Current practices across Europe to assist in the inclusion of Roma/Gypsy population through education and training and employment opportunities

The Roma populations of countries of Central and South East Europe have suffered a disproportionately negative impact on their living conditions over the last 10 years as a result of socioeconomic changes, ethnic conflict and war. Contemporary social conditions are extremely poor for this group of people for a number of complex reasons. However, providing better education and training for Roma people has a key role in improving their employability and their income generation potential, and promoting their social empowerment. The European Training Foundation (ETF) has undertaken two activities focusing on Roma people within its project ‘Vocational training against social exclusion’. The first activity was the organisation of a conference to examine the role of education and training in improving the living conditions of Roma people. The second activity involved a study on ‘the current practices across Europe to assist the social and economic inclusion of Roma populations through education and training and employment opportunities’. The main objective was to document current good practice and make recommendations for further action. This report documents this study. The study found that successful initiatives for increasing participation in employment of Roma youth and adults were difficult to find and that no systematic evaluation of actions undertaken to help the social situation of Roma people had been carried out. The chapters are: Executive summary: main findings; Introduction; Roma population in Europe: state of affairs; Overview of national actions to promote the inclusion of Roma population; Conclusions and policy recommendations. Show less