Emerging from the crisis better with European initiatives
The OeAD invites you to the national Europass portal launch and the Euroguidance symposium on 12 November 2020.
Labour markets in Europe have experienced profound restructuring as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic and are under pressure from high unemployment rates. The pandemic and its economic and social impact have far-reaching implications for the future. The EU programme Erasmus+ supports a range of initiatives and guidance networks to help people with their educational and career choices and to facilitate access to the labour market. For example, the Europass is a free online tool of the European Union that helps people plan their personal education and career paths. Its centrepiece is the CV; 150 million CVs have been created online across Europe by June 2020. The successful Europass portal was relaunched in the summer containing many new features. The big advantage over commercial providers is that the Europass is free, data protection compliant and recognised throughout Europe.
"The Europass supports access to the European labour market. It helps with applications, makes completed trainings and university degrees comparable and documents work experience abroad. Thanks to the new portal the Europass is becoming more digital and offers new opportunities for job seekers, companies and in further education," says the Minister for Education Heinz Faßmann.
Educational counselling and career guidance also play an increasingly important part in successfully facing changes in the labour market. The OeAD as national Euroguidance Centre provides information for educational and career counsellors in Austria and Europe as part of the European Euroguidance network.
"Educational and career guidance is a link in the chain of Europe's educational policy priorities. Guidance plays an increasingly important part in successfully facing changes in the labour market. In order to successfully manage entry as well as transitions in the labour market skills in dealing with change must be developed," emphasises the OeAD’s managing director Jakob Calice.
Euroguidance symposium on 12 November 2020 (online event):
"Guidance Matters. Mastering the challenges of a turbulent labour market with guidance" is the motto of the event where the national launch of the new Europass portal will also take place.
In 2020 educational and career counsellors in Austria and Europe have responded with flexible, online-supported offers and supported people in the crisis on the labour market to develop personal strategies and resilience. The Europass portal, which was launched in July 2020, is an important support tool with many additional features, such as storage space for each user and simple creation of CVs and application letters with content and graphics tailored to each application from the previously created profile.
The portal thus offers support in career planning and job search in Austria and Europe. But it also supports companies and human resources managers in correctly assessing the skills and qualifications of applicants and simplifying application processes. As one of the twelve flagship initiatives of the "European Skills Agenda" further features for stakeholders are currently developed, such as technical software for issuing digital certificates and skills certificates. Interoperability with job portals and companies is also currently in preparation. HR databases are to be linked to the Europass. Applicants who already have a profile on the Europass portal can then apply to companies with one click. Companies will receive the application data in a clear, easy-to-read and comparable form.
Also: Keynote speech by Tristram Hooley, Professor of Career Education at the University of Derby, on the topic of "A global pandemic and its aftermath – the way forward for guidance".
Panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities of the Europass.
Five parallel workshops on the Europass, recognition guidance and guidance approaches in Europe.
About the OeAD
The OeAD supports and cross-links people and institutions in education, science, research and culture with its programmes. As an agency of the Republic of Austria, the OeAD thus contributes to inclusive, equal and high-quality education. European and international exchange as well as transnational mobility serve as the agency's most important tools. Thus, as national agency, the OeAD is responsible, for example, for the implementation of "Erasmus+ Education" in Austria. Euroguidance Austria and Europass Austria are part of Erasmus+ Education and are intended to create synergies within the programme and other EU initiatives.