The Socioeconomic Scope of Youth Work in Europe

“Youth activities and youth work play a central role in fostering knowledge and commitment to civil society”. This idea has meanwhile gained full recognition within European institutions and policy but although there is a wide range and diversity of youth work experiences in European countries, there is still only limited specific information available on the youth sector. Existing data is scattered and unsatisfactory, so that the socio-economic importance of youth work is difficult to verify. Against this background, the partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the youth field, with its study on “The Socio-economic Scope of Youth Work in Europe”, intends to bring youth work and learning within youth activities to the foreground and increase their visibility. Youth work differs considerably from one European country to another, and only limited information is currently available on this specific sector. The study was therefore intended to provide a comparative overview and analysis of youth activities, especially relating to specific youth work and related activities; investments in these in terms of money and time; the number of people employed; and the young people who take part in these activities. These areas were investigated by an international consortium of researchers/institutions co-ordinated by the Institute for Social Work and Social Education. Ten countries were examined: Austria, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania and Spain.