Randstad : CEO Jacques van den Broek spoke at the first leaders’ meeting of the European Pact for Youth on transition to jobs

25 May 2016

Yesterday evening Randstad CEO Jacques van den Broek spoke at the first leaders' meeting of the European Pact for Youth in Brussels on transition to jobs through apprenticeships and traineeships.

The group of leaders, representing a variety of companies, institutes, sectors, and regions, reflected on the progress made towards the target of 10,000 new business-education partnerships, and 100,000 new good quality apprenticeships, traineeships and entry-level jobs. In addition, the group of leaders presented the first joint proposal on how to increase youth employability, enhancing transition into jobs by making Vocational Education and Training and apprenticeships an attractive and equal choice for young people across Europe.

Jacques van den Broek, CEO Randstad, comments: 'The future of work will bring radical change for talent, companies and society, a change where the digitalization is disrupting many traditional approaches from education to employment. It is important that young people are equipped with the relevant set of skills that can help increase both their employability and companies' competitiveness. This is a joint responsibility of youth, companies, educational institutes, governments and policy makers. All the more reason to enhance business-education collaboration to prepare youth for quality jobs and decrease the current skills mismatch.'

The meeting was hosted by Marianne Thyssen, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, and Viscount Étienne Davignon, Minister of State and President of CSR Europe.

About the European Pact for Youth
The European Pact for Youth is a pledge from EU and business leaders on the joint delivery of jobs, growth and investment for young people in Europe, including 3 objectives: boosting the number and quality of business-education partnerships, reduce the skills gap, and contribute to EU and national policy developments on skills for employability.

About CSR Europe
CSR Europe is the leading European business network for Corporate Social Responsibility. Through its network of around 50 corporate members and 45 national CSR organizations, it gathers over 10,000 companies, and acts as a platform for those businesses looking to enhance sustainable growth and positively contribute to society. In its mission to bring the CSR agenda forward, CSR Europe goes beyond European borders and cooperates with CSR organizations in other regions across the world.

Randstad specializes in solutions in the field of flexible work and human resources services. Our services range from regular temporary staffing and permanent placements to Inhouse, Professionals, Search & Selection, outplacement, and HR Solutions. The Randstad Group is one of the leading HR services providers in the world, with top-three positions in Argentina, Belgium & Luxembourg, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Greece, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, and the United States, as well as major positions in Australia and Japan. In 2015, Randstad had approximately 29,750 corporate employees and around 4,473 branches and Inhouse locations in 39 countries around the world. Randstad generated revenue of € 19.2 billion in 2015. Randstad was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Diemen, the Netherlands. Randstad Holding nv is listed on the Euronext Amsterdam, where options for stocks in Randstad are also traded. For more information, seewww.randstad.com.

For more information, please contact: Machteld Merens, telephone: +31 (0)20 569 5623