Around 50 large companies sign pact to boost jobs for young people
The 50 companies include Altice, Bial, BPI, Brisa, CTT, EDP, Galp, NOS, REN, Santander, SIBS and The Navigator Company.
Around fifty companies with a turnover of over €55 million will be signing a pact on Thursday to promote a boost in youth employment and attractive employment conditions for this age group.
The “More and Better Jobs for Youth Pact”, promoted by the José Neves Foundation and the government, stipulates that companies commit themselves, until 2026, “to strengthen their focus on several indicators, namely hiring and retaining young workers, guaranteeing quality jobs for young people, training, developing and giving a voice to young people”.
The 50 companies include Altice, Bial, BPI, Brisa, CTT, EDP, Galp, NOS, REN, Santander, SIBS and The Navigator Company.
“The signatory entities of the Pact recognise the urgency to act strategically and to join efforts in order to promote youth employment and to create more attractive employment conditions for them, aligned with individual and national expectations,” explains José de Neves, in a statement.
According to this information, “the secretary of state for labour proposes to strengthen active employment policies, such as support for job creation and for the transition of young people to the labour market, as well as the implementation of training, qualification and employment policies, to continue the trajectory that brings Portugal closer to the European average”.
Besides the commitment to increase the percentage of young people in new hirings and in those who stay in companies, it is stipulated the commitment to guarantee quality employment, reflected in the increase of the “percentage of young people with higher education with salaries of a minimum amount equivalent to the salary level corresponding to the entry into the general career of higher technician” and “the percentage of young workers with permanent contracts”, as well as to “increase the percentage of young people with higher education performing functions appropriate to their qualification level”.
It is also foreseen to “ensure that at least 50% of young workers participated in effective training activities with the support of the company, in the three years prior to 2026″, as well as to ” include young interns in the company and/or create opportunities for on-the-job training for students who are in vocational training in secondary or higher education”, as well as to “give a voice to young people” in companies.
The pact, which comes in the wake of the launch of the “White Paper” by the foundation in December last year, provides for a biannual meeting for “monitoring, analysis of the work carried out and sharing of good practices”, with the presence of the president of Portugal, the government and the companies.
The goal is to expand the number of signatory companies, to “transform this initiative into a national movement”, so that joining the pact can be done later on the Fundação José Neves website.
Young people up to the age of 29, inclusive, are considered and the progress goals until 2026 are differentiated according to the potential progress margin of each company, so that the progress commitments may vary between three percentage points (pp.) and 12 pp. in the various indicators, explains the foundation.
