Employment: European Skills Passport to facilitate recruitment in hospitality sector

On 17 June, the European Commission launched the European Hospitality Skills Passport, a tool developed to facilitate contact between jobseekers and employers in the hospitality and tourism sector in Europe. The Skills Passport allows workers and employers to overcome language barriers and to compare hospitality workers' skills in order to facilitate recruitment in the sector. Hosted on the European Job Mobility Portal EURES, the skills passport is available in all EU official languages. The passport will be extended to other sectors in the future.

Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Commissioner László Andor said: "The European Hospitality Skills Passport is an important practical tool to promote mobility of European workers, especially young people, in a sector that has high growth potential. This initiative is also a good example of the outcome of social dialogue between employee and employer organisations at European level, and we look forward to seeing this cooperation expand into other sectors of the labour market."

The Skills Passport is an initiative of the Commission in association with employee and employer organisations in the hospitality sector: HOTREC, the umbrella association representing hotels, restaurants, cafés and similar establishments in Europe; and EFFAT, the European Federation of Trade Unions in the Food, Agriculture and Tourism sectors.

In the Skills Passport, workers can record all the skills and competences gained during their education, training and practical work experience in an easily accessible format. The Passport complements a traditional Curriculum Vitae and enables employers to quickly overcome language barriers and to find the skilled workers they need to fill their vacancies. It therefore facilitates a better match between supply and demand on the hospitality labour market.

The European Hospitality Skills Passport is the first in a series of passports aimed at high-mobility sectors of the European economy. The Commission is committed to supporting mobility on the European labour market as one way of improving employment, and will continue to work with its partners to expand the European Skills Passport tool to support other high-mobility sectors in Europe.

Background

In April 2014 more than 5 million young people under 25 were unemployed in the EU, with an overall youth unemployment rate of 22.5%. This makes it even more important to support sectors that have consistently provided young people with opportunities, such as the hospitality and tourism sector.

A Europe-wide study published at the end of 2013 revealed that the hospitality sector plays a critical role in fighting youth unemployment and is essential for jobs and growth and the health of other sectors. These findings are backed up by labour market statistics, which show that employment in the hospitality sector grew by 2.9% per year in 2000-2010, which created 2.5 million jobs. This is compared to an average rate of 0.7%.

To promote the launch of the Skills Passport, the European Commission, HOTREC, EFFAT and EURES are organising a European Hospitality Skills Passport Thematic Week on 23 - 27 June 2014. This will be held across the partners’ social media accounts and will engage with jobseekers and employers in the hospitality and tourism sector throughout Europe to introduce them to the features of the tool.

More information

European Hospitality Skills Passport video
European Hospitality Skills Passport tutorial for employers
European Hospitality Skills Passport tutorial for jobseekers
EURES
EURES Fact sheet
EFFAT Fact sheet
HOTREC Fact sheet
László Andor's website
Follow László Andor on Twitter
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