Umbria issues a voucher to fight NEET unemployment

Meant to be a turning point in the regional labour market policy

On the first day of July, Michele Fioroni, Umbria’s councillor for economic development, held a press conference to announce a new call called ReWork – the Umbrian Labour Voucher. This call concerns both the regional employment centres (as its future beneficiaries), and the unemployed residents living in the central Italian region (as the recipient of services).

The Labour Voucher will grant access to a variety of training possibilities, which will enhance workers’ skills in such a way that they match the demands of the employers in the central Italian region. Unlike previous labour support incentives, this initiative also aims to boost the employability capacity of young people who are neither studying nor working – a group commonly known as NEETs.

NEET is an acronym for ‘Not in Education, Employment, or Training’

New tools have been put in place, which will make it possible to analyze and enhance the skills possessed by workers, and direct their retraining according to the profiles sought by the market. In this perspective, a key role will be played by the public and private network of employment services, employment centres and accredited employment agencies, whose synergy will strengthen the opportunities for people seeking work.

The unemployed and those currently in a layoff, and under a high risk of unemployment (due to the Covid-derived crisis) will be able to access, with the Umbrian Labour Voucher, various services. There is a wide range of these, such as specialist guidance, job accompaniment, individual training and financed extracurricular internships, all in line with the needs of the regional production sector.

"The ReWork call marks a turning point for active labour market policies and vocational training. We intervene immediately with fundamental tools such as the Umbrian Labor Voucher, introduced by the recently approved regional labour market reform law, and with huge resources, up to at least 20 million euros, to favour the stable employment of those who have lost their jobs… and with particular attention paid to young NEETs, estimated at approximately 20 thousand in Umbria, and which represent a real social emergency," declared councillor Fioroni on the occasion.

The call notice will be published in the Official Bulletin of the Umbria Region in mid-July and the final recipients will be able announced in September.