Attracting working professionals from abroad has become increasingly difficult in Luxembourg, and, paired with a lack of qualified candidates, has caused issues for numerous sectors within the country. To remedy this, the Ministers of Labour and the Economy have announced a new campaign with the slogan ‘Your Future starts here’, targeting talent from other countries with two new ideas.
The government has launched two new websites, ‘Work in Luxembourg’ and ‘Talent Desk’, as part of its new centralised strategy to attract and retain qualified professionals and to simplify their access to Luxembourg’s job market. “When someone comes to work in Luxembourg, it is not always easy to find all the necessary information on life here and how the job market works,” explained Minister of the Economy Lex Delles. The new ‘Work in Luxembourg’ portal will act as a central information platform.
The ‘Talent Desk’, accessible in person at the House of Entrepreneurship or in digital form, will facilitate the access to information for candidates and businesses alike.
“When talking about talent, one very important aspect is attracting candidates. We then have to consider the issue of retention, and also how we train up candidates for jobs we need. So when we speak about talent, we have three aspects: attraction, training, retention.”
An important project for the ‘Talent Desk’ is the creation of a spousal programme, to facilitate the professional and social integration for spouses of international candidates, encouraging them to settle in Luxembourg long-term. They will receive assistance and orientation to find a job in Luxembourg and to help them integrate. Carlo Thelen, director of the Chamber of Commerce, explained:
“We heard a lot of companies say that attracting and retaining candidates was a struggle because their partner did not feel at home here, or could not integrate in society or in the world of work. So it’s important to ensure these people are adequately supported and to help them integrate here. I think quality of life is a crucial element in Luxembourg.”
The Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts warned that an estimated 28,000 craft workers are set to retire by 2035.
On one hand there is a lack of qualified candidates, but on the other hand, the unemployment rate continues to rise. At the end of December, over 21,000 people were signed up with ADEM, the National Employment Agency – an increase of 8% compared to the previous year. Labour minister Marc Spautz said people sometimes needed targeted training to improve their chances of finding a job.
“That’s why we are proposing additional training courses at ADEM, and over the coming weeks we will introduce Skill Plans, to ensure people registered as jobseekers have a real chance of reintegrating themselves on the Luxembourg job market.”
Attracting new talents is one thing, but keeping them in Luxembourg long-term is another. The government has commissioned a study to better understand why national and international candidates do not wish to stay in the Grand Duchy. The results are expected in March.
