Efficient services for transnational labour mobility

EURES (EURopean Employment Services) is a cooperation network of employment services comprising the European Commission and members and partners in EU member states, the UK, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.  The network consists of national coordination offices and public employment services and brings together over 1,000 EURES advisers providing a broad range of services to workers and employers, including information and guidance, and facilitates the cooperation between public labour market actors involved in cross border matching, placement and recruitment. In doing so, EURES advisers cooperate with partner organizations (unions, employer associations) and other EU networks, education institutions etc.

The aim of the co-financed project EURES – Developing services to facilitate transnational labour mobility is to provide efficient advice and guidance services to support transnational labour mobility, especially among young workers. This includes the following activities:

• establishing contact points to promote equal treatment of EU workers and to provide legal information about the free movement of workers and their family members;
• developing modular workshops and providing EURES services via various communication channels targeting jobseekers;
• assisting employers in their international recruitment efforts via central EURES office for employers;
• supporting the participation of NEETS (young people not in employment, education or training) up to the age of 35 in various activities that allow them to gain work experience abroad (national job mobility schemes);
• appointing a EURES National Coordination Office in each country;
• establishing a system allowing exchange of data on vacancies, and matching of job vacancies and CVs in accordance with European Commission standards;
• monitoring customer experience and satisfaction with EURES services provided and performing labour market research and research on how well EU workers can exercise their rights in the common market;
• providing EURES e-learning for Employment Service of Slovenia advisers and partners.

‘’EURES differs from other similar counselling networks in that it works on the basis of face-to-face communication to reach out to the customers. It’s part of our job to put ourselves in the employers’ or workers’ shoes to see how it’s really like for them. This approach pays off not only in terms of work reward and job satisfaction, but also helps prevent or overcome administrative barriers once you get down to paperwork,’’ described her work Eugenia, one of EURES advisers.