At the SEDEC External Seminar “Empowering Young Voices in European Cities and Regions”, Peter Jahr, Member of the Mittelsachsen District Council (Saxony, Germany), issued a strong call for a new partnership between schools, companies and public authorities to better support young people on their path from education to work, entrepreneurship and civic engagement.
Speaking during the debate “From Local Skills to Local Startups – Nurturing Youth Innovation”, Jahr warned that Europe cannot afford to waste the potential of its younger generations – and that current systems are struggling to keep up with new realities. “If we lose our youth, we lose our own future,” he stressed.
Bringing companies into the classroom
Jahr underlined that the key to better youth opportunities is already in front of policymakers and educators: the young people in the education system.
“We have the young people right there in the education system — they’re sitting in front of us, from ages six to fourteen. That’s a huge opportunity,” he said.
He pointed to a persistent gap between what schools provide and what employers expect:
“School and education are one thing, but what companies expect from young people is often something entirely different. My simple, perhaps naïve, proposal is that companies should go into schools, present themselves, and create a real dialogue about what young people actually need to be able to do.” According to Jahr, such direct contacts can help young people better understand the skills required in the labour market, give companies an early and realistic way to present career paths, and make entrepreneurship more visible and accessible – especially in smaller towns and rural regions.
New problems, old structures
Jahr also highlighted that the challenges facing schools have changed dramatically in recent years, while systems and support structures have not always kept pace.
“The education system and teachers often don’t even know how to deal with these new problems,” he cautioned. He pointed to the worrying rise of new forms of school refusal: “Even in a well-organized country like Germany, new forms of school refusal are emerging — and sometimes, parents even support it.” This, he argued, is a sign of deeper social tensions, pressures on families and young people, and a lack of effective, coordinated responses at local, regional and national levels.
Better coordination of support services
Jahr stressed that many support instruments already exist – but are not sufficiently known or connected. “Teachers are often unaware of the support services that already exist — this needs to be better coordinated,” he said. He called for clearer information channels, better networking between schools, social services, youth organisations and employment services, and stronger involvement of local and regional authorities, who are often closest to the realities on the ground.
A call for clear direction from Brussels
While insisting that solutions must be rooted locally, Jahr also stressed the importance of European-level leadership and coherence: “We need fundamental decisions and clear direction, especially from Brussels.” For Jahr, the European Union has a critical role to play in:
- providing a strategic framework on youth skills, mental health and inclusion;
- supporting cross-border exchange of good practices between regions and cities;
- and ensuring that EU funds effectively reach local projects that connect education, business, and youth initiatives.
Youth as the backbone of Europe’s future
The debate “From Local Skills to Local Startups – Nurturing Youth Innovation” showcased how local and regional ecosystems can foster youth entrepreneurship and innovation – from coding academies and vocational training programmes to startup mentoring, incubation schemes and public–private partnerships. Peter Jahr’s intervention added a clear message: without strong, practical links between schools, families, companies and public authorities, Europe risks losing the very generation it depends on for its future prosperity and democratic resilience.
By bringing companies into classrooms, better coordinating support services, and providing clear political direction at EU level, he argued, Europe can turn today’s challenges into an opportunity to empower young people to become skilled workers, innovative entrepreneurs and active citizens in their communities.