Annual Meeting PARTNERSHIPS FOR YOUTH - Economic Development ...

Conference Report OECD 8 th Annual LEED Forum March 20-21 2012 Berlin 

“PARTNERSHIPS FOR YOUTH - Getting the young into jobs and business for successful 

working life” 

Background and Format 

1 

Report prepared by Sascha Strupp, 

Policy Officer, Centre for Scottish Public Policy 

The OECD’s LEED programme aims to contribute to the creation of more and better jobs through 

effective policy implementation, innovative practices, stronger capacities and integrated strategies 

at the local level. Through the production of policy analysis publications, the organisation of policy 

exchanges and workshops, the LEED Programme (Local Economic and Employment Development) 

strives to improve the quality of public policy. These activities are complimented by LEED’s 

continuous monitoring and assessment of current practices, promotion of innovation in local 

economic and employment development across the globe, support of the design, implementation 

and evaluation of development strategies to help grow local economies. 

The 8 th Annual LEED Forum brought together a range of experts and practitioners from both the 

public and the private sector to discuss, share experience and identify effective measures to increase 

youth employment. The conference took place in Berlin over two days and included several plenary 

sessions as well as a range of smaller workshops for 10-20 participants (2 workshops per 

participant). 

Attendance 

The Forum attracted around 200 representatives of local partnerships, government officials, local 

leaders, youth organisations, social entrepreneurs, business representatives, trade unions and 

academics. A list of attendants is attached. UK representatives constituted a large national group 

among the attendants reflecting the priority that issues surrounding youth employment have 

recently taken both within policy and in public debate on labour market issues in the UK. It is notable 

that those OECD member states with the most significant youth unemployment problems, the PIGS, 

were underrepresented at this event. 

Plenary Session 1 – Setting the Context 

This plenary session focused on outlining the perspectives and challenges faced by various OECD 

member states. It emerged that the structure of labour markets and educational systems are the 

most important determinants for the scale of youth employment issues. 

Once particularly interesting contribution by panel member Dr. Holger Seibert, Senior Researcher, 

Institute of Employment Research, Federal Employment Agency, Germany, outlined the concept of 

educational signalling. High educational signalling communicates to potential employers a clearly 

defined set of skills evidenced by an educational qualification. Educational systems with low 

educational signalling confer qualifications that do not indicate a pre-determined set of skills or 

DAY I

qualitative indicators. An exchange by Dr Seibert and Dr. Sylvain Giguère, Head of LEED Division, 

OECD, concluded that 

a) countries with low educational signalling and flexible labour markets, and 

b) countries with high educational signalling and more structured labour markets 

provide for comparatively low youth unemployment. Examples for these cases would be the United 

Kingdom (A) and Germany (B). Countries with low educational signalling and inflexible labour 

markets such as Italy and Spain seem to face the most pressing issues with youth unemployment. 

Another theme that dominated the panel discussion was the need for more effective employer 

engagement and Moira McKerracher, Assistant Director, UK Commission on Employment and Skills, 

United Kingdom, spoke about her experience of working with employers and the importance of 

signing employers up to youth employment initiatives. 

Lastly the debate turned to the importance of managing the transition between education both 

secondary and higher into the workplace. Several attendants, mostly recent graduates, took the 

floor to emphasise this issue and to point out the problems associated with a lack of opportunities 

and the plight of unpaid internships, which are often the only avenue into particular sectors. 

Plenary Session II – Getting the young into jobs and business – learning from Germany 

This plenary session featured a panel discussion led by politicians and civil servants of the German 

federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg as well as Aart De Geus, Member of the Executive Board, 

Bertelsmann Foundation, Germany, former OECD Deputy Secretary-General. 

The discussion initially introduced the German educational system with a specific focus on its 

apprenticeship system, which has a dual-mode at its core. Apprentices learn both practically on the 

job as well as theoretically in Berufsschulen (Vocational Schools). 

German pupils are separated at the age of 10 to attend either Realschulen or Gymnasien. At a 

Realschule pupils will finish school at age 16 to go on to pursue a vocational track as part of the 

apprenticeship system. Students at a Gymnasium will go on to gain the higher education entry 

qualification granting access to higher education institutions at around age 18/19. 

This model has been successful particularly in managing the transition from secondary school into 

work as well as ensuring a very high retention rate of young apprentices by their host companies 

after the apprenticeship comes to an end. The participants agreed that this system was costly, but 

provided a good model to emulate for countries with a similarly structured labour market. 

Unfortunately, the debate concentrated almost exclusively on the positive aspects of this model and 

neglected to outline the significant problems this model entails. The experience of the German 

system has shown that early separation of students hinders social mobility of pupils from nonacademic 

backgrounds and gives an advantage to pupils from households with parents which have 

themselves attended higher education. The system significantly disadvantages students with a 

migration background and language issues in their early school years. Lastly, the German model is 

very rigid lacking flexibility and it is not entirely clear whether it is able to effectively respond to 

significant mid-term changes in the labour market or changing requirements by employers. 

2

The discussion also did not acknowledge the possibility that the ‘success’ of the German model, i.e. a 

current relatively low youth unemployment rate, may primarily be due to the overall strength of the 

German economy and does not necessarily specifically owe to the virtues of its educational system. 

Workshop 5 – Joined up approaches to youth unemployment 

The workshop attendees visited the site of an apprenticeship-run restaurant, which takes on 

apprentices from difficult socio-economic backgrounds and with previous learning and behavioural 

issues at school. Following an introduction to the project, the workshop attendees commenced a 

discussion utilising the fish-bowl concept. The following pages represent the conclusions of the 

discussion and reflect the key messages by the attending experts including the author of this report. 

Host project 

Project "grips" in Marzahn-Hellersdorf and Masterplan for youth employment of the District 

Marzahn-Hellersdorf 

(hosted by ABU - Akademie für Berufsförderung und Umschulung mbH/ Mayor of the district 

Marzahn-Hellersdorf) 

Experts 

Randall Eberts, Executive Director, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, US 

Denis Leamy, Chief Executive of Pobal, Ireland 

Alison Partridge, Director, Aurora European Services Ltd, UK 

Le Duy Binh, Managing Director, Economica, Viet Nam 

Sascha Strupp, Policy Officer, Adopt an Intern Programme, Centre for Scottish Public Policy, UK 

Rationale 

Providing jobs for youth requires place specific responses involving different local players as part of 

wider local development strategies. This workshop will look at the importance of a joined up 

approach in both tackling entrenched barriers and generating new networks of opportunity for 

young people. It will examine ways of joint working to ensure that young people have accurate 

careers guidance as to opportunities in the local economy, and career ladders to support 

employment progression. It will address the issue of skills utilisation in the workplace and the need 

to work closely with employers in terms of delivering new opportunities to young people, but also as 

policy co-creators and co-implementers. Putting in place a networked response can also create a 

more integrated service which allows participants to access a number of different, follow-on 

programmes, thereby aiding continuous learning and development. In a time of constrained 

budgets, policy makers and practitioners need to come up with cost saving measures to ensure 

greater diversity in their funding stream by seek a mixture of funding such as employers, state, and 

philanthropy. 

Q1: How can joined up approaches at local level improve young people`s job and skills 

opportunities? What is the added value of collaborative approaches (schools, local authorities, 

jobcentres, enterprises and NGOs et cetera) in comparison to working in silos? 

Q2: How to involve – in particular – local employers? 

Q3: How to reach those of the young people who are far away from the labour market? 

3

Workshop D – What could businesses do? 

4 

DAY II 

The workshop addressed the question of what employers can contribute to increase youth 

employment and provide sought-after opportunities for young people from all educational 

backgrounds. The main discussion revolved around the question of employer engagement and tried 

to identify how employers can be incentivised to take on young people. 

Mr Rath of the Association of Employers‘ Organisations of Berlin and Brandenburg, pointed out that 

the German model and its popularity with businesses is based on the accessibility of cheap labour in 

the form of apprentices that can be skilled and trained with help of state schools to meet the specific 

needs of the employer. 

Other participants were keen to point out that collaboration between local government and job 

centres is often difficult and cumbersome for employers creating additional barriers for the creation 

of additional opportunities. Employer representatives unequivocally agreed that incentivisation of 

taking on young people, not only in the form of funding, but also training support, works much 

better than penalties as part of the introduction of a quota system. 

Moderators 

Katherine Chapman, UKCES 

David Halabisky, OECD LEED 

Contribution by 

James Doorley, Deputy Director, National Youth Council of Ireland 

Federico Montelli, General Director, Formaper, Italy 

Ralph-Michael Rath, Association of Employers‘ Organisations of Berlin and Brandenburg, Germany 

Burkhard Volbracht, Business Development Agency Berlin (Berlin Partner GmbH), Germany 

Rationale 

This workshop will explore the role of businesses in helping young people into work. It will examine 

what more businesses can do, or do differently, to help young people make the transition into work. 

This includes the role of businesses in helping young people develop employability skills, in 

providing careers information and in using recruitment practices that work for young people. It will 

also explore how businesses could be encouraged to create more entry level opportunities and work 

based training pathways for young people. The workshops will analyse employers‘ experiences of 

government support in these areas to identify what works from the employer perspective. 

Q1. How could businesses engage most effectively with the education system to help prepare young 

people for work? (for example work experience and careers information) 

Q2. How can businesses ensure that their recruitment practices reach young people? Is there a role 

for government or other partners here? 

Q3. How could businesses work together to create more entry level jobs and work-based training 

pathways for young people? How can government incentivise employers to do this?

Plenary Session III – Lessons learnt and the way forward 

The discussion panel included a number of representatives of European youth organisations and 

focused very much on the concerns voiced by young people with regards to their employment 

prospects in the current economic climate. 

A common concern voiced by the youth organisation representatives was the lack of recognition for 

informal education. The participants lamented employers’ primary focus on formal educational 

qualifications at the expense of other educational informal experience such as voluntary work, social 

activism or similar pursuits. It was suggested that as employers demand more and more flexibility of 

their workforce, they in turn should adopt a more flexible approach in providing additional 

opportunities for young people via quality internships, work placements or designated projects. 

An important point of discussion was the lack of engagement with young people during the process 

of policy formulation. Most policy-making bodies in labour market policy at a local, regional or 

national level have no structured consultation process that approaches young people and takes onboard 

their concerns. The panellists deemed that youth organisations have an important part to play 

in feeding information to policy-makers and taking an active role in the process of policy-formulation 

not only as a pressure-group, but as experts with unique insight. 

5

8 th Annual Meeting 

PARTNERSHIPS FOR YOUTH 

GETTING THE YOUNG INTO JOBS AND BUSINESS FOR 

SUCCESSFUL WORKING LIFE 

20 - 21 March 2012, Berlin, Germany 

Kalkscheune, Johannisstr. 2 

In co-operation with the German Federal Government Commissioner for the New Federal States, 

the Senate of Berlin Department for Labour, Integration and Women’s Issues, 

the German Federal Employment Agency, the European Youth Forum and 

gsub mbH - Social Business Consultancy Corporation 

List of participants 

(by country)

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 3 

ALBANIA 

Mrs. Majlinda BAJRAKTARI Swisscontact Project Manager majlindar@swisscontactks.org 

Mrs. Silvana MJEDA Swiss Agency for 

Development and 

Cooperation 

Office in Albania 

Mr. Eduart RUMANI Swiss Agency for 


Cooperation 

Office in Albania 

ARGENTINA 

Ms. Nidya NEER Ministry of Labour, 

Employment and Social 

Security - Argentina 

AUSTRALIA 

Program Officer silvana.mjeda@sdc.net 

National Programme 

Officer 

Advisor to the 

Minister 

Mr. Matthew CLARKE Campbell Page Executive Manager 

Strategic Business 

Outcomes 

Mr. Ali JALAYER Australian Department of 

Education, Employment 

and Workplace Relations 

Ms. Sally SINCLAIR National Employment 

Services Association 

AUSTRIA 

Ms. Doris BALLWEIN Federal Ministry of Labour, 

Social Affairs and 

Consumer Protection 

(BMASK) 

ESF Unit 

Mr. Fritz BAUER Upper Austrian Chamber of 

Labour 

Education ans Youth 

Ms. Berenike ECKER ZSI - Centre for Social 

Innovation 

Work and Equal 

Opportunities 

Mr. Michael FÖRSCHNER ZSI - Centre for Social 

Innovation 

Work and Equal 

Opportunities 

Mr. Gabriel HILBRAND Vienna City Administration 

MA 23 - Economy, Labour 

and Statistics 

Mrs. Edith KONRAD AKOÖ 

Office for Projects and 

Regional Developement 

eduart.rumani@sdc.net 

nneer@trabajo.gob.ar 

matthew.clarke@campbellpage.org.au 

Assistant Secretary ali.jalayer@deewr.gov.au 

CEO sallys@nesa.com.au 

ESF Expert doris.ballwein@bmask.gv.at 

Head of Education 

and Youth 

bauer.fritz@akooe.at 

Project Management ecker@zsi.at 

OECD LEED Forum 

Team 

foerschner@zsi.at 

Referent gabriel.hilbrand@wien.gv.at 

Head of Office konrad.e@akooe.at

4 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 

Ms. Jana MACHACOVA ZSI - Centre for Social 

Innovation 

BELGIUM 

Mr. Paul ADAMSON E!Sharp Editor-in-Chief and 

Publisher 

Mrs. Gigliola GALASSO Service Public de Wallonie 

Emploi et Formation 

professionnelle 

Project Manager machacova@zsi.at 

Gestionnaire de 

dossiers ADL 

Mr. Nicolas HAUW LUDEN Project Officer on 

Youth Policies 

Ms. Mieke VALCKE SERV (Social-Economic 

Council of Flanders) 

Study Department 

Mr. Louis VERVLOET Flemish Ministry of 

Employment 

ESF Unit 

Mrs. Patricia VROMAN Flemish Administration 

Work & Social Economy 

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 

paul@esharp.eu 

gigliolaeliana.galasso@spw.wallonie.be 

n.hauw@ludenet.org 

Advisor mvalcke@serv.be 

Ms. Brankica BRKIC Opstina Gradiska Manager of 

Development Service 

Ms. Mersiha CULJEVIC 

ALIJAGIC 

Swiss Agency for 


Cooperation 

Office in Bosnia and 

Herzegovina 

Employment and Income 

Domain 

General Director louis.vervloet@esf.vlaanderen.be 

Policy Advisor patricia.vroman@wse.vlaanderen.be 

National Program 

Officer 

brankica.brkic@opstina-gradiska.com 

mersiha.culjevic@sdc.net 

Mrs. Elma CUPRIJA Damar Omladine Volunteer damaromladine@gmail.com 

Ms. Simone GIGER Swiss Agency for 


Cooperation 

Office in Bosnia and 

Herzegovina 

Mr. Jan Zlatan KULENOVIC Youth Information Agency 

Bosnia-Herzegovina 

HQ 

Mr. Ranko MARKUS GOPA Consultants 

Youth Employment Project 

Deputy Country 

Director 

simone.giger@sdc.net 

Executive Director jan@oiabih.info 

Country Director / 

Deputy Team Leader 

ranko.markus@gmail.com 

Mr. Daniel PRISTAJKO Sony World Director pristo1975@yahoo.com 

CANADA 

Mr. Marc MOLGAT University of Ottawa Professor marc.molgat@uottawa.ca


Mr. Abram 

Menz-Ru 

CHINESE TAIPEI 

HUANG Bureau of Employment and 

Vocational Training 

Division of Employment 

Ms. Tania REISINGER Superna Ltd 

Consulting 

CROATIA 

CZECH REPUBLIC 

Mr. Jan BENEŠ The Union for the 

Development of the 

Moravian-Silesian Region 

Mr. Petr CZEKAJ The Union for the 

Development of the 

Moravian-Silesian Region 

Director hmr@evta.gov.tw 

Economic 

Development Expert 

Executive Manager 

of the Moravian- 

Silesian Employment 

Pact 

Secretary of the 

Moravian-Silesian 

Employment Pact 

tania.reisinger@superna.hr 

jbenes@msunion.cz 

pczekaj@msunion.cz 

Mr. Zdeněk KARÁSEK RPIC-ViP Managing Partner karasek@rpic-vip.cz 

Ms. Elina LUNOVÁ Ministry of Industry and 

Trade 

Innovation and Investments 

Mrs. Eva SIKOROVA Ministry of Labour and 

Social Affairs 

Mr. Igor SLADEK Ministry of Labour and 


Mr. Morten BIERING City of Copenhagen 

Employment and 

Integration Admin. 

Ms. Marie Louise BLAUENFELDT City of Copenhagen 

CBS Reseach 

Management Course 

DENMARK 

Mr. Jan HENDELIOWITZ Ministry of Employment 

Danish National Labour 

Market Authority 

Ms. Merete JØRGENSEN City of Copenhagen 


Integration Admin. 

Mr. Jens SIBBERSEN Municipality of 

Copenhagen 

Jobcenter Coenhagen 

FINLAND 

Mr. Janne SAVOLAINEN Ministry of Employment 

and the Economy 


Entrepreneurship 

Department 

Officer lunova@mpo.cz 

Expert eva.sikorova@mpsv.cz 

Head of Unit igor.sladek@mpsv.cz 

Head of Section bj3k@bif.kk.dk 

Facilitator a14b@bif.kk.dk 

Senior Adviser jhz@ams.dk 

Project Manager kj46@bif.kk.dk 

Head of Department qw44@bif.kk.dk 

Planning Officer janne.savolainen@tem.fi


Ms. Anne TIMONEN Lahti University of Applied 

Sciences 

Innovation Centre 

Ms. Emmanuèle CUNNINGHAM- 

SABOT 

FRANCE 

University of Rennes 2 

Geography and Planning 

Ms. Jamila JAAIDANE Regional Council Île-de- 

France 

Apprenticeships and 

Employment 

Mr. Malo RICHARD Novancia -Business School 

Paris 

Ms. Marie WITTAMER EUROCIRCLE 

Youth Mobility 

GERMANY 

Mr. Volker AMRHEIN Pfefferwerk Stadtkultur 

gGmbH 

"Dialog der Generationen" 

project office 

Mr. Reiner ASTER gsub mbH - Social 

Business Consultancy 

Corporation 

Mrs. Natalia BATZ Technical University of 

Berlin 

Department of Urban and 

Regional Planning 

Project Manager anne.timonen@lamk.fi 

Senior Lecturer emmanuele.sabot@uhb.fr 

Head of Service jamila.jaaidane@iledefrance.fr 

Head of the 


Awareness Project 

mrichard@novancia.fr 

Project Co-ordinator info.eurocircle@gmail.com 

Project manager v-amrhein@pfefferwerk.de 

Director reiner.aster@gsub.de 

Researcher batz.natalia@gmail.com 

Mrs. Steffi BIESTER KICKFAIR Director gf@kickfair.org 

Ms. Heike BIRKHÖLZER Technology Network Berlin 

/ Graefewirtschaft e.V. 

Ms. Uta BOHACEK District Office Berlin- 

Spandau 

Building, Planning, 

Environmental Protection 

and Economic Promotion 

Chair of Board h.birkhoelzer@technet-berlin.de 

Advisor European 

Affairs 

Mr. Achim BORCHERT ABU-gGmbh International 

Manager 

Mr. Marco BÜNGER EEPL GmbH 

Competence Centre for 

Welding, Cutting & Surface 

Treatment 

Mr. Marc BUTZBACH zukunft im zentrum GmbH 

Looping Berlin 

europa@ba-spandau.berlin.de 

borchert@abu-ggmbh.de 

General Manager m.buenger@eepl.de 

Consultant looping@ziz-berlin.de 

Mrs. Giulia COSTA Humboldt University, Berlin Master Student giuliacos@tin.it 

Ms. Birgit DAHM Berliner Gesellschaft für 

Integration mbh 

Division Manager b.dahm@bgi-berlin.de


Mrs. Heide DENDL comovis GbR 

BBWA 

Mr. Andreas DOMKE comovis GbR 

BBWA 

Mr. Christian DORENKAMP BDA | Confederation of 

German Employers' 

Associations 

Mrs. Renate ERAS European Project 

Management 

dto. 

Mr. Tobias EVEL Beuth Hochschule für 

Technik Berlin 

Business Innovation Centre 

Mrs. Birgit FECHNER- 

BARRÈRE 

District Office Berlin- 

Tempelhof-Schöneberg 

Youth promotion 

Ms. Dorothee FEITSMA FIKO Institut für 

Handlungskompetenz 

GmbH 

Mrs. Gabriele FELLERMAYER gsub mbH - Social 


Corporation 

Mr. Stefan FIETZ Ingeus GmbH 

Corporate 

Ms. Maria Joao FILGUEIRAS 

RAUCH 

Mr. Arne FRANK Jobcenter Charlottenburg 

Wilmersdorf 

Mr. Lutz FRANZKE Regional Growth Core 

Schönefeld Cross 

Mrs. Andrea FRIEDRICH gsub mbH - Social 


Corporation 

Local Social Capital 

Project Manager heide.dendl@comovis.de 

Co-ordinator andreas.domke@comovis.de 

Associate c.dorenkamp@arbeitgeber.de 

Consultant renate-eras@t-online.de 

Project Co-ordinator tobias.evel@beuth-hochschule.de 

Coordination for 

Youth Emloyment 

and Activities for 

Youngsters 

Management df@fiko-ihk.de 

birgit.fechner@ba-ts.berlin.de 

Prokuristin gabriele.fellermayer@gsub.de 

New Business sfietz@ingeus.de 

Senior Expert maria.rauch@mnet-online.de 

Placement Officer for 

Young People 

arne.frank@jobcenter-ge.de 

Mayor lutz.franzke@stadt-kw.brandenburg.de 

Counsellor andrea.friedrich@gsub.de 

Mr. Thomas FRONIUS EBB InnoKomp GmbH Managing Director ebb.innokomp@email.de 

Mr. Peter GRUND Max-Taut-School 

Languages 

Mrs. Beate GÜNTHER Netzwerk Zukunft. Schule 

und Wirtschaft für 

Brandenburg e.V. 

Mr. Christian HAASE gsub - Projektegesellschaft 

mbH 

Job Point Berlin 

Mrs. Margitta HAERTEL Pfefferwerk Foundation 

Board 

Language Teacher peter.w.grund@gmail.com 

Executive Secretary guenther@netzwerkzukunft.de 

IT-Consultant christian.haase@gsub.de 

Director haertel@pfefferwerk.de


Mr. Marc HANKE Ingeus GmbH 

Corporate 

Mr. Wolfgang HELMSTÄDTER Federal Ministry of the 

Interior 

Mr. Dietrich HENCKEL Technical University of 

Berlin 

Department of Urban and 

Regional Planning 

Mr. Daniel F. HEUERMANN gsub mbH - Social 


Corporation 

Mr. Mario- 

Sandro 

Chief Operating 

Officer 

mhanke@ingeus.de 

Head of Unit wolfgang.helmstaedter@bmi.bund.de 

Head of Department d.henckel@isr.tu-berlin.de 

Consultant daniel.heuermann@gsub.de 

HILDEBRANDT JobCenter Job Adviser sandro.hildebrandt@gmail.com 

Mrs. Mara HOEHL FORUM Berufsbildung 


Ms. Hanna HUNKE Rambøll Management 

Consulting GmbH 

Mr. Christian JÄGER Berliner Gesellschaft für 

Integration mbh 

Mr. Hüseyin KELLECI gsub - Projektegesellschaft 

mbH 

Job Point Berlin 

Ms. Dagmar KOBLINGER City of Munich 

Department of Education- 

BildungsLokal Hasenbergl 

Mr. Niels KORTE Korte Rechtsanwälte Member of Berlin 

Parliament 

Ms. Monique- 

Kathleen 

KOSCHEL gsub mbH - Social 


Corporation 

Mrs. Anja KRAATZ District Office Berlin- 


Local Economy 

Development & European 

Affairs 

Ms. Iris KRAMP gsub mbH - Social 


Corporation 

comovis 

Mr. Mathias KUHLMANN Senate Department for 

Economics, Technology 

and Research 

ESF Managing Authority 

Mrs. Susann KÜHNAPFEL gsub - Projektegesellschaft 

mbH 

LernLaden Neukölln 

Mr. Norbert KUNZ IQ consult CEO and Managing 

Director 

Department Manager mara.hoehl@forum-berufsbildung.de 

Analyst hnnu@r-m.com 

Head of Department c.jaeger@bgi-berlin.de 

Consultant info@jobpoint-berlin.de 

Senior Expert dagmar.koblinger@muenchen.de 

kanzlei@anwalt.info 

Controller monique-kathleen.koschel@gsub.de 

Clerk kraatzanja@yahoo.de 

Consultant iris.kramp@comovis.de 

Policy Officer mathias.kuhlmann@senwtf.berlin.de 

Coach susann.kuehnapfel@lnbb.de 

egana@iq-consult.com


Ms. Sabine KURPIERS BBZ Berlin gGmbH Translator sabine.kurpiers@web.de 

Mr. Philipp LEISER comovis GbR Co-ordinator PEB philipp.leiser@comovis.de 

Mrs. Corinna MALIK Federal Ministry of the 

Interior 

Task Force Commissioner 

for the New Federal States 

Mr. Mathias MARSCHALL City of Munich 

Department of Education 

and Sports 

European and International 

Exchanges & Projects 

Ms. Sandra MATK British Embassy Berlin 

EU/ Economic 

Mrs. Claudia MATTHES Humboldt University, Berlin 

Institute of Social Sciences 

Mr. Martin MEINGAST BBJ Consult AG / 

European Agency 

Desk Officer corinna.malik@bmi.bund.de 

Deputy Manager 

(VET) 

Labour & Social 

Affairs Officer 

Director of 

International MA 

Programmes 

m.marschall@online.de 

sandra.matk@fco.gov.uk 

claudia.matthes@sowi.hu-berlin.de 

Project Manager martin.meingast@bbjconsultag.eu 

Mrs. Anne MEUER-WILLUWEIT Chamber of Trade OWL Project Manager willuweit@t-online.de 

Mr. Konrad MÜLLER Diakonisches Werk Berlin- 

Brandenburg-schlesische 

Oberlausitz e.V. 

AdM/PATENMODELL 

Mrs. Karin OSTER BBJ Consult AG / 

European Agency 

Project Manager mueller@patenmodell.de 

Head of European 

Agency 

Mr. Richard PALM albatros gGmbH Business Unit 

Manager 

oster@bbj.de 

r.palm@albatrosggmbh.de 

Mrs. Gerlinde PARCHMANN TUH e.V. Project Manager gerlinde.parchmann@tuh-berlin.de 

Mr. Timur PARLAR gsub - Projektegesellschaft 

mbH 


Assistant Project 

Manager 

timur.parlar@lnbb.de 

Mr. Christian PAULUS MetropolisNet EEIG Finance, Controlling christian.paulus@metropolisnet.eu 

Ms. Diana PEITEL gsub mbH - Social 


Corporation 

Ms. Irune PEÑAGARICANO Gartennetz Deutschland 

e.V. 

Mr. Andreas RABE District Office Berlin- 

Lichtenberg 

Economic affairs, human 

resources and financial 

affairs 

Mr. Ralf-Michael RATH Association of the 

Employers' Organisations 

of Berlin and Brandenburg 

Project Manager diana.peitel@gsub.de 

European Affairs 

Assistant 


Affairs 

Head of Unit 

Employment Policies 

irune.penagaricano@gmail.com 

andreas.rabe@lichtenberg.berlin.de 

rath@uvb-online.de


Mrs. Karin REICHERT Senate of Berlin 

Department for Labour, 

Integration and Women`s 

Issues 

Ms. Petra REINERT Public Employment 

Services Berlin Nord 

Careers Services 

Mrs. Bärbel RICHTER Senate of Berlin 


Integration and Womens 

Issues 

Mrs. Camilla RICHTER Senate of Berlin 

Depaartment for Labour, 

Integretion and Women`s 

Issues 

European 

Employment Policy 

karin.reichert@senaif.berlin.de 

Vocational Advisor petra.reinert2@arbeitsagentur.de 

Employee baerbel.richter@senaif.berlin.de 

European 

Employment Policy 

camilla.richter@senaif.berlin.de 

Mr. Raimund RILLING SPI Consult GmbH Managing Director r.rilling@spiconsult.de 

Mr. Tobias ROBISCHON Schader Foundation Research Consultant robischon@schader-stiftung.de 

Mr. Jörg ROGGENSACK gsub - Projektegesellschaft 

mbH 

Mrs. Martina SCHÖNBORN- 

WALDORF 

Regional Agency 

Bonn/North-Rhine- 

Westphalia 

Mr. Uwe SCHULZ-HOFEN Senate of Berlin 


Integration and Women`s 

Issues 

Mrs. Mirka SCHUSTER District Office Berlin- 


Local Economy 

Development & European 

Affairs 

Social Counsellor joerg.roggensack@gsub.de 

Head of Regional 

Agency 

Head of the Unit 

Labor Market and 


Policies 


Affairs 

regionalagentur@bonn.de 

uwe.schulz-hofen@senaif.berlin.de 

mirka.schuster@ba-ts.berlin.de 

Mr. Michael SCHWAB Rural Youth Europe Chairman michael.schwab@ruralyoutheurope.com 

Ms. Franziska SEEL IFOK GmbH Consultant franziska.seel@ifok.de 

Mr. Holger SEIBERT Instiute for Employment 

Research (IAB) 

IAB Berlin-Brandenburg 

Senior Researcher holger.seibert@iab.de 

Mrs. Tülay SENER Trias gGmbH Projectmanager sentue@directbox.com 

Mr. Hartmut SIEMON Politik- und 

Unternehmensberatung 

Ms. Dorit SLABY LernNetz Berlin- 

Brandenburg e.V. 

Mr. Enikö SOUJON gsub mbH - Social 


Corporation 

Ms. Cornelia SPROSS Federal Employment 

Agency 

International Relations 

General Manager hsiemon@gmx.net 

Project manager dorit.slaby@lnbb.de 

Consultant enikoe.soujon@gsub.de 

Expert cornelia.spross@arbeitsagentur.de


Mrs. Elli STRAUVEN- 

DEJEAN 

Pfefferwerk Stadtkultur 

gGmbH 

Apprenticeship I Media I 

Culture 

Ms. Gulbakhyt SULTANOVA RWTH Aachen Universtity 

Institute for Political 

Science 

Mr. Bernd SZCZEPANSKI District Office Berlin- 

Neukölln 


Mr. Konrad TACK Foundation "Arbeit für 

Behinderte" 

Mrs. Nicole VLACH gsub - Projektegesellschaft 

mbH 


Mr. Burkhard VOLBRACHT Berlin Partner GmbH Senior Consultant 

Labor Market and 

Recruiting, Business 

Mrs. Susanne WEBER Research Institute for 

Vocational Education and 

Training 

Mrs. Christina WEGNER District Office Berlin- 

Steglitz-Zehlendorf 

European Affairs 

Mrs. Andrea WEIK Andrea Weik Coaching für 

Berufsfindung 

Department Head dejean@pfefferwerk.de 

Doctoral Candidate gulbakhyt.sultanova@yahoo.de 

Councillor bernd.szczepanski@bezirksamtneukoelln.de 

Leading Manager gecko.tack@gmx.de 

Career Counselor nicole.vlach@gsub.de 

burkhard.volbracht@berlin-partner.de 

Research Associate weber.susanne@f-bb.de 

Officer christina.wegner@ba-sz.berlin.de 

Owner kontakt@andreaweik.de 

Mrs. Bettina WERNER INU-gGmbh Managing Director inu_ggmbh@t-online.de 

Mr. Alexander WILHELM BDA | Confederation of 

German Employers' 

Associations 

Mr. Achim WOLF gsub mbH - Social 


Corporation 

Local Social Capital 

Mr. Manuel WOLFF Technical University of 

Dresden 

Institute of Geography 

Mr. Ingo ZIELONKOWSKY Federal Employment 

Agency 

AA Krefeld 

Deputy Director 

Labour Department 

a.wilhelm@arbeitgeber.de 

Project Manager achim.wolf@gsub.de 

Doctoral Candidate manuel.wolff@tu-dresden.de 

Chairman of the 

Managment Board 

ingo.zielonkowsky@arbeitsagentur.de 

Mrs. Jasmin ZOUIZI MetropolisNet EEIG Network Co-ordinator jasmin.zouizi@metropolisnet.eu 

Mr. Leonard 

George 

CHRISTODOULOU Athens SOS/ Socialist 

Youth 

Main office 

GREECE 

Mr. Elias COMMATAS Austriahellas Transition & Cultural 

Manager 

General Director leo@leocosmos.com 

austriahellas@austriahellas.eu


HUNGARY 

Mrs. Széles KATALIN Association Together in 

Europe 

Ms. Agnéta JANKÓ Hungarian Embassy in 

Germany 

IRELAND 

Mr. James DOORLEY National Youth Council of 

Ireland 

Vice-President eeeegyesulet@t-online.hu 

Officer ajanko@mfa.gov.hu 

Deputy Director james@nyci.ie 

Mr. Patrick HENNELLY Marbel Group Owner hello@paddyhennelly.com 

Mr. Denis LEAMY Pobal CEO dleamy@pobal.ie 

Mrs. Joyce LOUGHNAN Focus Ireland Chief Executive 

Officer 

jloughnan@focusireland.ie 

Mr. Jerry MURPHY Pobal Programme Manager jmurphy@pobal.ie 

Mr. Larry O NEILL CPLN Area Partnership Deputy CEO loneill@cpln.ie 

Ms. Emma RORKE Pobal 

Local Development 

ITALY 

Ms. Emanuela ATZORI Regional Employment 

Agency - Sardinia Region 

Planning & Development 

Ms. Elena GRILLI Ciofs-FP 

International Project 

Design 

Mr. Davide LIBRALESSO Etimos Foundation 

Project 

Policy Officer erorke@pobal.ie 

Officer eatzori@regione.sardegna.it 

Consultant egrilli@ciofs-fp.org 

Project Manager d.libralesso@etimosfoundation.it 

Mr. Federico MONTELLI Formaper General Director federico.montelli@mi.camcom.it 

Mr. Edoardo MORGANTE MSOI MA Student edoardo.morgante@gmail.com 

Mr. Paolo REBOANI Italia Lavoro s.p.a. Chairman and CEO presidenza@italialavoro.it 

Mrs. Lisa RUSTICO Italia Lavoro s.p.a. Expert lisa.rustico@gmail.com 

Mrs. Ilaria URBINATI Etimos General Co-ordinator i.urbinati@etimosfoundation.it 

Mrs. Torta VALENTINA Piedmont Region 

Planning 

JAPAN 

Ms. Megumi NOZAWA Japanese Delegation to the 

OECD 

KYRGYZSTAN 

Mr. Marat DJANBAEV International Youth 

Foundation 

Field Office in Bishkek, 

Kyrgyzstan 

Officer valentina.torta@regione.piemonte.it 

First Secretary megumi.nozawa@mofa.go.jp 

Senior Technical 

Specialist, 


m.djanbaev@iyfnet.org


LATVIA 

Ms. Jevgenija BUTNICKA Ministry of Environmental 

Protection and Regional 

Development 

National Development 

Planning Department 

Mrs. Ilona RAUGZE Ministry of Environmental 

Protection and Regional 

Development of Latvia 

National Development 

Planning Department 

LUXEMBOURG 

Mrs. Paulette LENERT Ministry of Economy and 

Foreign Trade 

Department for Social 

Economy 

Senior Expert jevgenija.butnicka@varam.gov.lv 

Deputy Director ilona.raugze@varam.gov.lv 

First Counsellor fatima.mestre@ecosol.etat.lu 

Mrs. Christina SCHÜRR Objectif Plein Emploi Senior Manager schuerr@ope.lu 

MALTA 

Mr. Euchar SULTANA Maltese National Youth 

Council obo European 

Youth Forum 

MOLDOVA - REPUBLIC OF 

Mr. Botnaru ION NGO "Terra-1530" 

Sustainable Development 

(THE) NETHERLANDS 

Mr. Xander BEKS BrabantStad-Tasty Green 

Lifestyle Experience 

International & EU 

Officer 

euchar@gmail.com 

Project Co-ordinator mnrvcw@gmail.com 

Policy Officer-Sr. 

Project Manager 

ajbeks@brabant.nl 

Mr. Nico VAN DE VRIE Expertisz BV Director nj.vdvrie@planet.nl 

Mrs. Anita VAN GILS Maastricht University 

School of Business and 

Economics 

Organisation and Strategy 

ROMANIA 

Associate Professor 

in Entrepreneurship 

a.vangils@maastrichtuniversity.nl 

Ms. Tompea ANCUTA Petre Andrei University Dean tompeaanca@gmail.com 

Mr. Macovei LIVIU Human Brand international 

Association 

Mrs. Romina MATEI Youth Express Network 

Education 

Ms. Svetlana DELIC Belgrade Chamber of 

Commerce 

Cabinet 

SERBIA 

President liviu.maco@yahoo.com 

President mateiromina@gmail.com 

Head of the staff svetlanad@kombeg.org.rs


Mr. Ivica EZDENCI National Agency for 

Regional Development 

Cabinet 

Ms. Jelena MILOVANOVIC Government of Serbia 

Social Inclusion and 

Poverty Reduction Unit 

Mr. Zarko SUNDERIC Government of Serbia 

Social Inclusion and 

Poverty Reduction Unit 

Mr. Velimir VUKADIN SASME Serbian 

association of SMEs 

SLOVENIA 

Ms. Vesna MILOŠEVIČ MSS (National Youth 

Council of Slovenia) and 

YEA (Youth Employment 

Action) 

Youth Employment 

SWEDEN 

President svetlanad@kombeg.org.rs 

Economic 


Employment Coordinator 

jelena.milovanovic@gov.rs 

Team Manager zarko.sunderic@gov.rs 

President vukadin@srb-smeasoc.org 

External Expert on 

Youth Employment 

wesna.milosevic@gmail.com 

Mr. Besim AHO Municipality of Södertälje Chairman besim.aho@sodertalje.se 

Mr. Gunnar ANDERZON Swedish Association of 

Local Authorities and 

Regions 

Mr. Gunnar ÄRNSTRÖM Municipality of Sandvikens 

Beschäftigung und 

Verkehrsamt 

Mrs. Erica BRANDT Södermalms 

stadsdelsförvaltning 

Enheten för 

försörjningsstöd 

Mr. Stefan CARLEHÄLL Municipality of Hofors 

Social Service Department 

Mrs. Camilla DUNSTRÖM Municipality of Nynäshamn 


Mr. Krister ERIKSSON Municipality of Södertälje 


Senior Adviser gunnar.anderzon@skl.se 

EU Koordinator gunnar.arnstrom@sandviken.se 

Coach erica.brandt@stockholm.se 

Director stefan.carlehall@hofors.se 

Group Manager camilla.dunstrom@nynashamn.se 

Group Manager krister.eriksson@sodertalje.se 

Ms. Karin GELLIN Swedish ESF-Council karin.gellin@esf.se 

Mrs. Anne GERDIN Sundbyberg stad (KNUT) 

Enheten för vägledning och 

arbete 

Mrs. Katarina GRÖNDAHL Municipality of Sandviken 

Labour and Transportation 

Department 

Mr. Ola HÄGG Municipality of 

Nynäshamns 

Labour Market 

Counsellor 

anne.gerdin@sundbyberg.se 

Chief katarina.grondahl@sandviken.se 

Chairman Social 

Welfare Board 

ola.hagg@nynashamn.se


Mr. Ove HAMRÉN Municipality of Hofors 


Mr. Stig HANNO KNUT 

Södertälje 

Mr. Stefan HEINEBÄCK Municipality of Nacka 


Mr. Torbjörn ISRAELSSON National Public 

Employment Service 

Department of Analyses 

Mrs. Rose-Marie JAKOBSSON Municipality of Södertälje 

Municipal Social 

Department 

Mr. Leif JANSSON Municipality of Sandviken 

Labour & Transportation 

Department 

Mr. Anders JOHANSSON Municipality of Sandviken 


Department 

Mrs. Yvonne KOKKOLA Municiaplity of Nynäshamn 


Mrs. Lisa KVARNLÖF Bessemerskolan 

Knowledge Department 

Project Leader ove.hamren@hofors.se 

Chairman stig@hanno.org 

Head of Social 

Service 

Senior Adviser 

Chairman of the 

Board 

stefan.heineback@nacka.se 

torbjorn.israelsson@arbetsformedlingen.se 

rose-marie.jacobsson@sodertalje.se 

Head of Department leif.jansson@sandviken.se 

Project Leader anders.johansson@sandviken.se 

Head of Department 

Individual and Family 

Care 

yvonne.kokkola@nynashamn.se 

Headmaster lisa.kvarnlof@utb.sandviken.se 

Mrs. Maria LINDEBERG Sundbybergs stad Department Manager maria.lindeberg@sundbyberg.se 

Mrs. Jessica LÖHMAN Employment Services - 

Municipality of Sandviken 


Department 

Mr. Anders LUNDELL Municiaplity of Sandviken 


Department 

Mrs. Mona LUNDGREN Muncipality of Sandviken 

Education and training 

Mrs. Marie LUNDQVIST Municipality of Nacka 


Mr. Sture MELANDER Sundbyberg stad (KNUT) 

Enheten för vägledning och 

arbete 

Mr. Roy MELCHERT Swedish Association of 

Local Authorities and 

Regions 

Ms. Elna OLSSON The Public Employment 

Service 

Employment 

Manager 

jessica.lohman@arbetsformedlingen.se 

Head of R&D Unit anders.lundell@sandviken.se 

Skills Developer mona.lundgren@sandviken.se 

Head of Social 

Service 

Labour Market 

Counsellor 

marie.lundqvist@nacka.se 

sture.melander@sundbyberg.se 

Senior Advisor roy.melchert@skl.se 

Project Manager elna.olsson@arbetsformedlingen.se 

Mr. Peter PEDERSEN ThemeGroup Youth Financial Officer peter.pedersen@ungdomsstyrelsen.se 

Ms. Lena ROGELAND KNUT Partnership Project Manager lena@rogeland.se


Mrs. Agneta ROSTRÖM Public Employment Service 

Director Generals Office 

Mr. Fredrik ROSTRÖM Municipality of Södertälje 

social welfare 

Mrs. Malgorzata SABUK Municipality of Stockholm 


Mr. Jan SJÖSTRÖM Municipality of Sandviken 


Department 

Ms. Annalotta SKARP Municiaplity of Salems 

Labour Market Unit 

Mr. Tord STRANNEFORS National Public 

Employment Office 

Department of Analyses 

Ms. Susan TROBERG Municipality of Salems 

Labour Market Unit 

SWITZERLAND 

Ms. Nathalie BARBANCHO Swiss Agency for 


Cooperation (SDC) 

Western Balkans Division 

Mr. Simon JUNKER Swiss Agency for 


Cooperation (SDC) 

Latin America Division 

TUNISIA 

Mr. Mlaoueh AMMAR Ministry of Higher 

Education and Scientific 

Research 

Senior Adviser agneta.rostrom@arbetsformedlingen.se 

Developer of 

Methods 

fredrik.rostrom@sodertalje.se 

Manager margareta.sabuk@stockholm.se 

Chef jan.sjostrom@sandviken.se 

The Social Secretary anna-lotta.skarp@salem.se 

Head of Forecasting tord.strannefors@arbetsformedlingen.se 

Head of Labour 

Market Unit 

Programme Manager 

Albania 

Responsible for 

Employment Topic in 

the Employment and 

Income SDC 

Network 

susan.troberg@salem.se 

nathalie.barbancho@deza.admin.ch 

simon.junker@deza.admin.ch 

Director mlaoueh.ammar@mes.rnu.tn 

Mr. Mohamed BEN ACHMA GIZ - Tunisia Expert Junior mohamed.ben@giz.de 

Mr. Salah BEN HAMED Ministry of Higher 

Education and Scientific 

Research 

Mr. Mohamed 

Salah 

Expert benhamad_salah@yahoo.fr 

BEN YEHMED University of Jendouba Teacher slah530@yahoo.fr 

Mr. Abdelkader BOUZIDI University of Jendouba International 

Cooperation 

Departement 

Mr. Holger KUHLE GIZ - Tunisia Head of the 


Unit 

bouzkader@yahoo.fr 

holger.kuhle@giz.de 

Mr. Faysal MANSOURI University of Sousse President faysal.mansouri@yahoo.fr


Mr. Korhan ERDOĞAN Turkish Treasury 

Social Security and 

Employment 

TURKEY 

UKRAINE 

Deputy Director 

General 

korhan.erdogan@hazine.gov.tr 

Ms. Olga SHUDRAK Young Diplomacy Centre Alumnus olyashudrak@hotmail.com 

Ms. Alanoud ABDULLA ALALI Federal Demographic 

Council 

Policy and Strategy 

Mr. Anis BEN BRIK Federal Demographic 

Council 


Mr. Humaid SAEED ALDAREI Federal Demographic 

Council 


UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 

UNITED KINGDOM 

Mr. Eddy ADAMS Eddy Adams Consultants 

Ltd. 

Ms. Katherine CHAPMAN UK Commission for 

Employment and Skills 

Mr. Anton ECKERSLEY Ingeus 

International Realtions 

Policy and Planning 

Associate 

abrik@fdc.gov.ae 

Advisor abrik@fdc.gov.ae 

Deputy Secretary- 

General of Policy 

and Planning 

abrik@fdc.gov.ae 

Director eddy@eaconsultants.com 

Senior Manager katherine.chapman@ukces.org.uk 

Director aeckersley@ingeus.co.uk 

Mrs. Yee-Chen LIU University of Cambirdge PhD student ycl41@cam.ac.uk 

Ms. Moira MCKERRACHER UK Commission for 

Employment and Skills 

Director moira.mckerracher@ukces.org.uk 

Ms. Jenna NORMAN Richmond College Student jenna1388@msn.com 

Mr. Henry OCHE University of 

Birmingham/Initiative for 

Environment, Health & 

Social Development 

International 

Development/Programme 

Ms. Alison PARTRIDGE Aurora European Services 

Ltd 

Mr. Vincent PATTISON Ingeus 

Ingeus Centre for Policy 

and Research 

Staff-Student 

Committee 

Member/Programme 

Manager 

henryodang@yahoo.com 

Director alison@aurora-ltd.com 

Senior Policy and 

Research Manager 

vpattison@ingeus.co.uk 

Mr. Peter RAMSDEN Freiss Ltd, LDNET Managing Director peterramsden2@gmail.com 

Ms. Katerina RUDIGER Chartered Institute of 

Personnel and 

Development (CIPD) 

Skills Policy Adviser k.rudiger@cipd.co.uk


Mr. Sascha STRUPP Centre for Scottish Public 

Policy 

Adopt an Intern 

Programme 

UNITED STATES 

Mr. Randall EBERTS W.E. Upjohn Institute for 

Employment Research 

VIET NAM 

Policy Officer sascha@cspp.org.uk 

President eberts@upjohn.org 

Mr. Le Duy BINH Economica Managing Director binh.le@economica.vn 

Ms. Brigitte DEGEN European Commission 

EMPL.C.3 

Mr. Stefaan HERMANS European Commission 

DG RTD&Innovation 

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Mr. Robert STRAUSS European Commission 

DG Employment, Social 

Affairs & Inclusion 

EUROPEAN YOUTH FORUM 

Adminsitrator brigitte.degen@ec.europa.eu 

Head of Unit stefaan.hermans@ec.europa.eu 

Head of Unit robert.strauss@ec.europa.eu 

Mr. Luca SCARPIELLO European Youth Forum Vice-President luca.scarpiello@youthforum.org 

JEUNE (Young Entrepreneurs of the European Union) 

Mr. Andrea GELFI Young Entrepreneurs of 

the European Union 

JEUNE - Italy 

Mr. Florin 

Nicolae 

Mrs. Amela GAČANOVIĆ- 

TUTNJEVIĆ 

JIANU Young Entrepreneurs of 

the European Union 

JEUNE - Romania 

UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) 

UNDP Project Officer for 

Local Capacity 

Vice-President andrea.gelfi@gmail.com 

President office@ptir.ro 

amela.gacanovic-tutnjevic@undp.org 

Ms. Renata RADEKA UNDP Programme Manager renata.radeka@undp.org


OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) 

Mr. Sergio ARZENI OECD 

CFE LEED Programme 

Ms. Elisa CAMPESTRIN OECD 


Ms. Emma CLARENCE OECD 


Ms. Francesca FROY OECD 


Mr. Sylvain GIGUERE OECD 


Mr. David HALABISKY OECD 


Ms. Cristina MARTINEZ OECD 


Mr. Moritz NIENHAUS OECD 

Berlin Centre 

Mr. Sebastian RUBATSCHER OECD 

Berlin Centre 

Ms. Ekaterina TRAVKINA OECD 


Mr. Heino VON MEYER OECD 

Berlin Centre 

Director sergio.arzeni@oecd.org 

Assistant elisa.campestrin@oecd.org 

Policy Analyst emma.clarence@oecd.org 

Senior Policy Analyst francesca.froy@oecd.org 

Head of Division sylvain.giguere@oecd.org 

Policy Analyst david.halabisky@oecd.org 

Policy Analyst cristina.martinez@oecd.org 

Consultant moritz.nienhaus@oecd.org 

Assistant sebastian.rubatscher@oecd.org 

Manager, LEED 

Forum on 

Partnerships&Local 

Governance 

ekaterina.travkina@oecd.org 

Centre Head heino.vonmeyer@oecd.org

■ What 

8 th Annual Meeting 

PARTNERSHIPS FOR YOUTH 

GETTING THE YOUNG INTO JOBS AND BUSINESS FOR 

SUCCESSFUL WORKING LIFE 

20 - 21 March 2012, Berlin, Germany 

Kalkscheune, Johannisstr. 2 

In co-operation with the German Federal Government Commissioner for the New Federal States, 

the Senate of Berlin Department for Labour, Integration and Women’s Issues, 

the German Federal Employment Agency, the European Youth Forum and 

gsub mbH - Social Business Consultancy Corporation 

Agenda 

The transition from education to work is not easy for many young people, particularly when it comes to finding sustainable employment 

with progression opportunities. While many OECD countries have recently put in place new national policies to support youth, they will be 

more effective if they are implemented in a coordinated way at local level. Providing jobs for youth requires place-specific, cross-sectoral 

responses involving different local players (schools, VET, universities, employment services, employers, not-for-profit organisations, regional 

and local authorities, and social partners) as part of wider local development strategies. 

At the same time, it will be important for industry groups, colleges and employment agencies to work together to ensure that young people 

have the right skills and accurate career guidance as to opportunities in the local economy, and access to career ladders to support 

employment progression. Many localities are putting in place programmes to attract and retain talented and skilled youth to support the growth 

of emerging or existing competitive advantage sectors. Skills utilisation in the workplace is a particular issue for young people – if talents are 

not spotted young, long term career trajectories can suffer. 

For some young people, starting up their own business (including social enterprises) can be a viable alternative to dependent labour. 

Success here requires investment in entrepreneurship skills, creation of entrepreneurial attitudes as well as start-up and early-stage business 

development support. 

The impact of demographic change and the ageing of societies in OECD countries puts further pressure on labour markets to integrate the 

diminishing youth cohort. As industries and organisations age, different job conditions are required for older workers as is a better utilisation of 

in-house knowledge-intensive activities between younger and older workers. 

■ Who 

The 8th Annual Meeting of the OECD LEED Forum on Partnerships and Local Governance will 

bring together some 200 representatives of local partnerships, government officials, local 

leaders, youth organisations, social entrepreneurs, business representatives, trade unions and 

academics to review how local development actors are adapting to this new reality and emerging 

innovations on the ground to respond to these new challenges.

2 AGENDA 

Tuesday, 20 March 2012 

8.30 - 9.00 Registration of participants and welcome coffee 

9.00 - 9.30 Conference facilitator: Paul Adamson, Editor-in-Chief, E!Sharp 

Opening remarks 

Sergio Arzeni, Director for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development, OECD 

Farhad Dilmaghani, Permanent Secretary for Labour and Integration, Senate Department for Labour, Integration and 

Women’s Issues, Berlin, Germany 

Robert Strauss, Head of Employment Analysis, DG Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion, European Commission, 

Chairman, OECD LEED Forum on Partnerships and Local Governance 

9.30 - 10.45 PLENARY SESSION 1: SETTING THE CONTEXT 

Young people have been hit hard by the economic recession. Despite the signs of recovery in some OECD countries, youth 

unemployment is likely to remain high due to a low level of demand for young people’s labour coupled with a long-standing problem 

of structural youth unemployment. This session will set the policy context for the more practice oriented discussions during the 

conference. First the discussion will review the factors behind high and persistent youth unemployment and examine the short and 

medium term prospects. Based on lessons learnt from previous recoveries, panellists will share their views on policy answers that 

have proven to be effective. In particular, panellists will reflect on what works and what does not in fostering youth entrepreneurship, 

preventing early school leaving and getting dropouts back into employment, education or training, helping young people break out of 

intergenerational cycles of poverty, and helping youth to acquire the right set of skills for a successful working life. Finally, panellists 

will exchange ways to ensure implementation on the ground and the value added of area-based approaches. 

Moderator: Dr. Sylvain Giguère, Head of LEED Division, OECD 

Panel discussion 

Dr. Randall Eberts, Executive Director, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, US 

Luca Scarpiello, Vice-President, European Youth Forum, EU 

Ekaterina Travkina, Manager, OECD LEED Forum on Partnerships and Local Governance 

Moira McKerracher, Assistant Director, UK Commission on Employment and Skills, United Kingdom 

Dr. Holger Seibert, Senior Researcher, Institute of Employment Research, Federal Employment Agency, Germany 

Discussion from the floor 

10.45 - 11.00 OVERVIEW OF THE BERLIN PROJECTS HOSTING FORUM WORKSHOPS IN THE AFTERNOON 

11.00 - 11.30 Coffee Break 

11.30 - 12.30 NETWORKING SESSION: LOCAL INITIATIVES FOR JOBS, INCLUSION AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 

12.30 - 13.30 Lunch Break 

Short interactive sessions 

The Annual Meeting of the Forum provides a unique networking opportunity for partnership practitioners. This session is organised 

around a series of short interactive sessions where Forum members present and discuss their projects with experts from other 

countries. 

13.30 - 14.30 PLENARY SESSION 2: GETTING THE YOUNG INTO JOBS AND BUSINESS - LEARNING FROM GERMANY 

The German economy recovered rapidly from the 2008-09 recession, with GDP topping pre-crisis rates during 2011 and 

unemployment falling significantly. Youth employment is high compared to most OECD countries largely thanks to the availability of 

well-established vocational education and training options and the successful apprenticeship system. This session will provide an 

opportunity to learn from this experience and analyse its successes and pitfalls in a broader demographic change context (increased 

mobility, declining youth population rates and population ageing). Approaches to support youth in starting their own businesses will 

also be reviewed, touching upon entrepreneurship skills as well as start-up and early-stage business development support. Finally, 

the panel will reflect on the conditions for transferability of the German experience. 

Panel discussion followed by discussion from the floor 

Dr. Christoph Bergner, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Commissioner for the New 

Federal States, Germany 

Sabine Hübner, Head of Department of Labour, Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health and Family of the State of 

Brandenburg, Germany 

Farhad Dilmaghani, Permanent Secretary for Labour and Integration, Senate Department for Labour, Integration and 

Women’s Issues, Berlin, Germany 

Aart De Geus, Member of the Executive Board, Bertelsmann Foundation, Germany, former OECD Deputy Secretary-General

AGENDA 3 

Tuesday, 20 March 2012 

14.30 - 18.00 CONCURRENT WORKSHOPS 1-5 

(hosted by Berlin youth projects) 

CONCURRENT WORKSHOP 6 

(conference venue) 

14.30 - 15.15 Participants will be transported to the sites of local initiatives for youth employment in Berlin 

15.15 - 18.00 Workshop 1 

YOUTH 

ENTREPRENEURSHIP 

18.00 Transfer back to conference venue 

Workshop 2 

SUPPORTING 

SCHOOL-TO-WORK 

TRANSITIONS 

Workshop 3 

BUILDING FUTURES 

FOR 

DISADVANTAGED 

YOUTH 

15.00 - 18.00 Workshop 6: MANAGING DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE - Transitions in labour markets 

Workshop 4 

SKILLS FOR 

SUCCESSFUL 

WORKING LIFE: 

APPRENTICESHIPS 

AND BEYOND 

Workshop 5 

JOINED UP 

APPROACHES TO 

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT 

19.00 Dinner reception: "Oranium" restaurant, Oranienburger Straße 33-34, 10117 Berlin (walking distance from conference venue) 

Wednesday, 21 March 2012 

9.00 - 9.30 Welcome coffee 

9.30 - 10.00 FEEDBACK FROM DAY 1: facilitated discussion 

10.00 - 11.30 GETTING THE YOUNG INTO JOBS AND BUSINESS: the ‘WHO’ and the ‘HOW’ 

11.30 - 12.00 Coffee Break 

These 4 concurrent workshops will discuss the role of key institutions in supporting youth entrepreneurship, school-to-work 

transitions, helping young people break out of intergenerational cycles of poverty, and helping youth to acquire the right set of skills 

for a successful working life. The discussions will build on the results of the workshops of the previous day. 

Workshop A 

WHAT COULD THE SOCIAL 

ECONOMY DO? 

Workshop B 

WHAT COULD LOCAL 

PARTNERSHIP 

ORGANISATIONS DO? 

12.00 - 13.00 PLENARY SESSION: LESSONS LEARNT AND THE WAY FORWARD 

Workshop C 

WHAT SHOULD LABOUR 

MARKET AND TRAINING 

INSTITUTIONS BE 

FOCUSING ON? 

Workshop D 

WHAT COULD 

BUSINESSES DO? 

12.00 - 12.45 Drawing on earlier discussions, this session will reflect on the lessons and recommendations stemming from the conference and on 

the role of youth organisations in the co-creation of policies and co-implementation of projects at local level. 

Facilitated panel discussion 

Comments by 

Leonardo George Christodoulou, General Director, Athens S.O.S./Young Socialists, Greece 

Romina Matei, President, Youth Express Network, Romania 

Vesna Milosevic, National Youth Employment Council and Youth Employment Action, Slovenia 

Michael Schwab, Chairman, Rural Youth Europe, Germany 

Sally Sinclair, Chief Executive Officer, National Employment Services Association, Australia 

Discussion from the floor 

12.45 - 13.00 Closing remarks 

Jan Hendeliowitz, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Employment, The Danish National Labour Market Authority, Chairman, OECD LEED 

Directing Committee 

13.00 End of the conference 

13.00 - 14.00 Lunch

FORUM TEAM 

OECD Headquarters, Paris, France 

Mailing address: 

Rue André-Pascal 2 

F-75775 Paris Cedex 16, France 

Sylvain Giguère, Head of the LEED Division 

Ekaterina Travkina, Forum Team Leader 

Francesca Froy, Co-ordinator for activities on employment, skills and local governance 

Cristina Martinez, Policy Analyst, Manager, ESSSA Initiative (Employment and Skills Strategies in Southeast Asia) 

OECD LEED Trento Centre for Local Development, Trento, Italy 


Vicolo San Marco 1 

I-38122 Trento, Italy 

Andrea-Rosalinde Hofer, Policy Analyst (reviews, capacity building sessions) 

Elisa Campestrin, Information and Communication Technology Manager 

Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI), Vienna, Austria 


Linke Wienzeile 246 

A-1150 Vienna, Austria 

Michael Förschner, Team Leader at ZSI 

Anette Scoppetta, Manager of the projects “Coordination Unit of Territorial Employment Pacts (TEPs) in Austria” at ZSI 

FORUM BOARD 

Chairman: Robert Strauss, Head of Unit, Employment Analysis, DG Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion, European Commission 

Doris Ballwein, ESF Expert, Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection (BMASK), Austria 

Hélène Deslauriers, Executive Director, Réseau des SADC du Québec, Canada 

Randall Eberts, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, US 

Denis Leamy, Chief Executive of Pobal, Ireland 

OECD LEED Forum on Partnerships and Local Governance 

www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/forum/partnerships 

Sally Sinclair, CEO of the National Employment Services Association, Australia 

Louis Vervloet, Director of ESF Unit, Flemish Ministry of Employment, Belgium

Annual Meeting PARTNERSHIPS FOR YOUTH - Economic Development ...

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