There are three main issues related to unemployment in Transyldavia: 1) discrepancy between skills taught and needed for jobs, 2) companies hiring more qualified foreign workers, and 3) short-term contracts without job security. The European Commission could help by using the European Globalization Adjustment Fund to provide training and the European Social Fund to increase wages and job security. They should also pressure banks to offer loans to companies like Mattyl, a major employer, to help it stay in the region and create more jobs through training local workers.

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EPSO Case Study Sample
Answer AD 7 - Generalists
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Contents
Main issues related to unemployment in Transyldavia ............................................................ 1
Issue 1: What are the main issues related regarding unemployment in Transyldavia? ....... 2
Issue 2: What European initiatives can be used to help the area? ....................................... 2
Issue 3: What European action should be taken in regards to Mattyl?................................ 2
Why is there such high unemployment?........................................................................... 2
How could the European Commission help Transyldavia survive?................................... 3
What should the EU do about Mattyl?.............................................................................. 4
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 4
(There are a number of ways to approach this case study. We have jotted down the main points which we
expand on below. One of the most important things to remember about writing a case study is the planning.
Know what you are doing before you start to write a report. This is main goal of the bullet points below. For more
information read the case study guide particularly the chapter: Manage your time effectively.)
Main issues related to unemployment in Transyldavia
In this report we will discuss three main issues:
1. The main issues related to unemployment in Transyldavia.
2. Explain the different European initiatives that could be applicable.
3. What European action to take regarding Mattyl.
We will discuss each of these in turn.

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Issue 1: What are the main issues related regarding
unemployment in Transyldavia?
There are four main points:
 There is a discrepancy between what students are learning and what they need to
be in order to have the right skills for the jobs in the industry.
 The companies that would employ them are seeking more qualified people from
abroad.
 Short term contracts have become the norm rather than the exception and as a
result of this people have no job security.
 There is no legislation for banks which means that the companies will not take loans
and banks have no reason to help out the businesses.
Issue 2: What European initiatives can be used to help the area?
 EGSF
 Encourage regulation that forces companies to increase the minimum wage and
ensure that short term contracts become the exception and not the norm.
 Use the European Learning program
 To learn from other projects used in other countries such as in Poland with the
‘45/50+’ programme and the ‘Solidarity between Generations’.
Issue 3: What European action should be taken in regards to
Mattyl?
 Use of EFSh to help Mattyl stay in the area.
o Give tied loans to enable workers from Transyldavia to get jobs with a higher
minimum wage as well as providing appropriate training.
 Pressurise the banks to give good terms and conditions to enable Mattyl to borrow
money at reduced rates.
Why is there such high unemployment?
There are a number of reasons why the level of unemployment is so high. The main source
of work is in the textile industry. However it is a fast paced, fast moving entity and as such
the training needed needs to be rather specialised. This is not provided in Transyldavia
which causes a problem of people having skills that do not match the job’s that are available.
A further problem is that even the jobs that are available are going to immigrants and not
natives. This further exacerbates the issue.

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As well as this, there is no particular job security so people are forced to work under the
poverty line. This leads to people having no interest to work because even if they do they
will not be able to make ends meet. As short term contracts have become the norm rather
than the exception, this has led to many people finding that there are no jobs available with
any kind of job security, a very difficult situation to work in. Furthermore, as there is no
legislation governing what the banks can and cannot do there is no incentive for them to
lower interest rates which could enable people and companies to train and cover costs of
hiring local residents.
How could the European Commission help Transyldavia
survive?
Several initiatives of the EU can be used to help Transyldavia come out of this chaos. The
first one that we will mention is the EGSF, the European global support fund. As Krystyn
Timur, the MEP of Transyldavia wrote, he feels that it is time for the EU to bail them out of
the troubles they are in. As Mircea Polidentescu puts it:
“The EGSF provides measures that support the re-introduction of people into the labour
market. These include financial measures, such as assistance for job-seekers, careers advice,
tailor-made training and re-training and promoting entrepreneurship, and measures to
provide one-off, time-limited individual support, such as job-seekers’ allowances, mobility
allowances and allowances for participating in lifelong learning and training activities.”
As stated before, one of the main issues with the job market in Transyldavia is that it isn’t fit
to task. There are enough workers there, it is just that they are not trained and do not have
to correct skills needed to be part of the specific companies that exist in the region. Using
the EGSF, specifically in the field of training and re-training will bring about an increase of
employable people which should in turn lead to a lower unemployment rate. By utilising the
European Learning Programme a firm basis of employees could be created which would
enable not only the survival but eventually the rebirth of the region.
There are a few instances that this has been utilised in the past such as in Poland with the
‘45/50+’ programme and the ‘Solidarity between Generations’ and in France with the
‘solidarity income’, scheme.
As well as the EGSF, the EU could also employ the EFSH, the European Fund for Structural
Help. What this is in a nutshell is that a group formulates a plan to help out the area and
they then apply for a grant to fund this. The EU decides whether to help out and the amount
of funds needed to implement the plan. The advantage of this plan is that it allows a detail
specific plan of exactly what the area needs. However on the other hand this plan may not

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be very objective and often a look from the outside is much more advantageous than one on
the inside.
What should the EU do about Mattyl?
When discussing Mattyl we must first understand why they are struggling. There are two
separate issues in the region. The first and perhaps most important is the number of people
unemployed and the issues this causes. The second involves Mattyl, one of the biggest
employers in the region. From the source materials it is unclear why Mattyl is suffering.
However since they are thinking of moving to another location it would be reasonable to
suggest that the main source of difficulty is the high taxes/rent they have to pay for their
facilities and not that they are not selling sufficient products. As well as this we can postulate
that since the textile field needs specific skills and there are few local workers who possess
them, it stands to reason that the company cannot produce enough output to make it worth
staying in the area.
Therefore my suggestion is twofold. As a short term step I feel that it be beneficial to use the
EFSH to help save the company’s position in the area. This will provide financial assistance
helping Mattyl stay afloat in the area by reducing their extra costs incurred by being in
Transyldavia. A thorough study has to be undertaken to assess precisely what the difficulties
are in the company and what financial help is needed to keep it afloat. After this has been
done, it will be possible to assign funds to the project.
A second necessary step in helping Mattyl will be to ensure that highly trained workers are
created for the company. This can be done through using the EGSF which will have the knock
on effect of reducing unemployment in the region. As Mattyl is somewhat of a national
institution it stands to reason that if the workers are sufficiently trained AND from
Transydavia the production level will increase.
A further side point to mention is to determine how the banks could be pressured to lend
money at reduced rates to Mattyl to encourage growth from the outset.
Conclusion
We have gone through the difficulties facing the Transydavia region and the problems
stemming from lack of training, high enough wages and the resulting damages this is
causing. There are a number of different possible solutions that can come into play to help
out such as the EFSH and EGSF. We have recommended that these be used in tandem to try
and ensure not only a successful company but also a successful region.

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