E.U. Portal To Help Tourism Job-Seekers Find Employment

Strong tourism season gives Europe an economic boost and much needed jobs

In order to foster employment and mobility in the tourism sector, the European Commission has launched EURES, the first pan-European job portal that currently has many openings in the tourism sector.

Latest UNWTO figures showed that the summer 2013 tourism season was a success (during the first half of 2013, international tourist arrivals in Europe grew by 5 % compared to last year) and that many jobs in the sector are currently available.

“More visitors mean not only increased profits in tourism and hospitality, but also more jobs, which is especially important for ailing economies such as Greece, Spain and Portugal,” the European Commission said on World Toursim Day, Friday, 27 September.

EURES: Filling tourism job openings with qualified workers

According to the European Commission, although jobs in tourism exist, companies in this sector often have problems locating people with the right qualifications.

To that effect, the commission, together with public employment services at national and regional level, has put in place EURES, the first pan-European job mobility portal. (For the EURES portal in Greek, press here.)

Currently the commission is working on further improving the tourism section of the portal, making it even more user friendly both for the employers and the job-seekers.

For example, a new feature will soon make it much easier for companies to compare candidate’s skills, competencies and professional training, regardless of their country of origin and language in which the skills were acquired.

Specific sub-sections will also be developed for the adventure, maritime and cultural tourism sectors. This will help these various sectors improve their offer and to remain competitive on the world market.

“The tourism sector currently employs around 18,8 million people across the EU but what is even more important – currently there are tens of thousands of job openings in tourism across Europe, which could provide some relief to the more than 26 million Europeans currently out of work,” according to the European Commission.

Jobs in the tourism sector are especially attractive for the young workforce, which faces a 23.5 percent unemployment rate (reaching a stunning 50 percent unemployment rate in some areas).

Below is a video message of European Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani on the importance of Eures for tourism