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The European Commission is setting up a skills and mobility task- force seeking to reduce barriers to the movement of workers in the European labour market.
The commission intends to present an action plan to the European Council in spring 2002, including proposals for a more flexible regime for recognising professional qualifications and measures to simplify the transfer of pensions across Europe. The task force was a key propo-sal at the EU Stockholm Summit.
Susan Gibas, secretary general for the European HR network welcomed the taskforce move.
She said, “It’s a good idea as the commission is looking at the problem from the top level of industry. To have a truly mobile workforce, people must be able to use their qualifications outside their member states.”
She added, “One of the major barriers to moving workers across Europe is the difficulties employers face when transferring pension entitlements.”
The European skills shortages is acute in the IT, financial services, and telecoms sectors, with 81 per cent of employers expecting the problem to worsen over the next 12 months, according to a TMP worldwide survey.
Fiona Birt-Llewellin, European HR director for TMP Worldwide said, “It’s an enormously positive step by the commission to set up a taskforce to address this issue.”
The survey of 350 senior managers across Europe found that 78 per cent believe that cross-border recruiting would ease the skill shortage.
Andrew Grant, European CEO of TMP Worldwide’s e-resourcing division, said, “In many cases it is not that Europe doesn’t have the skills, just that they are in the wrong place.”
