Young Czechs show growing interest in work abroad

When the Czech Republic joined the European Union on 1st May, free movement of labour was cited as one of the major and most tangible advantages of European integration. Even though people from most of the new member countries can not yet fully enjoy this right, a lot of them are ready to take advantage of the benefits that the EU enlargement has already provided. Martin Mikule has been looking at the level of interest among Czechs in working abroad.

Young Czechs show growing interest in work abroad

Photo: European Commission

Most of the old fifteen members of the European Union decided to restrict the inflow of workers from the newcomer nations. However, there are still three countries - Great Britain, Ireland, and Sweden - that have kept their labour market open. Moreover, all EU citizens can also work freely in any of those new ten countries. But what are the possibilities for Czechs to work abroad and are they really interested? In order to enable an easier movement of labour, an organisation called European Employment Services (EURES) has been established. Stanislava Strnadova, who is the EURES advisor for the Prague West region, has been visited by ten to fifteen people looking for jobs in the EU countries during the last couple of weeks:

"They were mostly interested in working in Great Britain and Ireland because access to their labour markets is much easier. There was also a young girl interested in working in Sweden. But to work there, you need to speak Swedish and she spoke only English. I also recall two men who were interested in working in Malta. They were both building contractors and they intended to set up a business there."

The most popular countries people look for jobs in are definitely Great Britain and Ireland. Not only because they open their labour markets with no restrictions but mainly because for most Czechs, English is the first foreign language. According to Peter Wickenden from the British Embassy in Prague, there has been a recent rise in demand for work in the UK. However, it is too early to make any conclusions:

"I'm afraid we don't have any statistics - it's early days yet. All we can give is anecdotal evidence, if you like, from the volume of enquiries that we're getting, which certainly has seen a dramatic increase over the last six months and particularly in the weeks leading up to May 1. I suppose at the moment we are getting an average of ten or twenty enquiries a day, most of which are about working in the UK but also on a range of other subjects, such as travelling to the UK as a tourist, or studying there."

Most Czechs who are interested in employment in Great Britain or Ireland are young people, who want to improve their language skills and are keen to discover a different culture. A lot of them, particularly females, were already coming to the UK in the past to work as au pairs. Tereza Heyretova is a young student from Prague, who spent some time in Great Britain. Now, she would like to take advantage of the fact that there are no barriers and set out for Britain again:

"I am going to London because I have been living there for one year. I know a few people and have friends there. I used to work as a barmaid, which I really liked because it was a very nice pub in Camden Town."

Photo: European Commission

Tereza especially appreciates the advantage that there is no visa or other complicated administrative requirements. As she says, it is much easier when you can just pack your stuff and leave:

"I think it's great that they have opened the labour market. I think we should thank Great Britain."

A lot of young people like Tereza see it as a great challenge. On the other hand, it would be very hard to convince an older Czech who has already settled down, to leave his favourite place and start a new life in a completely different world.