Oliver Wyman supports roll-out of 'We l.o.v.e. Europe' pilot project
As businesses across the EU continue to come to terms with the UK’s shock decision to leave the economic alliance, Oliver Wyman have supported the roll out of ‘We l.o.v.e Europe’ pilot project. The initiative – which sees the consultancy join forces with several partners – aims to show young Europeans the value of a unified continent by boosting their cross-border job-prospects.
Together with Continental and the support of Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Caritas, and Deutsche Angestellten Akademie - DAA, Oliver Wyman have co-launched an initiative to help young job seekers gain international work experience across Europe. Continental’s “We l.o.v.e. Europe” pilot project kicked off in June 2017, opening up borders for 11 participants. In addition to boosting their job prospects, the pilot aimed to demonstrate the benefits of a unified Europe first-hand to the interns.
The first participants started foreign internships at Continental locations in Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania and the United Kingdom earlier in the summer. While some taking part in ‘We l.o.v.e. Europe – Europe without Borders’ might hope the experience will be the starting point for insurable employment at Continental, as the company also sees the project as an opportunity to discover potential employees and new talents, the experience will also boost their CVs notably for other EU firms looking for international experience.
A recent survey by the Pew Research Centre found that sentiment in favour of free movement across the EU was at extremely low levels, with major nations Germany, France and the UK each stating they wanted an increasing amount of control over their borders, along with powers to restrict the flow of EU citizens into their countries.
The ‘We l.o.v.e Europe’ pilot aimed to counter-act that to a degree, by making it easier for young people to appreciate the privilege of open borders and to, thus, strengthen the sense of a European community. Ariane Reinhard, Continental’s Executive Board Member for Human Relations, observed that, "young jobseekers often have gaps in their resume. We want to give them the opportunity to gain valuable practical experience through short internships at various Continental locations throughout Europe. At the same time, they can experience the benefits of European integration at first hand.”
The project is now seeking further organisations to join the initiative, following the successful pilot’s completion. A pilot project or preparatory action is an initiative of an experimental nature designed to test the feasibility and usefulness of action. It is meant to try different approaches, develop evidence-based strategies to address a problem, identify good practices, and provide policy guidance for the benefit of possible future initiatives in the area of nutrition and physical activity.
Meanwhile, in another collaboration between Continental and a management consulting firm, the automotive supplier called in the expertise of BearingPoint to develop and launch a brand new service for motorcyclists.
