Resource overview
“Young people and cooperatives: a perfect match?” is a study/report produced by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA). The report is authored collaboratively by the ICA, the Co-operative College, and the ICA Youth Network, and is published by the ICA. It examines how cooperative enterprises can engage young people and respond to challenges facing youth, with relevance for cooperative housing and other social-economy models across Europe and beyond.
Structure and approach
The report is organised around five thematic chapters framed as the five “E”s: employment, education, (in)equalities, engagement, and entrepreneurship. This structure is used to map youth priorities and barriers, and to assess where cooperative models can provide practical pathways into decent work, participation, and enterprise creation.
Evidence base and key data
The analysis is based on 420 responses from young people across 20 countries. Using this dataset, the report identifies recurring constraints faced by youth—such as access to quality jobs, relevant education and training, and opportunities to participate meaningfully in economic and civic life—and connects them to cooperative solutions and organisational practices that can be adopted by the cooperative movement.
Links to sustainability and global goals
The report situates cooperatives within the broader framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It highlights in particular SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG 4 (quality education), describing how cooperatives can contribute through employment creation, skills development, and education about cooperative values and governance. This framing is used to position youth-focused cooperative action as part of wider sustainability and social inclusion objectives.
Engagement strategies for cooperatives
To increase youth engagement, the report outlines strategies aimed at both awareness and organisational change. These include improving young people’s knowledge of what cooperatives are and how they work, strengthening the public image and visibility of cooperatives, creating genuine youth-oriented structures within cooperatives, and expanding access to decent work opportunities through cooperative business and membership models. The emphasis is on making participation tangible—through roles, pathways, and governance mechanisms that enable young people to influence decisions and outcomes.
Case studies and practical examples
The report includes case studies and examples that illustrate cooperative contributions to employment, education, and reducing inequalities. These examples are used to demonstrate how cooperative enterprises can translate principles—such as democratic member control and shared benefit—into concrete programmes and outcomes that support young people, including through training, job creation, and initiatives addressing unequal access to opportunity.
Adapting to digitisation
Recognising the digitisation of society and labour markets, the report argues that cooperatives need to adapt to remain visible and credible as alternatives for employment and entrepreneurship. It notes that while cooperatives have the potential to help young people overcome multiple challenges in theory, practical obstacles still need to be addressed so that this potential is realised consistently and at scale.
Conclusions and call to action
Overall, the report presents a call to action for the cooperative movement to strengthen support for young people and to improve structures for youth participation. It provides conclusions and recommendations intended to promote youth cooperatives, increase youth employment and engagement within cooperatives, and expand education on cooperative values and practices—positioning these steps as necessary for long-term movement development and impact.