Towards the recovery of Europe: innovation, employment and mobility

The cycle of three online seminars "Towards the recovery of Europe: innovation, employment and mobility", organized by the association of Spanish Scientists in Belgium (CEBE) in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Migration and Social Security of the Embassy of Spain in Belgium and sponsored by the Ramón Areces Foundation, has brought together nine experts representing different institutions at the European level (European Commision, EURES, REPER), national (CSIC) and local (INJUVE Aragón) who provided relevant information on the tools, programs and opportunities for R&D, employment and mobility in the context of the Recovery Plan for Europe.

Mrs. María José Arias Fernández (National Coordinator of EURES Spain and Head of the Area of Professional Guidance and International Programs, State Public Employment Service, SEPE) introduced us to the Network and the possibilities it offers. It is a free service aimed at employers and employees that favors the free movement of workers in Europe. In Spain, it operates through a network under the responsibility of the . Currently, due to the health crisis, great efforts and important advances have been made to digitize the processes and the cohesion of the network. María José presented us with the information that we can find in the EURES portal, mobility aids, employer services, advice, currently she has 3,000,000 jobs, the information on these positions is organized by categories (duration of the contract, area , country ..) In addition, EURES makes available to the entire network a platform to host job fairs, events related to employability ... EURES 'experience in online job fairs has allowed them not to stop their work and activity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr.  Juan Antonio Elena García (Minister of Labor, Migration and Social Security in the Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU) spoke to us about legal issues that are relevant to guarantee the framework of labor mobility in Europe and the application of rights labor within the European space. The free movement of employees favors the transfer of knowledge, offers employment opportunities, professional career improvement, contributes to stimulate labor markets between EU countries. Mobile workers are around 10% of the workforce, it is hoped that this European mobility will increase in the upcoming years. The sending countries are Romania and Croatia and the receiving countries are Germany and the UK. Brexit most likely affects this data.

Juan Antonio described the different types of labor mobility. Mobile people usually have a highly qualified profile and have a positive impact on their employability with a high degree of success in finding employment in another EU member state. The regulations of free movement and employability in Europe are reviewed and are affected by the accession of new EU member countries as well as the demands and factors of the labor market. Juan Antonio pointed out how in some cases employees can be affected by different issues (for example, non-recognition of qualifications) and how the institutions and the labor ministries or EURES can find help to resolve these obstacles.

Mrs. Elena Batanero (Coordinator of the Plan Retorno Joven Aragón) in this seminar explained in detail the Aragón returning plan for the attraction and retention of talent. Elena described the stages of the design of the plan, the analysis of challenges to be addressed through the consultation of the people who wanted returns and how it has been created with agile management methodologies.

A return office has been created with a short response time and creating a communication channel between all those people who wanted to return to Aragon. The plan's services are co-created with the people who demand them, so both the plan and the services are in continuous renewal. The services include financial aid for return, psychological care, employment counselling, employment exchange, technical assistance in matters related to international mobility.

The returning plan has created a network of people with common interests for the return and the plan has also prepared reports on specific sectors. They are currently working on a folder with the scientific profile. In addition, the plan has created a public-private partnership to connect employers and employees. This plan also faces future challenges and for this reason they are working on renovating their website to communicate more effectively and specifically, reinforce the public-private synergy and also with science and technology parks and also work to make Aragon an attractive territory for the return of talent.

Mrs. Concha Gutiérrez del Castillo (Counsellor for the Ministry of Labour, Migration and Social Security of the Embassy of Spain in Belgium)  gave the closing remarks. She described the design of the online seminars and pointed out the need to transmit the information that has been exposed in this cycle.

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