On Thursday 28 April 2016, the Agence pour le développement de l'emploi (ADEM) presented its 2015 report, showing that the number of job seekers decreased 2.6% from 2014 and highlighting the various projects and actions in which the agency became involved.

"In 2015, unemployment fell significantly," commented Isabelle Schlesser, ADEM Director. "On annual average, the number of job seekers passed from 18,089 in 2014 to 17,855 in 2015, representing a decrease of 2.6%. Another encouraging result: in 2015, 12,844 people registered with ADEM found jobs, almost 1,800 more than in 2014."

The year 2015 was also marked by the signing of a partnership with the Union des entreprises luxembourgeoises (UEL) as a means of formalising the cooperation between ADEM and companies, a key element of the agreement. In 2015, 23 countries were awarded the 'Entreprise, partenaire pour l'emploi' (Enterprise, Partner for Employment') label, a sign of social responsibility in the job market, with Isabelle Schlesser pledging: "New businesses will be awarded this label in 2016."

Meanwhile, Gaby Wagner, deputy director of ADEM, gave an update on the 2015 results for the personalised course for job seekers: "The personalised programme was deployed in all ADEM agencies in 2015 for new registrants. At the end of 2015, over 40% of total job seekers benefitted from a personalised programme."

Another of ADEM's flagship projects was the "garantie jeunesse" (Youth Guarantee) which registered 3,801 under 25-year-old job seekers last year. A follow-up indicator has been established for 1,867 of them. Of these, 76% received a quality offer: 65% an offer of employment and the other 2% an apprenticeship; whilst 28% received an employment measure and the final 5% returned to studies.

The coaching set up as part of the Youth Guarantee is expected to gradually be extended to all young people aged under 30 in Luxembourg, Esch and Diekirch agencies. These young people will be supervised by counsellors trained to meet their needs.

ADEM stated that training also figured as a priority and saw more than 4,700 coupons for adult classes issued in 2015 - a figure that has doubled compared to 2014. ADEM has also established partnerships with major Luxembourg training institutes, enabling more than 2,700 job seekers to participate in training courses organised by ADEM.

"In 2015, 1,924 young people were placed in initial learning whilst 618 people landed an apprenticeship for adultes, an increase of 14% compared to 2014," explained Gaby Wagner.

Ian Tewes, Deputy Director of ADEM, highlighted the launch of the www.adem.lu portal containing all information related to the labour market, as well as the interactive JobBoard platform enabling employers to search through the profiles of job seekers and for the latter to access offers declared by companies.

According to the agency, the figures for the Contact Centre are still encouraging as 166,159 calls were handled, 77% of them resolved at the first level, with Ian Tewes adding: "In 2015, we also started to modernise our branches". The Diekirch agency was completely renovated and the Luxembourg is soon to follow this year. The Wiltz agency will move into its new premises by May 2016.

Nicolas Schmit, Minister of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy, spoke of the agency's the fight against long-term unemployment and strengthened support for vulnerable populations, including those aged 45 and older, disabled employees, reclassifieds and young people under thirty. Regarding the first three, new measures involving a professionalisation course and a re-employment contract were implemented in January 2016, whilst younger demographics will be welcomed by specially trained multidisciplinary teams by ADEM's three major agencies.

"It is necessary to match a maximum of candidate profiles to the needs of the labour market in Luxembourg," emphasised Minister Schmit. "ADEM is therefore organising further training according to the actual needs of employers and specific programmes will be developed in close cooperation with companies. Training for job seekers must be central to our employment policy."

Photos by ADEM