EU Job Days 2009 – job seekers and employers all over Europe seize the opportunity to meet

The European Job Days are taking place around the EU over the next fortnight, with a centrepiece event in Brussels on 3 October. Over 80 organisations and thousands of Europeans have responded to the Commission’s invitation to meet at its Berlaymont headquarters. This year emphasis is being placed on matching skills to the needs of the labour market (New skills for new jobs), particularly for young people. The Brussels event is part of a series of job fairs and similar events being organised in over 200 European cities between mid-September and mid-October 2009.

“Social Europe means above all jobs." said Vladimír Špidla, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. He added: "Young people in particular have felt the economic downturn very harshly and we have to make sure that they can find jobs straight after completing their education. While many areas are hit by unemployment, shortages of certain skills persist in some regions. We encourage young people to broaden their horizons and look for work across the EU."

As in previous years, the European Commission is marking the importance of the Europe-wide Job Days by organising the Brussels Job Day at the very heart of the Commission headquarters. People can pre-register their CVs for the Brussels event, which allows for direct on-the-spot interviews. Around 1,000 vacancies were filled as a direct result of last year's event. A highlight of the event will be the opportunity for visitors to undergo free tests to assess their skills and competences.

The Job Days represent the EU’s jobs and growth strategy in action – encouraging job mobility around Europe and helping to reinforce growth. The initiative is taking place simultaneously in September and in October all over Europe and will see more than 500 events such as job fairs, seminars, lectures, workshops and cultural events. In Austria, seven Job fairs will take place all over the country, mainly targeting universities. Finland will organise the sixth annual Kampus Recruitment Fair on 28 October alongside five other events ( see MEMO 09/431 for full list of events).

The events 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. The Job Days are being organised in the framework of EURES activities, the Europe-wide employment service, and its network of more than 750 EURES advisers.

Background

After some years of relatively high growth and job creation (8 million new jobs alone in 2006-2008), taking Europe back to employment levels not seen since the 1980s, the economic crisis is hitting the labour market and increasingly affecting the prospects and livelihoods of Europeans. In response, the European Commission launched a €200 billion recovery package to tackle the effects of the crisis.

The Commission also defined three priorities for jobs: maintaining employment and promoting mobility; upgrading skills and matching labour market needs; increasing access to employment. The Job Days are a concrete example of putting these priorities into practice.