The 2008 European Job Days take in over 500 events around Europe during September and October.
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The 2008 European Job Days now in their third annual edition – are part of the EUs commitment to providing more and better jobs for Europes citizens. During September and October, a wide range of events will take place all over Europe. The different initiatives aim to raise awareness about the opportunities and practicalities of living and working in another European country. More than 200,000 people took part in Job Days last year.
September and October will see more than 500 events across the European Union. They include job fairs, seminars, lectures, workshops and cultural events, all aimed at improving labour mobility in Europe. A wide range of organisations such as local businesses, public and private employment services, social partner organisations, universities, learning and training centres and chambers of commerce will be taking part.
The Brussels Job Day event will take place in the European Commission’s headquarters the Berlaymont building on 27 September. Employers will be present to advertise their job offers to new employees and to hold on-the-spot interviews. Visitors will also have access to a EURES space, where all interested jobseekers will be able to consult EURES advisors, meet some employers coming from around Europe and directly access the 1.4 million job vacancies available on the EURES portal.
In the Netherlands there will be a nation-wide job fair on 9 October. In over 100 cities, every public employment office will be open to the public and will organise a job fair. Bigger events will be organised in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.
EURES Germany and Switzerland are holding a joint event on the ferry boat across Lake Constance, while joint events will be organised between Austria and Hungary on the train from Szombathely to Mattersburg and between France and Italy on the Sanremo-Nice train.
Job Days are designed to explain the benefits of job mobility within the EU and give employers and jobseekers the opportunity to meet and talk to each other. They also provide factual and unbiased information about moving to work in other countries in Europe. For many young workers, attending an event may be the first step towards their own mobility experience. Job interviews can take place directly at Job Day events.
Currently, over 5 million Europeans or around 2.2% of the European labour force live in another EU Member State, according to data from the EU Labour Force Survey 2007. This is slightly higher than a few years ago. However, the share of non-EU nationals among the EU labour force has been rising faster and now stands at about 3.8%.
Mobility rates vary considerably between Member States. In recent years, citizens from the Baltic states, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, but also Portugal and Ireland have shown a relatively high propensity to move to another EU country, while it has been rather low in the other Member States.
The EURES network, set up in 1993, is a Europe-wide employment service, supported by all the Public Employment Services in Europe (EU + European Economic Area). EURES includes a network of more than 5,000 local employment offices with more than 100,000 staff offering services to jobseekers and employers. Within this group there are 750 EURES advisers who are specialised in advising on trans-national workers mobility. At the same time, jobseekers can access 1.4 million jobs at any one time via the EURES portal while employers can use the service to fill vacancies.
