The Youth Employment Act’s main goal is to promote the development of jobs for people aged between 15 and 29 years old.

It seeks to make the access to the labour market easier, particularly for youngsters who come from poor households, who are responsible for their families or that have left school. The State will pay certain stipends to those companies that hire these youngsters.

Even though the unemployment rate in Uruguay is close to 7.6%, according to the National Institute of Statistics, unemployment among people younger than 25 years old is 22.5%. This is the target group of the Act.

In the last edition of the initiative “I Study, I Work”, 40.000 youngsters competed for the jobs available. The programs provides a first working experience for youngsters aged between 16 and 20 years old, granting access to 600 jobs in different bodies of the State.

There are six different ways this new Act is implemented. They include the “First Working Experience”, in which the State subsidizes 25% of the nominal wage with a cap of $13.567. The second way is the “Labour Practice for Graduates”, usually known as internships, in which the State subsidizes 15% of the nominal wage with the same cap. One of the modes in which the State is putting more emphasis is the “Protected Young Labour”, aimed at young people who live in vulnerable households. For this segment, the State is providing larger subsidies. For women, the State will pay up to 80% of two minimum salaries (around $16.000). For men, up around 60% of two minimum salaries ($12.000).

The National Director of Employment, Eduardo Pereira, thinks that the Act is a good tool to create formal jobs for young people. “The goal is to promote the first working experience among young people, granting a good quality context, with every right and benefit any workers has, while making sure that this first working experience does not transform into leaving the educational market”, said Pereira.

Even though the Act was voted in 2013, it was regulated this year. The authorities seek to promote more the benefits as 150 contracts have been set up and 60 youngsters are doing labour practices in 60 companies.

There still is a long way to go.

Uruguay ratified ILO’s Convention 181 on Private Employment Agencies in 2004. However, the Convention has still not been regulated. The complete validity of the private employment services and its articulation with the public employment services, would strengthen the implementation of the act, encouraging young people’s employability.