Lucy, a 23-year-old from Birmingham, has been eager to explore the possibility of returning to Europe after finishing a modern languages degree. But, like many other young Britons, she has found her options constrained by the post-Brexit treaty between the EU and the UK. Since January 2021, visa-free stays for UK citizens in Europe have been restricted to 90 days.
“Many EU businesses aren’t willing to go through the long and expensive visa process, when they could find a candidate from a different EU country,” says Lucy, who is currently using her language skills in customer services.
But Lucy and others in the same predicament were last month provided with a flicker of hope. The UK government announced it was working with the EU to develop a new a cross-border arrangement that would enable young people, aged 18 to 30, to live and work freely in mainland Europe again.
Tens of thousands of younger employees could benefit financially and professionally from the proposed “Youth Experience Scheme”, experts say.
The plan comes at a time when the UK economy’s lacklustre growth and rising wages in many EU economies have combined to make a move particularly attractive.
Details of the arrangement — part of a wider UK-EU deal that seeks to “reset” relations between the two economies — are still under negotiation. The UK government has said eligibility will be “capped and time limited”.
However, Lucy says the scheme would “open up a lot of doors” for her.
“I could feasibly consider living abroad again, without having to worry about how I might get there, and how much this might cost me,” she adds.
Any revived right to work in the EU could be of particular benefit to the 40,000 solicitors in England and Wales under the age of 35, according to Richard Atkinson, president of the Law Society of England and Wales.
Atkinson says that, before Brexit, it was commonplace for young lawyers to head to EU countries to work and train — something that he says is now much rarer.
“Since visa processing can take several months, many law firms have suspended secondment programmes to the EU,” Atkinson says.
He adds that early-career solicitors can achieve “significant financial and professional gains” by working in EU countries for a short period.
Others highlight the value to young people on both sides of the Channel in simply gaining exposure to other countries’ cultures.
John Kerr, head of global mobility at Pinsent Masons, a professional services company, says a scheme would provide benefits on a “social and professional level” at the point in life when people are usually most able to be “globally mobile”.
A move can boost long-term career prospects, he says — and clients of many international organisations now expect their advisers to have such experience.
The hit to pay packets for the best-paid young professionals from moving to work in Europe is also less severe than it once was, according to Robert Walters, a London-based international recruitment company.
It says that, in financial services, the average UK annual salary is just over €102,000, still higher than in any EU country. Average annual pay in the sector in Germany, the closest competitor, is still nearly 16 per cent lower.
However, the strength of financial services in major European cities, such as Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin, and Luxembourg, has increased since Brexit, according to Jonny Bohane, senior manager of market intelligence at Robert Walters. Professionals’ desire for a better work-life balance could add to the allure of relocating to these cities, he adds.
“While London maintains its financial lead over other regions, countries like Germany and Ireland are rapidly catching up, having already established themselves as top European tech hubs,” Bohane says.
The UK’s current high cost of living and tight jobs market enhance the attractions of a move to Europe, according to Lucy.
“The cost of living is cheaper in certain European countries, which would have a financial impact on me,” she says.
Dan Hawes, co-founder of the Graduate Recruitment Bureau, a consultancy, says these factors may prompt graduates without job offers to look beyond London as “the natural choice” for high-paid, graduate-level jobs.
Hawes stresses that it remains too early to tell what the effect of the scheme might be. But he emphasises the poor prospects facing many current graduates in the UK compared with past generations.
“There has been no precedent, in my lifetime at least, to what grads face this time round,” he says.
Beneficiaries of similar, past youth mobility programmes can testify to their value.
Jayne Hamilton, a software developer and architect with more than 20 years’ experience, took advantage of the EU’s Erasmus scheme, set up in 1987 to facilitate and often subsidise cross-border education and training opportunities for young people. UK citizens had access to the programme before Brexit.
Hamilton, who lives in Newcastle, says the opportunity to work in Europe and gain language skills “laid foundations” for her career.
“That experience made employers in Europe take me more seriously as a candidate,” she says.
She adds that the opportunity to work in Europe made her financial path easier. Comparable jobs in the UK are concentrated in expensive London and south-east England.
“Living in London on a graduate starter’s salary is not easy,” Hamilton says. “Starting a career in Europe, where living costs were cheaper, was much easier.”
Hamilton says that had it not been for her early work experience in Europe, she would not have reached the same level in her career, which has directly benefited the UK economy.
“The Inland Revenue would have had less revenue from my work,” she says, referring to the UK’s tax authority.
Robert Walters’ UK and Ireland chief executive, Chris Eldridge, says the youth experience scheme could “open significant opportunities” for entry-level professionals, particularly in the banking, financial services, legal, and technology sectors. Employers could use it to plug skills gaps and expand their talent pools, he adds.
But Eldridge warns that increased mobility could also lead to oversupply in some candidate-heavy sectors such as human resources and intensify competition for those wishing to remain in the UK.
“As new graduates join the workforce annually, competition intensifies, and this policy could introduce additional competition from European peers,” he says.
Nevertheless, Hamilton stresses that the benefits of working abroad can extend beyond the role itself or the pay packet.
“The opportunities for cultural enrichment are amazing,” Hamilton says, adding that any Briton who works or studies in Europe becomes an ambassador for the UK. “Friendships and networks are built up from which we all benefit.”
Lucy says studying abroad made her more confident, independent and resilient. She would welcome the chance to repeat the experience by working in Europe, she adds.
“I know that being able to spend time working abroad would not only enhance my career, but give me many more transferable skills that would make me into a more rounded and stronger candidate for any job, in the UK or EU.”
