FIEC in job website launch

A joint website presenting national initiatives for youth employment has been launched by the European Union (EU) social partners for the construction industry, FIEC (the European Construction Industry Federation) and the EFBWW (the European Federation of Building & Wood Workers).

They said that the crisis in the EU since 2008 has had and is still having a significant impact on the levels of unemployment of most of the Member States, and that it was particularly affecting young people, despite efforts by the EU and its member countries.

It said that one in five under 25-year-olds who were looking for work could not find a job, and that 7.5 million young people between 15 and 24 were neither working nor in education or training.

At the same time, they added, the construction industry was not always seen by young people as the best career choice.

Domenico Pesenti, president of the EFBWW, said, "In most Member States, the construction industry is still suffering from a negative image which affects its attractiveness and which, to some extent, explains the difficulties in hiring and in keeping young people as well as skilled workers."

At the same time, it was said, demographic changes, in particular the ageing of the EU’s population, were putting additional pressure both on companies, which have difficulties in hiring young workers, and on the workers that are already in place.

Johan Willemen, president of FIEC, said, "In several Member States, initiatives targeted towards young people have been developed by the stakeholders of the construction industry.

"The aim of our website is to present such initiatives to a wider public and to raise awareness among young people regarding the possibilities that our industry can offer them in terms of career prospects and opportunities."

The website is at www.construction-for-youth.eu.