“Right now we have 8.5% of young people between 15 and 29 years old classified as NEET’s, young people who do not work, study or attend any training and, therefore, are in a situation of non-employment.”, said Miguel Fontes.

The number of NEET’s has decreased significantly, after standing at 13.2% in 2015, said Miguel Fontes, adding that among the age groups of NEETs between 15 and 29 years old, those from 25 to 29 years old have the highest percentage.

The incidence between 15 and 19 years old is lower due to the reduction in early school leaving, he explained.

Miguel Fontes also revealed that the young people who make up this group have, for the most part, low qualifications as a result of successive social exclusions and early abandonment of the educational and training system, which creates difficulties in entering the job market.

“The overwhelming majority are young people deeply affected by situations of social exclusion and economic vulnerability”, he reinforced.

The Secretary of State said that what the government has done is to seek to mobilise responses, namely professional internships to facilitate the transition from the world of education to the professional world and support hiring with programs that stimulate and support the business sector to hire, he highlighted.

“We have sought to find answers that are socially innovative, we launched an initiative that we called social employment incubators to help a group of entities that are on the ground to develop a methodology, a methodology already tested in Spain, so that we can work in a more assertively with this segment of the young population”, he said.