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1. Existence of a National Strategy on social inclusion

2. Scope and contents

3. Responsible authority

4. Revisions/ Updates

Existence of a National Strategy on social inclusion

The current Swedish youth strategy has a clear focus on social inclusion. A specific target group in the youth strategy is young people between 16 and 20 years of age, who are not in education and have not completed secondary or equivalent education. The goal of the youth policy, presented in chapter 1.3 National Youth strategy, is:

All young people should have access to good living conditions, power to shape their own lives and influence over the development of the society.

A renewed action programme was presented in March 2021 (Government Communication 2020/21:105). The action programme includes 100 government initiatives within the four priorities that defined in the communication. The priorities are young people's mental well-being, social and labour market inclusion of young people, meaningful leisure activities for all young people and young people's participation in society. 

The Covid-19 pandemic increased the relevance of combating youth unemployment, due to rising levels of unemployment among young people. The government presented several initiatives aimed at facilitating young people's entry into the labour market in the action programme from 2021. While unemployment levels have since decreased, the issue is still prioritised due to the current economic recession. 

Young people not in education, employment or training are addressed, as well as those in long-term unemployment. Young women with a migrant background and young people with disabilities are specifically targeted, as their situation often is even more complex when it comes to labour market inclusion. The action programme addresses even equal rights and opportunities for young LGBTIQ people.

The previous action programme focused on efforts for improving the situation for young people whose social, participatory, educational and health related conditions were more severe compared to other young people.

There is no current strategy for young people who neither work nor study. However, the previous strategy, Vägar framåt - strategi för unga som varken arbetar eller studerar (Ways forward - a strategy for young people who neither work nor study), is integrated in current youth policy and priorities.

Scope and contents

Based on the results of the previous strategy (Vägar framåt - strategi för unga som varken arbetar eller studerar), the government has prioritised developing a holistic support for young people who neither work nor study, through better cooperation between government agencies as well as supporting the development of methods and measures at a local level. In 2021, the government also extended the mandate of the Delegation for the Employment of Young People, until February 2023.

Responsible authority

The government offices and more specifically, the Ministries for Education and Labour market, were responsible for actions taken within their respective domains. For each action of the strategy, the Government commissioned a responsible actor, for example the Public Employment Service, the Social Insurance Service and the Agency for Youth and Civil Society. 

Evaluation of the previous strategy

The Swedish Agency for Public Management (Statskontoret) was commissioned by the government to evaluate the implementation of measures in the government's strategy for young people who neither work nor study (NEET). The mission also included reporting the impact of the measures and analysing the possible need for further action in the context of youth policy.

Main findings in the Swedish Agency for Public Management's report (2019) are the following: 

• The government's strategy covered a wide area and involved many actors of various kinds.
• It sweeps over many societal problems affecting young people.
• The ambition has been to tackle the problems from different directions, but that there is no clear idea of how the different parts should be interconnected and complement each other.
• The strategy lacked coherence.

The activities that the Agency for Public Management has looked at have often had the ambition to reach all young people who neither work nor study (NEET). But it can be difficult to find one method to fit all types of challenges these young people have. Most of the projects that have been carried out with the help of government grants have been of small scale. It is also generally the case for the strategy that most of the efforts have only received limited resources.

Not only many actors have been involved in the strategy. It also includes a variety of work methods and targets a group that is not homogeneous. The only traits everyone in the target group shares is that they are young individuals who neither work nor study.

The fact that the involved actors have presented similar observations and conclusions in their final reports may strengthen their legitimacy, but the overall assessment is that the breadth of the strategy has not contributed to an efficient use of resources allocated to them.

Revisions/Updates

A renewed strategy was presented in March 2021. The most relevant parts are presented above.