The Youth Guarantee in Scandinavia

Abstract

The idea of a youth guarantee was discussed in a number of Scandinavian countries in the mid 1970s. In Sweden the idea of an ‘education or employment guarantee’ was raised in a bill put to Parliament by the People’s Party in 1975. At the same time similar ideas were being put forward by other bodies including the Central Party and the Moderate Coalition Party. In 1976 the municipalities were given the responsibility of following the progress of young people under the age of 18 and the Education Ordinance made it clear that the aim was to give young people ‘an opportunity for employment, work experience or training/education’ (National Swedish Board of Education, 1982, p1). In Norway a youth guarantee was discussed by a committee examining the problems facing young people in a report issued in 1976. The following year the government put forward a ‘youth guarantee’ as a policy objective. In a paper laid before the Norwegian Parliament the government argued that society has a formal responsibility for the transitional phase between education and employment: