YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP - UNUSED POTENTIAL OF CROATIA

Because of the economic and financial crisis, European countries have high rates of unemployment, especially youth unemployment. Croatia, as a country in transition, has highlighted the problem of youth unemployment, which together with the lowest rate of economic activity among the population compared with the EU countries, and a very low level of productivity, represent some key problems on the domestic labor market. The purpose of this paper is to present the aforementioned dimensions of the problem, and in particular to analyze the position of Croatia in terms of youth unemployment. The experience of the UK and other European countries, shows that it is possible to increase youth employment by means of dedicated programs and institutions designed to encourage youth entrepreneurship, especially in the ICT sector. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate the possibilities of applying this model to the Republic of Croatia in order to increase employment of young people, encouraging the development of entrepreneurship among them and the development of the ICT sector. A new EU strategy - Europe 2020 plans to introduce significant measures at the EU level and at the level of nation-states with the aim of developing entrepreneurship. Croatia as a new member of the European Union will certainly be able to use the funding directed to promoting entrepreneurship and youth employment in the period between 2014 and 2020 and therefore should prepare adequate programs at all levels. By comparing Croatia with other countries in the European Union, it is possible to determine the appropriate measures and supporting institutions that Croatia can apply.