Lívia Járóka (PPE), in writing. – The financial losses due to the disengagement of young people from the labour market amount to hundreds of billions, which also represents a serious social and economic burden. Enabling disadvantaged young people to fulfil their potential and participate actively at local, regional, national and European level is therefore not only an economic imperative and an essential factor for the achievement of greater social inclusion but also a necessity for the sound and sustainable development of their communities. It must be noted that, despite the economic crisis and the dismantling of workplaces, there are over two million unfilled vacancies in the EU, mostly because there are no workers with the required skills in the local job market. Part of the solution for youth unemployment may be the development of high-quality vocational education and training systems, with highly-qualified teachers and trainers, innovative learning methods, high-quality infrastructure and facilities, high labour market relevance and pathways to further education and training. Vocational education is more closely linked to the labour market than other sectors of education or training, yet the potential of work-based learning, and in particular apprenticeships, to tackle youth employment remains to be fully exploited in many countries.