Fabio studied energy engineering (with a specialisation in renewable energy) at the Polytechnic University of Turin. When he finished his degree, Fabio was eager to put his newly acquired knowledge into practice, and was inspired by the experiences of his peers who had travelled abroad to study and work. 

He was able to benefit from the ‘Your first EURES job’ (YfEj) initiative while searching online, and managed to secure a role in Madrid. An EU initiative financed through the Employment and Social Innovation programme. Yfej supported and promoted professional mobility among young jobseekers aged between 18 and 35. The initiative provided employment and matchmaking services with small and medium enterprises, establishing cooperation with public employment services (PES) in other EU countries to improve the job-matching process.

‘During my research, I saw the possibility of various job opportunities, and thanks to the information collected, this project made them a reality. My current employer put me in touch with a EURES Adviser in Italy. They coordinated my recruitment process and helped me with my application and with receiving additional support. In my case, this was a relocation allowance to cover some travel and living expenses.’ 

The Italian Public Employment Service (PES) has organised many partnerships like the one Fabio benefitted from. Between 2015 and 2021, targeted mobility projects provided more than 11 000 relocation allowances to young people, supported over 6 000 jobseekers to attend job interviews abroad, and helped to recruit more than 12 000 young jobseekers.   

To build on this success, the European Commission launched the Targeted Mobility Scheme (TMS) in 2019. TMS works to further the aims of the YfEJ, as well as develop the ‘Reactivate’ initiative for EU citizens aged over 35. The scheme focuses on supporting jobseekers and employers in economic sectors with hard-to-fill vacancies, such as healthcare, social care, education, and information technology.