3.2 Administration and governance
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Governance
According to the article 48 of the 1978 Spanish Constitution ‘Youth Policy’ is understood as the ensemble of measures and goals assigned by public powers to promote the conditions of free and effective participation of youth in political, social, economic and cultural development.
State legal exclusivity concerning employment implies that the Autonomous Regions or sub- national units count on competences of mere enforcement of the national regulations. This includes the elaboration of internal documentation in order to organise necessary services, regulation of the functional competence of execution itself, as well as all the actions needed for the set-up of regulations for the system of work relations, besides the power to impose sanctions.
Legal competence concerning employment is exclusively with the State, with planning and execution of employment policies carried out within sub-national administrations, always in coordination with the State Administration.
According to the Employment Law (RDL 3/2015, de 23 de octubre, por el que se aprueba el texto refundido de la Ley de Empleo), employment policy and, specifically, youth employment policies, are defined as the ensemble of decisions adopted by the State and the Autonomous Regions addressed towards the promotion of employment. The Employment Law regulates regional employment services and the State Public Employment Service (SEPE).
The Autonomous Regions may establish and develop their own employment policies as long as they do not contradict or oppose national policies or have an impact on labour legislation, which is the exclusive competence of the State.
Concerning financial aid towards employment, the Autonomous Regions establish specific incentives for the recruitment of youth. As these incentives frequently consist of financial aid for companies in the recruitment of youth, problems of overlapping occasionally arise. The solution has come from the constitutional doctrine concerning financial aid, Legal Foundation no.8 of the STC of the Constitutional Court 13/1992 of 6 February, from which the scope delimitation between State and Autonomous Regions has been established.
Main actors:
The main agent in the design and implementation of youth employment and entrepreneurship policies is the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy (Ministerio de Trabajo y Economía Social), the highest public authority in charge of coordinating relevant actors and responsible for the establishment and control of the Youth Guarantee system (Sistema de Garantía Juvenil).
General distribution of responsibilities:
Within the General Government Administration, the National Coordinator for Youth Guarantee and the Directorate-General of Self-employment, Social Economy and Social Responsibility of companies, are in charge of the implementation of the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) and responsible for the administration of the European Social Fund in Spain, which are also relevant, and at a national level, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional), the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy (Ministerio de Trabajo y Economía Social) and the Ministry of Finance and Civil Service (Ministerio de Hacienda y Función Pública), are in charge of channelling local entities.
At sub-national level, taking into account their main role in youth policy, the Autonomous Regions take a fundamental role in the projection, definition, implementation and management of public action concerning youth employment and entrepreneurship. Both in the administration and management of actions related to youth employment and entrepreneurship, and in the implementation of the Youth Guarantee, the Autonomous Regions shall involve the competent departments related to Employment, Education, Social Affairs and Youth.
Cross-sectorial cooperation
In general terms, cooperation between administrations concerning Youth Policies has been subject to specific development in the Youth Strategy 2030 (Estrategia Juventud 2030); all ministries have participated in its definition through the Inter-Ministerial Commission on Youth, under the former Secretariat of State of Social Services from the Ministry of Ministry of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda.
One of the specific axes developed in the strategy establishes cooperation mechanisms between Public Administrations, bodies and agencies involved in the definition of programmes of action in any policy related to youth. This axis does not name specific actors, but sets targets for collaboration between administrations.
Some examples are:
10.1 Ensure synergies, coherence and effective practices in the field of youth in the General State Administration (GSA).
10.5 Promoting international institutional cooperation in the youth field
The lines of action establish collaboration between administrations: Promote the Inter-territorial Youth Council, Promote the SIJ Network + Youth Guarantee.
At the international level, lines of action are established with various organisations: European Union Erasmus+ (Erasmus+), Eurodesk, Europea Council (Consejo de Europa-Juventud), (Organismo Internacional de Juventud para Iberoamérica (OIJ)), European Youth Card Asociation, Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organizations, United Nations Youth (Sistema de Naciones Unidas. Programa de Juventud).