EURES Germany organises unique event for aspiring orchestral musicians

One only needs to look at the names of the musicians in these orchestras to see that the job market for professionals is an international one. With its numerous prestigious music colleges, Germany is also an attractive place to study music. However, the international nature of the industry means that those who study in Germany may need to be open to moving abroad for work.

In order to prepare up-and-coming musicians for this possibility as early on in their career as possible, the ZAV-Künstlervermittlung (the German Federal Employment Agency’s Placement Service for Performing Arts) recently organised a unique event in collaboration with the German EURES National Coordination Office (NCO).

Extensive advice from EURES Advisers

Around 30 music students, including harpists, violinists, cellists, flautists and bassoonists, gathered at the Orchesterzentrum NRW in Dortmund on 29-30 October 2018 to find out about job opportunities in Germany and abroad.

The Orchesterzentrum NRW is a joint facility of four separate music colleges, becoming the first such cross-university training centre for orchestral musicians in Europe when it opened in 2009.

EURES Advisers from Slovakia, Switzerland and Sweden were present at the event to provide first-hand information about opportunities in their respective countries. Students were told how working in another EU Member State can provide valuable experience and introduced to the related job markets in the different countries.

‘The cross-border cooperation between the different actors helped advise the participating students extensively on the subject of fair mobility,’ says Lena Sundheimer from the German EURES NCO.

The students also received information on opportunities to benefit from EU mobility programmes such as ‘Your first EURES job’, which offers support to jobseekers in the 18-35 age bracket who want to work in another EU Member State.

‘EURES can let performing artists benefit from its network’

While participating in international events such as job fairs is nothing unusual for EURES Staff, this event for orchestral musicians is a great example of a unique and targeted initiative.

The job market for professional musicians is competitive and continuously changing, which makes events such as this one even more valuable, as the event’s organiser Lilia Felde-Ritz, from the ZAV-Künstlervermittlung in Cologne, explains: ‘For us, as placement officers for orchestral musicians, being close to music colleges and graduates is fundamentally important, in order to keep up-to-date with developments in the job market.’

Attendee Tony Erb, EURES Coordinator for Switzerland at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) in Bern, emphasised the important role that EURES has to play to support workers in the performing arts sector: ‘The international mobility of performing artists in my opinion is a necessity and I find the cooperation among countries in assisting them sensible,’ he said. ‘EURES can let performing artists benefit from its network.’

The cultural and creative industries offer a diverse range of opportunities for EU citizens to work abroad. Some EURES services, including the ZAV-Künstlervermittlung, Arbetsförmedlingen in Sweden and Pôle emploi in France, offer dedicated consultation and placement services for jobseekers in these sectors.

If you are a musician or performing artist interested in pursuing an international career, or an employer searching for skilled candidates, why not get in touch with your local EURES Adviser or register on the EURES portal today at: https://ec.europa.eu/eures/public/index_en

Related links:

ZAV-Künstlervermittlung

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