European Year of Workers' Mobility

The European Commission has designated 2006 as the European Year of Workers' Mobility. The main aim of the year is to increase people's understanding of the rights, benefits, but also costs of both working abroad and making a job or career change.

The ability to adapt to a change of job or career is becoming increasingly important. Rapid technological advances mean that many of today's skills will quickly become obsolete.

Lifelong learning and education and training that respond to a knowledge-based economy are vital to help people adjust to these changes.

2006 should also witness further developments of current measures to co-ordinate social security schemes and secure the portability of occupational pensions.

Finally EURES (European Employment Services), a vast network set up by the European Commission in 1993, has been expanded to give EU citizens direct access to all job vacancies published by the Public Employment Services.

NCW believes that appropriate EU funds should be allocated for the European Year of Workers' Mobility to be used to increase people's awareness; in particular to inform them on the services that exist in this area and to address one of the biggest obstacles to mobility - people's attitudes.

An exchange of good practice should be developed by public authorities, workers' representatives, employers' associations, NGOs and the private sector. Social security measures and pensions systems need to be developed further to ensure that Maltese citizens will be able to make sustained use of opportunities of mobility.

The Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) needs to increase its initiatives in networking with different organisations, including NGOs, to ensure access of opportunities to all. For more information visit http://europa.eu.int/workersmobility2006.