IP/06/186
Brussels, 20 February 2006
European year of workers' mobility kicks off with one million jobs online Around one million job vacancies throughout the EU will be advertised today on a new job search website, unveiled as part of the launch of the European Year of Workers' Mobility. The website and the Year will be launched by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, Commissioner Vladimír Špidla and Austrian Minister for Economics and Labour Martin Bartenstein at the conference 'Workers' mobility: a right, an option, an opportunity?' in Brussels. The year aims to raise awareness and increase understanding of the benefits working in a new country and/or occupation, as well as highlighting how the EU can help workers move.
Only around 2% of Europeans live in an EU country other than their country of origin, a percentage largely unchanged for the last 30 years. And they are largely staying in their jobs, too. Average job duration is 10.6 years in the EU – in the US, it is 6.5. As the EU strives for more 'Growth and Jobs', helping workers to move to new countries/sectors has become even more important: it gives workers new skills and experience, benefiting both them and their employers in today's global economy.
Vladimír Špidla, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, highlighted why mobility is important. 'Free movement is a fundamental right in the EU. We should make as full use of it as we can. It can provide opportunities to learn, to work and to re-skill. Workers need new skills and Europe needs adaptable workers. So Europe needs to get on the move,' he said.
Today's conference will see the launch of the new EURES job vacancies website, which will advertise around 1 million vacancies in the EU in 28 countries throughout Europe (web address below). The site will publish all the job openings advertised by public employment services throughout the EU and beyond, as well as offering a network of 700 advisors to provide assistance to mobile workers.
The conference, which will be attended by around 450 delegates including politicians, employer and employee representatives, academics and civil society, will also analyse mobility's role in achieving more and better jobs, increasing growth and how to instil a mobility culture.
The Year's €10 million budget will be dedicated to mobility awareness raising projects and major events, such as a Vienna Mobility conference in June and 'Job Fair Europe' in September - which will see job fairs in more than 50 European cities. Projects will include "mobility evenings" on a European TV channel and in Paris in December 2006, a publicity campaign in the Metro magazines in all European metros, new films showing the value of mobility and a blog on the European Year of Workers' Mobility web site.
Several studies are planned to assess mobility's impact and to improve statistical data. A European prize will be awarded to the organisation that has contributed the most to worker mobility.
A recent Eurobarometer study indicates that respondents largely recognised that mobility can help job prospects. Results bear this out. The same survey found that while 59% of people who looked for work outside their home region found work within a year, the equivalent who stayed put was just 35%.
Though mobility remains limited, interest in becoming mobile is high among Europeans. EuropeDirect, the service which answers any question about the EU in any EU language (telephone 00800 6 7 8 9 10 11), reports that around 25% of the questions it receives concern mobility.
Find more information on: 2006 European Year for Workers’ Mobility
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/workersmobility2006/index_en.htm EURES - The European Job Mobility Portal
http://ec.europa.eu/eures/home.jsp?lang=en
