Young jobseekers face an experience barrier as unemployment rises

Youth unemployment in Estonia has reached its highest level in recent years, with nearly 15,000 young people out of work, ERR reports. Young people seeking their first jobs face a cycle in which employers expect years of relevant experience.

Keili Parts, who is looking for work in Pärnu, told ETV’s “Impulss” programme that Estonia’s Unemployment Insurance Fund did not help her after she completed marketing studies, remained unemployed and began looking for a new direction.

While registered as unemployed, Parts found an opportunity through acquaintances to fill in for kindergarten assistants. She enjoyed the work but said the fund did not provide the training she wanted. She was told there were already too many teachers or kindergarten teachers in the Pärnu region.

Fund head Gert Tiivas acknowledged that the agency could do more to support young people and apologised to Parts. He said he was glad she had found work that excited her.

Parts also described confusion over short-term work while registered as unemployed. She said she had been told she could not return to an employer after working there once, a restriction that also concerned employers. They could not build trust, she said, if they saw a worker only once or twice.

Tiivas said the rules around short-term work were unclear and the fund had begun working to clarify them. He added that, since September, people could take a trial day in a real working environment, which is different from a short-term job. The fund also appointed specialist youth advisers this year, who are expected to have more time to support young people.

Economic and Industry Minister Liina Vahtras encouraged young people to consider jobs outside their preferred fields, saying that any first work experience could help with future salary negotiations and strengthen a CV. She proposed better digital tools to connect young people and employers, allowing jobseekers to list their skills and the type of work they want, and employers to indicate whether they hire young people.

Vahtras said the state should intervene when a market problem persists. Hando Sutter, head of the Estonian Employers’ Confederation, said hiring young people requires extra effort from businesses in the short term because inexperienced workers need guidance and may be less productive than experienced colleagues. But, he said, more employers are recognising that bringing young people into the workforce is essential to competitiveness.