- 2018Implementation
- 2019Implementation
- 2020Implementation
- 2021Implementation
- 2022Implementation
- 2023Implementation
- 2024Implementation
Background
The labour market is evolving. Professions and skills are changing, which require investment in the development of skills that are in high demand now and in the future. Innovative solutions must be found to facilitate access to employment for jobseekers.
Objectives
Strengthening the competitiveness of enterprises and contributing to economic growth and reducing unemployment.
Description
The Public Employment Service (ADEM, Agence pour le développement de l'emploi), the Ministry of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy (MTEESS) and the Luxembourg Employers' Association (UEL) launched in 2015 the programme, Companies, partners for employment (Entreprises, partenaires pour l'emploi). The programme was extended from 2018 to 2020 and its main objectives were to increase the recruitment of jobseekers, bridge the gap between vacancy requirements and jobseeker profiles by identifying training needs, and ease and increase the hiring of unemployed people, especially in occupations in workforce shortage.
Enterprises are involved in the development of training targeted at the unemployed, to ensure that the training provided corresponded to company needs. The programme encourages cooperation between ADEM, the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts. UEL motivates companies to participate in the sectoral working groups. Twice a year, a steering committee evaluates the programme using several indicators, including the number and type of training developed in cooperation with companies and UEL.
Sectoral working groups support the project through various measures including a regular strategic exchange between ADEM and UEL and establishing lists of workforce shortages. Bilateral partnerships were extended by awarding the label, Partner for employment, to enterprises that take part...
The Public Employment Service (ADEM, Agence pour le développement de l'emploi), the Ministry of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy (MTEESS) and the Luxembourg Employers' Association (UEL) launched in 2015 the programme, Companies, partners for employment (Entreprises, partenaires pour l'emploi). The programme was extended from 2018 to 2020 and its main objectives were to increase the recruitment of jobseekers, bridge the gap between vacancy requirements and jobseeker profiles by identifying training needs, and ease and increase the hiring of unemployed people, especially in occupations in workforce shortage.
Enterprises are involved in the development of training targeted at the unemployed, to ensure that the training provided corresponded to company needs. The programme encourages cooperation between ADEM, the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts. UEL motivates companies to participate in the sectoral working groups. Twice a year, a steering committee evaluates the programme using several indicators, including the number and type of training developed in cooperation with companies and UEL.
Sectoral working groups support the project through various measures including a regular strategic exchange between ADEM and UEL and establishing lists of workforce shortages. Bilateral partnerships were extended by awarding the label, Partner for employment, to enterprises that take part in the programme and sign a bilateral agreement with ADEM. Other measures concern increasing transparency of the labour market, by encouraging companies to publish vacant positions on the ADEM job board platform, and encouraging enterprises to report feedback on the skills of interviewed candidates to ADEM, aiming at matching candidates' skills with enterprise needs more efficiently.
ADEM increased training offer of training programmes with tailor-made to employer needs training. In addition, ADEM anticipates future recruitment needs based on data analytics of recruitments and reports those to the social insurance service. In terms of providing support to recruitment in sectors with workforce shortage, ADEM committed to extending its offer of specialised training to match the professions in shortage, to facilitating foreign and cross border recruitment by promotional events, to attracting talent by marketing campaigns and to collaborating closely with stakeholders (professional chambers, ministries, Luxinnovation). Events and information sessions addressed to employers were organised (Meet ADEM) while collaboration with HR manager associations intensified. Finally, a survey of employer satisfaction was conducted by LISER in 2018.
In 2019 the Companies, partners for employment programme is in place and runs on a regular basis.
In December 2020, the 'Companies, partners for employment' programme (Entreprises, partenaires pour l'emploi) was renewed for the third time for the period 2021 to 2023.
According to the rapidly changing socioeconomic context, the first annual priority actions chosen by ADEM and UEL build upon four objectives: the expansion of recruited jobseekers and the facilitation of the recruitment process in companies by strengthening the dissemination of information to them, the levelling between job offers and candidate profiles through tailored training offers, the deepening of knowledge on the current and future job markets, and the filling of labour shortages.
In 2021, ADEM and UEL worked on the following actions: effective and multilateral communication of information to companies, the analysis of available labour market data to understand and anticipate skills trends, the organisation of targeted training for jobseekers, the organisation of regular recruitment events (virtual and/or physical), the conclusion of bilateral agreements with companies wishing to commit themselves to employment, the implementation of a digital tool facilitating feedback from companies on candidates assigned by ADEM, and finally strengthening partnerships between ADEM and commercial job boards.
In 2022, ADEM and UEL continued their cooperation in the activities started in 2021. UEL relayed and presented the results on the trades and skills in demand on the labour market of the first seven sectoral studies elaborated by ADEM in collaboration with the employer organisations.
The privileged partnership agreement between the employers that recruited the most in Luxembourg and ADEM (Label Partenaire pour l'emploi) was revised to be effective in 2023. ADEM and UEL conducted an in-depth study to identify the criteria for determining which jobs were in short supply and to identify the appropriate measures to remedy the situation, particularly in terms of immigration.
ADEM also followed up on the situation of Ukrainian citizens that were welcomed in Luxembourg.
In 2023, UEL and the Federation for Recruitment, Search and Selection (FR2S) presented the results of the work carried out in 2022 to draw up a first employment barometer among recruitment firms and followed up at the ADEM-UEL steering committee level.
Adem and UEL have extended the actions carried out in previous years, in particular by making available the JobsInsights interactive dashboard, which provides information on job opportunities and trends in employment and skills. The sectoral studies carried out by the PES (ADEM) are also part of the PES's Future Skills Initiative and the partnership for employment between PES and the UEL.
In October 2024, the 'Companies, partners for employment' programme (Entreprises, partenaires pour l'emploi) was renewed for the fourth time for the period 2024 to 2027. It is based on four major priorities:
- Improving the exchange of information between companies and ADEM to facilitate recruitment and better meet employers' needs.
- Increase access to employment and labour market data for better strategic decision-making.
- Encourage tailor-made partnerships between ADEM and companies to ensure more targeted and effective recruitment.
- Increasing the transparency of the employment market
Bodies responsible
- Public employment service (ADEM)
- Ministry of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy (MTEESS)
- Luxembourg Employers' Association (UEL)
Target groups
Learners
- Unemployed and jobseekers
Entities providing VET
- Companies
Thematic categories
Governance of VET and lifelong learning
This thematic category looks at existing legal frameworks providing for strategic, operational – including quality assurance – and financing arrangements for VET and lifelong learning (LLL). It examines how VET and LLL-related policies are placed in broad national socioeconomic contexts and coordinate with other strategies and policies, such as economic, social and employment, growth and innovation, recovery and resilience.
This thematic category covers partnerships and collaboration networks of VET stakeholders – especially the social partners – to shape and implement VET in a country, including looking at how their roles and responsibilities for VET at national, regional and local levels are shared and distributed, ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for VET providers to adapt their offer.
The thematic category also includes efforts to create national, regional and sectoral skills intelligence systems (skills anticipation and graduate tracking) and using skills intelligence for making decisions about VET and LLL on quality, inclusiveness and flexibility.
This thematic sub-category refers both to formal mechanisms of stakeholder engagement in VET governance and to informal cooperation among stakeholders, which motivate shared responsibility for quality VET. Formal engagement is usually based on legally established institutional procedures that clearly define the role and responsibilities for relevant stakeholders in designing, implementing and improving VET. It also refers to establishing and increasing the degree of autonomy of VET providers for agile and flexible VET provision.
In terms of informal cooperation, the sub-category covers targeted actions by different stakeholders to promote or implement VET. This cooperation often leads to creating sustainable partnerships and making commitments for targeted actions, in line with the national context and regulation, e.g. national alliances for apprenticeships, pacts for youth or partnerships between schools and employers. It can also include initiatives and projects run by the social partners or sectoral organisations or networks of voluntary experts and executives, retired or on sabbatical, to support their peers in the fields of VET and apprenticeships, as part of the EAfA.
High-quality and timely skills intelligence is a powerful policy tool, helping improve economic competitiveness and fostering social progress and equality through the provision of targeted skills training to all citizens (Cedefop, 2020). Skills intelligence is the outcome of an expert-driven process of identifying, analysing, synthesising and presenting quantitative and/or qualitative skills and labour market information. Skills intelligence draws on data from multiple sources, such as graduate tracking systems, skills anticipation mechanisms, including at sectoral and regional levels. Actions related to establishing and developing such systems fall under this thematic sub-category.
Supporting lifelong learning culture and increasing participation
Lifelong learning refers to all learning (formal, non-formal or informal) taking place at all stages in life and resulting in an improvement or update in knowledge, skills, competences and attitudes or in participation in society from a personal, civic, cultural, social or employment-related perspective (Erasmus+, Glossary of terms, https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/programme-guide/part-d/glossary-common-terms). A systemic approach to CVET is crucial to ensure adaptability to evolving demands.
This broad thematic category looks at ways of creating opportunities and ensuring access to re-skilling and upskilling pathways, allowing individuals to progress smoothly in their learning throughout their lives with better permeability between general and vocational education and training, and better integration and compatibility between initial and continuing VET and with higher education. Individuals should be supported in acquiring and updating their skills and competences and navigating easily through education and training systems. Strategies and campaigns that promote VET and LLL as an attractive and high-quality pathway, providing quality lifelong guidance and tailored support to design learning and career paths, and various incentives (financial and non-financial) to attract and support participation in VET and LLL fall into this thematic category as well.
This thematic category also includes many initiatives on making VET inclusive and ensuring equal education and training opportunities for various groups of learners, regardless of their personal and economic background and place of residence – especially those at risk of disadvantage or exclusion, such as persons with disabilities, the low-skilled and low-qualified, minorities, migrants, refugees and others.
This thematic sub-category refers to providing the possibility for individuals who are already in the labour market/in employment to reskill and/or acquire higher levels of skills, and to ensuring targeted information resources on the benefits of CVET and lifelong learning. It also covers the availability of CVET programmes adaptable to labour market, sectoral or individual up- and reskilling needs. The sub-category includes working with respective stakeholders to develop digital learning solutions supporting access to CVET opportunities and awarding CVET credentials and certificates.
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Improving CVET provision for jobseekers: the Companies, partners for employment project: Luxembourg. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].
https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/28355