Jobs, jobs, jobs for students

Hundreds of thousands of students, whose part-time job contracts have been terminated and who do not have enough means to accommodate basic life needs, have lost faith in their education. Instead of working in administrative or support jobs, students in Paris and other university cities are now lining up for food donations. The EPP Group calls for immediate and direct help for the youth.

Sabine Verheyen MEP, Chairwoman of the European Parliament's Culture and Education Committee and author of the parliamentary Resolution on the impact of COVID-19 on youth and on sport, urged: “Member States must act now and come up with tailored schemes for the retention and creation of jobs for students and young people. The European Commission must swiftly mobilise all funding available with direct focus on youth, such as the Youth Guarantee and Erasmus+ to put a stop to this tragedy.”

The psychological impact of the lockdowns and hard economic conditions is yet another issue young people have to deal with. Sabine Verheyen added: “Only widely available tailored mental health services and psychosocial support within training and education institutions can avoid a long-term impact on the psychological health of our young generation. Public financing to support these services is key and we therefore ask Member States to dedicate special financial sources, including the ones they will be receiving within the EU financing, to improve the mental health of our struggling youth.”

According to the World Labour Organisation, more than 20% of youth worldwide has struggled with paying for their housing, and the income of almost half of students has decreased since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. Those who have had to face this harsh economic reality are twice as likely to be affected by anxiety or depression.

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