novim kariernim perspektivam. 

11. Incentives for youth employment
    Programs like Youth Employment Initiative (Prvi izziv), permanent job subsidies (Spodbude za trajno zaposlovanje mladih), and First Job in Education (Prva zaposlitev na področju vzgoje in izobraževanja).
12. Measures for vulnerable youth
    Focus on long-term unemployed and youth with disabilities (Javni razpis za sofinanciranje projektov “razvoj in izvajanje prehoda mladih s posebnimi potrebami na trg dela).
13. Support to youth entrepreneurship (see Chapter 3.7)
14. Young people in rural areas
    Financial aid for young farmers (Shema plačilo za mlade kmete).

15. Projects for youth
    Funding for job creation and employability programs.

Other measures for youth employment 

Regulations intended to foster youth employment are also enacted at the local level. In 2016, the Municipality of Ljubljana proposed a project, ‘Cool Job!’ (Kul služba!), that was designed to help people that are considered harder to employ. The project is one of the key objectives of the MOL Strategy for Youth 2016–2025 (Strategija Mestne občine Ljubljana za mlade 2016-2025), a strategy aimed at increasing youth employment. Cool Job! offers opportunities for employment in occupations with a surplus of available jobs (e.g. printer, electrician, librarian).

Flexicurity measures focusing on young people

The new labour legislation enacted in 2013 (Zakon o delovnih razmerjih) introduced the concept of flexicurity. Its main aims were to increase flexibility (mainly by simplifying the procedures for concluding employment relationships), to encourage reduced segmentation in the labour market and to increase the effectiveness of workers’ legal protections. According to the MDDSZ the proportion of newly signed contracts permanent contracts among youth has increased considerably in the first few years after the reform.

To avoid deepening this problem, one of the regulations in the Action Plan 2016/2017 of the National Programme for Youth 2013–2022 (Izvedbeni načrt 2016/2017 Nacionalnega programa za mladino 2013–2022), the Action Plan 2018/2019 (Izvedbeni načrt 2018/2019 Nacionalnega programa za mladino 2013–2022) and the Action Plan 2020/2021 (Izvedbeni načrt 2020/2021 Nacionalnega programa za mladino 2013–2022) is to provide stimulus for permanent youth employment (Spodbude za trajno zaposlovanje mladih). Under this regulation, employers who employ young people will receive subsidies, thus encouraging stable employment and social security among the latter. 

Since 2013, employers in Slovenia are entitled to partial reimbursement for their contributions to pension and disability insurance for two years if they employ a person younger than 26 years of age with a permanent contract for at least two years. The aim of this measure is to stimulate employment with permanent contracts.

Reconciliation of private and working life for young people

Young people in Slovenia often find it difficult to reconcile work and family life, partially because employers perceive parenthood as disruptive to the work process rather than valuable. One of the main objectives of the National Programme for Youth 2013–2022 ( Resolucija o Nacionalnem programu za mladino 2013–2022) is to make it easier for young people to coordinate work and family life. 

To realise this aim, one subfield was prioritised: reinforcement of activities to eliminate discrimination of parents and enable individuals to coordinate their private and family lives easier. The supervisors of this measure are the MDDSZ, the MIZŠ, the Labour Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia and other social partners.

The Employment Relationship Act (Zakon o delovnih razmerjih) includes some provisions regarding mothers and their rights (night work, etc.), but in practice still falls short of allowing young parents to more successfully reconcile work and family life. Some other measures have also been adopted, such as subventions for housing for young families and benefits for student parents/families. 

In november 2024 Slovenia became one of the first countries to legislate the right to disconnect, with the adoption of an amendment to the The Employment Relationship Act (Zakon o delovnih razmerjih). This right means that employers must ensure that they do not interfere with the employee's free time during daily or weekly rest periods, annual leave or other justified absence from work.

Funding of existing schemes/initiatives

To fight against youth unemployment, the Slovenian government developed an active employment policy. Youths under 30 years of age who were insured for six months in the two years prior to their unemployment can receive unemployment benefits. According to the Youth Index 2016 (Indeks mladih 2016), 3.102 young people received compensation for unemployment.


The Youth Guarantee is a European Union initiative ensuring that every young person receives training, an internship, or employment within four months of becoming unemployed or entering the labor market. In Slovenia, individuals up to 29 years old can join the scheme by registering as unemployed. Report on the Implementation of the Youth Guarantee Action Plan 2016–2020 (Poročilu o izvajanju Izvedbenega načrta Jamstva za mlade 2016–2020) states that between 2016 and 2020, 15 different measures were implemented to support the transition from education to employment and a total of almost 300 million eur was invested, benefiting over 82,600 young people. 


Table 1: The Implementation Plan of YG 2016–2020: total funds equal 300 million EUR

Quality assurance

The Youth Guarantee Working Group, led by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities, monitors the implementation of individual measures. It includes representatives from all relevant ministries and the youth sector. As per the implementation plan, the group submits a final report to the Government of the RS at the end of each period but lacks mechanisms to ensure service quality.

Additionally, the ESS conducts annual surveys on youth satisfaction with the Youth Guarantee, though no follow-up actions are planned based on the results.