Amcham: Our readers will be curious to know the details of the unemployment situation as it impacts different linguistic, educational and nationality constituencies. Can you please explain an overview of the demographics of who are the unemployed you are trying to help based on English fluent speakers who do not speak other languages as compared to job seekers who are fluent in the National languages of Luxembourg?
Isabelle Schlesser: Like its population, Luxembourg’s labour market is highly international and multilingual. Numerous multinational companies have decided to install their worldwide or European headquarters in Luxembourg, alongside local well-known companies and research institutes, enriching Luxembourg’s already multicultural society with Indian, English, American and many other expat communities. The service sector, especially the banking and finance industry, is predominant and Luxemborg has one of the highest share in highly-qualified occupations. While the country has three officially recognised languages (Luxembourgish, French and German), English is widely spoken. In 43% of the job vacancies that are reported to ADEM by Luxembourg employers, a good command of the English language is required. However, language requirements vary from sector to sector. While English is often spoken in the financial and service sector, as well as in IT and research, a good command of French is required in commerce and industry. Luxembourgish is necessary and often mandatory in the health and care sector and in education. If you want to work for the Luxembourg State, you should be able to command Luxembourgish, French and German. ADEM is aware of this complex language issue and offers jobseekers job-related language courses if needed. To this end, ADEM cooperates with the National Language Institute.
We currently have around 480 jobseekers registered with us who, apart from a good level in English (B or C), don’t speak any of Luxembourg’s officially recognized languages. Luxembourg’s multilingual environment might be a challenge at first, but ADEM encourages jobseekers to learn new languages, an investment which presents an opportunity in the long term.
Please likewise give us the demographics of the unemployed based on education level, gender and age
We note that currently unemployment is below pre-crisis levels. The number of jobseekers registered with ADEM stood at 14,153 on 31 August 2022, similar to the previous month’s figure. Compared to August 2021, this represents a decrease of 1,970 persons or 12.2%. Fortunately, the drop in unemployment figures can be seen in all categories of jobseekers, for example: women (-12,5%), young jobseekers under 30 years of age (-13,3%), jobseekers above 45 years (-10,9%), jobseekers with a lower qualification level (-15,9%). The decrease in the number of long-term unemployed, i.e. jobseekers who have been registered with the ADEM for 12 months or longer, is particularly pleasing. Here the decrease compared to the previous year is as much as 20.7%. Nevertheless, the long-term unemployed still account for 47% of all available jobseekers.
What employability challenges do job seekers who are returning to the work force after career breaks face (especially middle-aged men and women absent from paid salary employment because of the family considerations of raising children or caring for aged or health impaired family members)?
At the moment, the situation on the labour market is very favorite for all jobseekers. In 2021, the number of vacancies reported to ADEM jumped significantly by almost 63%. Every month, employers report an average of 4,000 job vacancies to ADEM and the mark of 13,000 available jobs that we have recorded in our files in total has even been passed since April 2022. Therefore, jobseekers returning to the labour market after career breaks are highly welcomed. Depending on the individual case, they might need to follow special upskilling measures as technology and working methods in some industries and sectors have developed rapidly in recent years.
What special education or support is available to these persons seeking to return to employment after career breaks?
ADEM has significantly increased its training portfolio and can offer targeted employment measures that facilitate labour market integration. The “professional internship” (stage de professionnalisation), for example, is aimed, among others, at people who are older than 30 and would like to regain a foothold in the labour market. During an internship lasting several weeks, jobseekers have the opportunity to demonstrate their professional skills and personal abilities in a practical working environment within a company. Thus, the internship can be a suitable gateway to new employment. Of course, ADEM also offers a wide range of additional services that meet the specific needs of individual jobseekers and provide them with targeted support to help them get back into work.
What extent of job candidates are considered structurally unemployable and for what reasons?
The reasons for considering jobseekers structurally unemployable are manifold and often cumulative. It is obvious that a person with no or lower qualifications, no foreign language skills, with care responsibilities will have greater difficulties in accessing the labour market. We also have to note that about 20% of the jobseekers enrolled at ADEM have the disability status or the status for persons with reduced work capacity.
In addition, some of the skills job candidates currently possess no longer correspond to employers’ needs. People who lose their jobs in such a transition, largely older ones and those with lesser qualifications, are at risk of experiencing great difficulty in finding new employment opportunities.
What steps does ADEM have available to help the structurally unemployed?
An important pillar in ADEM’s strategy is to provide targeted support to jobseekers who still struggle to integrate the labour market. We offer all jobseekers a service tailored to their individual situation. If necessary, specialized consultants such as social workers, psychologists and occupational physicians are availabe in to provide support.
In addition, there are a number of employment measures aimed at vulnerable groups of jobseekers in order to make it easier for them to access the labour market. Companies that hire jobseekers stemming from vulnerable groups, can, under certain conditions, benefit from recruitment aids.
What services does ADEM provide to support the upskilling of job seekers with unattractive CVs?
ADEM provides special training measures to support the upskilling of jobseekers. The training offer is very diverse and includes professional training as well as courses to acquire language skills, digital competences or soft skills. A number of training courses include special coaching by internal or external experts to provide even more intensive and individual support for course participants. An excellent placement rate is achieved by tailor-made training courses that are requested by employers looking for new staff and willing to offer a concrete job opportunity to the jobseeker having successfully completed the training. ADEM makes a pre-selection on the basis of the jobseekers’ profiles and career aspirations, and the future employer decides which jobseekers should participate in the training with the aim of being hired later. The training, organised by ADEM, usually also includes a work placement in the future company. This type of training is a real win-win situation for both the jobseeker and the company. The jobseeker gets a job after the training and the company gets a new employee who is trained on the job and therefore is immediately employable.
What are the special challenges facing young job seekers just entering the labor market and what special support programs are available to them?
On the one hand, young entrants, even if well educated, lack the work experience often required by employers. We therefore offer special subsidized work contracts for young jobseekers allowing them to gain the necessary work experience and enhance the professional skills that are needed in the job. On the other hand, we see that an increasing number of young jobseekers have no idea what profession they want to take up. For these clients, we offer various employment measures allowing them to find out which occupations fit their interests and abilities. Through individual coaching, work experience and the promotion of interdisciplinary skills, young people are prepared for their career start.
Because of the very large international economic activities which exists within Luxembourg it is not possible for the resident educational system to provide persons with all of the education and skills needed in the fields of science, IT and the financial sector. Hence there appears to be a frequent need for external job candidates, especially those with critical skills and abilities that are in global demand. While clearly the first national objective is to gain employment for locally resident job seekers, the critical needs of employers for the rapid and efficient requirement of critically needed staff is also necessary. Since ADEM has such a comprehensive overview of needs as compared to available candidates, could ADEM undertake steps to help the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accelerate work permit approvals in known areas where the skilled candidate pools are insufficient to demand?
Luxembourg has always attracted workers from abroad and the uninterrupted and, compared to other European labour markets, disproportionate growth in employment that Luxembourg has experienced for years, is primarily fueled by immigration. Almost 75% of Luxembourg’s workforce is composed by foreign residents and cross-border commuters, leading to the curious situation that the number of people employed on the Luxembourg labour market is almost as high as the total population living in the Grand Duchy.
In addition to providing upskilling and reskilling to jobseekers registered with ADEM, a clear objective in our strategy is to facilitate labour market mobility in Europe and assist companies in their recruitment by attracting talent beyond Europe’s borders to Luxembourg in sectors and professions experiencing a lack of qualified resident workers. ADEM is active member in the EURES network and has recently set up a new online-platform to attract talents (https://work-in-luxembourg.lu/)
ADEM is also a main actor in the establishment of the Government’s new talent attraction strategy which aims at streamlining national procedures and setting an attractive framework for welcoming talents from all over the world.
Now, post COVID, what are the skill sets most in demand?
The labour market is undergoing increasingly complex changes as a result of technological, environmental and societal transitions. In order to better understand, anticipate and manage trends in occupations and skills on the Luxembourg market, in-depth analyses of trends in occupations and skills on the Luxembourg market are necessary.
In the context of the “Future Skills Initiative” ADEM has recently analyzed the skills demanded by employers in their declarations of vacant positions for the past five years. Within this exercise, which was conducted by using an innovative textmining approach, more than 140,000 job vacancies were analysed and more than 1.3 million skills were identified.
As main result it can be summarized that transversal skills are most frequently in demand. In a world that is changing so rapidly due to technological and societal developments, transversal skills such as language skills, digital skills and soft skills are at the forefront. Thus, the ability to change, to work in teams, communication skills and problem solving capacity are among the top skills sets demanded by employers.
To our parents seeking to help their children prepare for their professional lives, what educational qualifications, competencies and skill sets would you encourage them to help their children to gain?
The labour market is changing at an unprecedented rate. Technological innovation, such as the digitalisation of work, automation and artificial intelligence, are radically transforming existing jobs and it is therefore difficult to predict which professional skills will be in demand on the labour market in 10 or 20 years. In my opinion, it is important to foster curiosity in children, to teach them that they are the ones who will change our world and to inspire them with compassion and a desire to learn. Of course, language skills and digital skills are always very important, especially in an international work environment as we find it in Luxembourg.
Please both share with our readers any additional thoughts or advice you would like to offer them?
The skills gap – the imbalance between available skills and employers’ needs – is already evident in Luxembourg, culminating in a great number of vacant positions and an absence of employees with the proper qualifications to fill them.
This imbalance can only be solved together by employers, jobseekers and employees investing in education and training. In the future world of work, lifelong learning will become an essential part in order to become resilient to labour market transformations.
The skills gap – the imbalance between available skills and employers’ needs – is already evident in Luxembourg, culminating in a great number of vacant positions and an absence of employees with the proper qualifications to fill them.
Amcham would like to thank Madame Schlesser for this very insightful interview!
