2006 was the European Year of Workers’ Mobility – with more than 2,000 events staged across member states. And as a result, the EU has announced it is to launch an action plan next year to tackle the issues that prevent people working in other countries.

Traditionally, the barriers to a mobility culture have been identified as legal and administrative – linked to social security and the recognition of qualifications.

But research in 2006 has also highlighted ‘practical’ obstacles – related to housing, language, or employment of partners and spouses – and ‘psychological’ issues such as the issue of return and the lack of recognition of mobility experiences by employers.

As a result, the EU has declared its action plan will tackle the issues in four key areas:

• Preparation – by using tools such as the new EURES jobs portal




• Ensuring workers and their families have access to support services




• Proper reintegration of workers on their return




• Ensuring mobility becomes “a natural element in the professional career of all Europeans”.

“Working in another European country gives individuals the chance to learn a new language, discover a new culture and develop new skills,” said Vladimír Špidla, EU commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities.

“Job mobility is also crucial to Europe’s objective of boosting jobs and growth,” he added. “More and more people have become aware of the opportunities for mobility in 2006 and are now willing to try them out. In 2007, we need to draw on these lessons and develop a real mobility culture in Europe.”

According to a new report from the CBI and KPMG, two-thirds of organisations in London are already using migrant workers to plug skills gaps, with 48 per cent reliant on workers from EU countries.

And together with the professional skills they bring, their languages are highly valued by employers.

But the report warns that migrants are not a long-term solution to the skills gap. Worryingly, 59 per cent of employers are not confident that a new joint skills project by the government and the mayor of London will deliver a workforce fit for business’ purpose. Only 23 per cent believe it will.

Many employers have invested in improving their workforce’s skills: 83 per cent have given employees training for their current job and 67 per cent have sent staff on courses to raise the quality of service they offer. The same proportion have organised leadership or management courses.

CBI Director-General Richard Lambert said: “London is a vibrant and dynamic international city which attracts talented people from across the world to live and to work, yet this survey lays bare the skills shortages which employers are facing.

“In the short term, firms will hire economic migrants to fill the gaps but this is not a sustainable long-term solution. If we are to maintain our pre-eminence we need to instil in our home-grown school-leavers and graduates the skills they need to compete in today’s globalising world.”

Other concerns included the transport system and the rising cost of accommodation, which is putting upward pressure on wages and making it harder to recruit new staff. In addition, 78 per cent of respondents said the compliance costs of regulation have risen over the past six months.