EURES

There is one website which employers in Scotland fail to view at their cost if they are seeking to recruit staff from Europe.

Apart from its valuable content, the EURES (EURopean Employment Services) website also lists the names of two experts in Scotland, who will personally act on behalf businesses keen to access potential workers from Europe.

Celia Pappas and Alison Carmichael are ready to help, whether simply to provide information or play a more active role in terms of advice or even guiding an employer through the recruitment/placement (job-matching) procedure.

European expertise

Their free services are specifically targeted at small and medium-sized businesses looking for specific know-how but maybe unsure of how to take advantage of the opportunities which Europe can offer.

Their role also extends to easing any obstacles, whether legal, administrative or otherwise, which might have to be sorted before a person from abroad can take up work in Scotland.

"We seek to take a very even-handed approach in making sure the needs of the jobseekers match up to those of the employers," said Celia Pappas. "The service is certainly not a quick fix for an employer looking for a ready source of cheap labour by simply posting a vacancy on the EURES website.

Recruitment specialist

"Employers can benefit directly because our service saves them from hiring a recruitment agency. As an adviser, I can assist at any stage of their recruitment procedure. That often involves working with my EURES colleagues abroad in setting up interviews for them.

"A recent example was a Jobs Fair in Poland organised for construction businesses in the North East of Scotland. I liaised with my colleagues in Poland to help with the preparation of promotional literature and then in arranging translation services for employers during interviews at the Fair. The event proved a great success, attracting an attendance of 200."

Fresh Talent

"Our involvement may start even before the formal recruitment process has started: we might help with a foreign event, such as a seminar, being attended by Scottish employers keen to target a specific European region.

"We can also show employers how they can gain from initiatives such as the Fresh Talent programme, whose attractive package of measures make it much easier for foreign nationals to secure employment by simplifying the normal visa procedures."

The EURES website can be found at europa.eu.int/eures/main. The separate web address for conducting CV searches is https://eurescv-search.com.