Yes’ to working abroad

53% of the young people in Europe are “willing or keen to work in another country.” Slightly more expressed a preference for working abroad for a limited time (28%) than for the long term (25%).” The figures were published in the latest Eurobarometer survey released on the eve of the 2011 European Youth Week, ongoing until May 21. Education, mobility, professions. The survey was conducted by the EU statistical office on a sample of 57 thousand interviewees aged 15-35 from 31 different countries. “Young men (56%) were more willing to work abroad than young women (49%)”, the document states. The 15-19 age group were more willing to work abroad than 30-35-year-olds (63% vs. 42%), probably due to higher qualifications, professional experience and stronger family ties as compared to the younger age group. The research delved into various issues as relates to education, mobility, employment, with remarkable differences across Member States. For example, young people from Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Baltic Countries, Germany, Greece and France are more willing to move for work, while Turks, Italians, and Dutch rank last. Those with higher qualifications were also more likely to want to live abroad than those with lower secondary level qualifications. “A positive sign for Europe”. The fact that more than half of young people “are willing to move for work is positive news for the European labour market as labour mobility in the EU currently stands at only 3%”, claim Eurobarometer experts. One in seven (14%) young Europeans said they had stayed abroad – or were staying abroad at the time of the survey – for education or training.” The proportion ranged from 3% in Turkey to 39% in Cyprus and 41% in Luxembourg. Eurobarometer underlines: “Young people consider broad-based skills such as improving their ability to speak a foreign language, cultural awareness, adaptability and interpersonal competences as the most important benefit of going abroad for education and training purposes.” In addition, two-thirds of the youth said they had used private funding or savings to “finance their stay abroad.” The proportion of young people who received national or regional study loans or grants to finance their stay abroad “varied widely across the countries surveyed” although most respondents in Norway, Luxembourg and Iceland had used this means of financing.Greater possibilities of employment. Androulla Vassiliou, the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth commented: “The survey shows that young people are keen and willing to work abroad. That’s good news for Europe; unfortunately they still face too many obstacles.” Therefore we “need to make it easier for them to study, train or work abroad and to raise awareness of the financial support available through EU schemes like Erasmus which can give them a first taste of living outside their home country.” For the Commissioner “two of the biggest challenges we face today are youth unemployment and low economic growth: a more mobile student and workforce population is part of the solution.” “Studies show that students who spend part of their studies or training outside their home country boost their employability and are more likely to work abroad later in life.” Commissioner Vassiliou pointed out. Participation in organization, volunteering and politicsThe Eurobarometer survey focuses primarily on education and mobility. However, the final paper brings to the fore interesting data. Almost half (46%) of young Europeans are involved in a sports club, youth club, or in a youth or cultural organisation. Highest percentages were registered in The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, Germany and Austria. Portugal, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Hungary and Greece rank last. Moreover, roughly a quarter of young people (24%) said that they had been involved in an organised voluntary activity in the 12 months before the survey. Eight out of ten young people (79%) “say that they voted in a political election during the past three years”. In this case the highest figures were recorded in Belgium, Sweden, Malta, Austria and Poland. Under35 respondents of Lithuania, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland and Spain rank last.