Abstract

Since 2013, a new program has gained center stage in the European employment policy agenda: the Youth Guarantee. The aim of this program is to ensure all people under 25 years old a good-quality job or training offer within 4 months from the beginning of unemployment or the end of an educational path. In Italy, the Youth Guarantee was officially launched in May 2014. This program reflects two main concerns. On the one hand, it was devised as a prompt, albeit partial, answer to the problem of youth unemployment. On the other hand, the Italian Youth Guarantee can be considered part of a wider process of reform aimed at improving Italian employment services and active labor policies. However, the Youth Guarantee had to face several obstacles, in particular due to the lack of institutional capabilities of the Italian public administration. In this article, we focus on the main challenges and prospects of this new employment program.