Mise en garde du commissaire sur les jeunes chômeurs[en] 

The 2009 edition of European Employment Week  was held under the theme 'Europe's Labour Market: Ensuring growth through human capital'. 

The conference focused on identifying ways that the EU can tackle the current jobs crisis so that "businesses and governments ensure that Europe is also prepared for the economic upturn". 

The keynote plenary on 24 June discussed the theme 'Jobs: From crisis to growth and inclusion', and featured a substantial amount of discussion based on the European Commission's 'Shared commitment for employment ' communiqué from early June. 

EurActiv was a 'knowledge partner' of Employment Week 2009. 

Speaking at a keynote conference during the 2009 Employment Week in Brussels yesterday, Špidla said he was "particularly concerned" by the plight of young people, who have been among the hardest-hit by the bleak employment landscape as a result of the recession. 

"Employment remains the greatest defence against social exclusion," the commissioner emphasised. 

The European Commission earlier this month recommended that EU member states sign up to a commitment to provide five million apprenticeships across Europe this year and next. This would allow young Europeans facing unemployment to "ride out the storm" and be "more employable" at the end of their training, a Commission spokesperson told EurActiv. 

However, the spokesperson admitted that this target had not been officially adopted by EU leaders, whose conclusions at the EU summit earlier this month were "very general" in respect of the Commission's action points. 

"It has not developed further since then," the spokesperson indicated. 

Preparing for the upturn 

Špidla identified three "main actions" that the EU is taking to safeguard employment while the financial crisis continues. These are firstly ensuring people keep their current jobs, secondly creating new jobs, and thirdly, improving mobility for European workers so as to improve access to jobs. 

He mentioned a new online 'map and match' service designed to help jobseekers match their skills with job vacancies throughout Europe. This cross-border job application/job-search mechanism was put in place via the existing European jobs portal EURES, which is fed vacancy data by national employment agencies. 

Asked by EurActiv why in some countries private employment agencies can upload vacancies, while in other countries they cannot, Špidla stated that "this is up to the member states". 

Moreover, the employment and social affairs commissioner highlighted the EU's twin-track push towards a "knowledge economy" and a "green economy", specifying these as the areas where the greatest job creation opportunities would arise. 

Finally, Špidla also highlighted the need to "anticipate future needs" in key areas such as climate change and energy technologies, and future water supply difficulties. Anticipating such trends will enable Europe to emerge from the recession well-prepared for the inevitable economic upturn, Špidla said. 

Robert Manchin, chairman of global pollsters Gallup, also emphasised the importance of retraining opportunities. According to recent Gallup statistics, the countries which had the lowest job satisfaction in the EU (Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania) also had the lowest investment in retraining, upskilling and the weakest transition to a more IT-oriented economy, he said. 

The plenary session's moderator, EurActiv Publisher Christophe Leclercq, highlighted the importance of these issues as the new European Commission approaches the beginning of a new five-year term, and argued that the Commission needs to replace the Lisbon Agenda to combat the financial crisis. 

Mark Fisher, 'Welfare to Work' and 'Skills Director' at the UK's Department of Work and Pensions, explained that, based on his country's experience, it is better to prepare people for a new job than to keep them in positions that are inevitably going to be cut. 

In the UK, an unemployed person receives decreasing benefits over time, but gets increasing support and advice on being reintegrated into the labour market. 

EU Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Vladimir Špidla concluded by noting that flexicurity would "definitely" remain a strong EU priority over the coming months and years.