Germany: Eures and Euroguidance – two strong networks in one organisation

In most European countries the Euroguidance and Eures networks are embedded in different governmental organisations. In Germany they are, however, merged within the Central Placement Service (ZAV), which is a specialised division of the Federal Employment Service.


Eures/Euroguidance advisors meeting customers at a fair

The coordination for the networks is carried out at the ZAV head-office in Bonn. The main objectives of the two networks differ. While Eures has at its core the increase of worker mobility throughout Europe, Euroguidance concentrates more on career guidance within a European context. However, there is some cross-over between the two. Advisory services for graduates may benefit from using both networks, for example many graduates would like to enter the labour market by first acquiring work experience abroad.

At the moment it can be quite difficult for graduates to find suitable jobs in other countries, especially with regard to the current economic crisis affecting most European countries. In this situation, ZAV advisors must first have access to detailed information on the labour market as well as the job prospects in the country where work is being sought (Eures). Supplementary information such as postgraduate courses or Leonardo da Vinci projects for graduates run by the ZAV or other organisations can be found within the Euroguidance network and provided to graduates.

In order to stress the advantages of combining Eures and Euroguidance, nearly all Euroguidance counsellors in Germany also undergo the Eures advisor programme run by the European Commission.

A number of consultation exercises on worker mobility in Europe have shown that interested parties prefer obtaining the information they require from a one-stop independent agency rather than from a commercial source. Customer feedback has also highlighted the fact that the decision to connect both networks - not only in one single organisation, but also in the day to day work of advisers – was the right one to take.

Erfkamp Dominic, Eures/Euroguidance Germany