Empowering Croatia's Future

Empowering Croatia's FutureEnhancing Youth Employmentand Skills DevelopmentPublic Disclosure Authorized EmpoweringCroatia’s FutureEnhancing YouthEmployment and SkillsDevelopment Disclaimer © 2025 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank1818 H Street NWWashington DC 20433Internet:www.worldbank.org Some rights reserved This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings,interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views ofThe World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The bound-aries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do notimply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territoryor the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Rights and Permissions The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because The World Bank encourages dissem-ination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercialpurposes as long as full attribution to this work is given. Any queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to WorldBank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax:202-522-2625; email: pubrights@worldbank.org. Design and typesetting:Kuna zlatica, www.kunazlatica.hr Cover photos from left to right: © monkeybusinessimages / iStock© Pekic / iStock© Phynart Studio / iStock© PeopleImages / iStock© Dusan Stankovic / iStock© Drazen Zigic / Shutterstock Table of Contents Abbreviations and Acronyms......................................................................................................................... 6Acknowledgments............................................................................................................................................. 8Executive Summary........................................................................................................................................... 91 / Context...........................................................................................................................................................192 / Barriers to Youth Employment.............................................................................................................293 /Government Responses..........................................................................................................................414 / Policy Recommendations.......................................................................................................................57Recommendation 1: Strengthening the labor market information system (LMIS) tomonitor emerging labor market trends and inform different types of users......................... 63Recommendation 2: Deploying lifelong human capital development solutions................. 69Recommendation 3: Tailoring services and their delivery to increasingly diverse targetgroups.............................................................................................................................................................74Conclusions....................................................................................................................................................... 81References..........................................................................................................................................................83 Table of Figures Figure 1:NEET Rates in Croatia and the EU.............................................................................................25Figure 2:NEET Rates by Level of Educational Attainment in EU in 2023...................................... 30Figure 3:NEET Rates by Labor Market Status in the EU in 2023......................................................33Figure B4.1:Transitions of the Youth Population (Ages 15–24) from Unemployment andInactivity to Employment in the EU in 2023.............................................................................................34Figure B4.2:Employment Rates of Recent Graduates (Ages 18–34) by EducationalAttainment Level in the EU in 2023, One to Three Years After the Completion of TheirHighest Level of Education............................................................................................................................34Figure 4:Composition of the Youth NEET Population (Ages 15–29) by Gender and EducationLevel and Type.................................................................................................................................................. 36Figure 5:Main Reasons for Nonparticipation by Youth (Ages 15–29) not in Work, by Gender37Figure B5.1:Regional Differences in Unemployment and Job Shortages and Surpluses.........38Figure 6:The Youth