2007

New jobs for Europe
The European labour market could create 570,000 new jobs in the next five years through the lifting of restrictions on the use of agency work, according to a new report. The report, published by Eurociett, the European Confederation of Private Employment Agencies, outlines a powerful case for lifting restrictions that have impeded the spread of private agency work in parts of the European Union.

“The Poles are employing Ukrainians now” – Employment - led migration in Europe
The movement of people seeking work in Europe is becoming a difficult issue for governments, confused far too often with immigration concerns of the past that are muddying the political and economic debate. It sometimes seems that half the world has been sitting on suitcases waiting for the opportunity to seek a better life somewhere else. Economic liberalisation in China has led to mass migration from the farming hinterland to the more prosperous coastal regions creating a need for urban development and planning on a grand scale.

The China Challenge
Europe should not allow itself to become paralyzed by "furor asiaticus". China may have a huge reserve of workers but lacks highly skilled labor. For many years, we in Europe have been following the tidal wave of growth of the Chinese national economy, at first with disbelief and now with great concern. An average growth of ten per cent per annum over the last decade is currently being topped by quarterly figures that are constantly being adjusted upwards. That growth figure is now in excess of eleven percent.

Europe's young: we must address the challenge
Youth unemployment in Europe i.e. for people aged 15 to 24, is still very high despite years of economic growth. Over 15% of young people in the EU-27 are unemployed, 2.5 times worse than for the overall labor force. One reason for this dismal picture is the gulf between young people's “employability” skills plus their weak understanding of the workplace, and firms' real needs. Schools and universities do not produce enough appropriately skilled youngsters with the right attitudes.

Employment and skills in Europe - the true challenge of our times
In a recent high-level Brussels meeting we discussed demographic change in EU member states, particularly with respect to the ever more apparent shortage of qualified personnel. One of the participants dared to predict – in a semi-serious, semi-humorous fashion – and in this case it was one of the best-versed EU Commissioners: he said that HR solutions companies with well-trained, flexible employees will be the “oil sheikhs of the future”. That implies that work, rather than capital or raw materials, will become the greatest factor of production and catalyst of future progress and growth worldwide.