In the framework of the Lost Millennials project, a country report for Poland was issued by the Evidence Institute Foundation. The report considers the Polish policy context targeting 25+ NEETs, meaning people aged 25-29 who are unemployed and are not in education nor training. The project is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment.

In Poland, the general labour market policies are created at the national governmental level however, the responsibility of introducing the policies adequately lies in the hands of local governments. The primary legal framework defining the conditions of youth employment is within the Act of April 20, 2004, on employment promotion and labour market institutions. The aforementioned document targets people younger than 30 in terms of mitigating the effects of unemployment and professional activation. It is, additionally, the basis for other local and national initiatives introduced to increase the employment of young people, including NEETs.

In 2022, a new National Plan for Employment was introduced. Its aim was defined to be ‘Effective and fair use of Poland’s personnel capital’. The initiatives proposed under this plan by both NGOs and local governments include providing new institutional and legal solutions promoting the modernisation of the labour market as well as launching programs and internships as a way to encourage young people to become professionally active.

Overall, there are many initiatives aimed at encouraging employment among youth, many funded by the European Union. However, most of these policies target a wider group of people, usually 15-29-year-olds, instead of focusing on NEETs, who are not specifically targeted by any regulations. Although both national and local governments propose and introduce policies aiming to address the situation of the actors in the labour market, they often fail to recognize the needs of those unemployed or wishing to enter the market, which is an issue majorly affecting NEETs.

Learn more about the Polish policy context addressing 25+ NEETs by clicking here.