(17 June 2014) – The European Commission has today launched the European Hospitality Skills Passport, a tool developed to facilitate contact between jobseekers and employers in the hospitality and tourism sector in Europe.
The Skills Passport allows workers and employers to overcome language barriers and to compare hospitality workers’ skills in order to facilitate recruitment in the sector. Hosted on the European Job Mobility Portal EURES, the skills passport is available in all EU official languages. The passport will be extended to other sectors in the future.
In the Skills Passport, workers can record all the skills and competences gained during their education, training and practical work experience in an easily accessible format. The Passport complements a traditional Curriculum Vitae and enables employers to quickly overcome language barriers and to find the skilled workers they need to fill their vacancies.
A Europe-wide study published at the end of 2013 revealed that the hospitality sector plays a critical role in fighting youth unemployment and is essential for jobs and growth and the health of other sectors. These findings are backed up by labour market statistics, which show that employment in the hospitality sector grew by 2.9% per year in 2000-2010, which created 2.5 million jobs. This is compared to an average rate of 0.7%.