Within the ESSA project, it became clear time and again that image and talent management are among the most pressing issues in the European steel sector. The poor image of the steel industry as a declining industry that pollutes the environment and offers hard physical work leads to low participation of young people in technical schools and is seen as one of the main causes of recruitment problems. At the same time, it is precisely skilled young personnel which is urgently needed to implement the digital and green transformation in the steel industry. Therefore, coordinated "campaigns" are needed to change the image and to develop and disseminate a new narrative that highlights the sustainability and transformation efforts of the steel industry, while at the same time seeing the steel industry as a solution to climate change and attracting and inviting (especially young) talent to participate in the transformation. Creating new access channels to the sector (e.g. through greater use of social media) and a stronger presence in schools and universities is also a helpful measure to connect young people to the industry in particular and change the public perception in general. However, it is not only young people who are to be recruited: In fact, a higher integration of women, who have so far been underrepresented in the industry, also plays a major role in the steel industry. Attracting female talent can be done by developing a communication strategy to involve current women to encourage other woman to work on steel, by more incentive for their involvement, by valorising the female perspective, and by promoting the application of Industry 4.0 technologies that can help in gender equality. In line with this, Image and Recruitment Materials from different steel companies and other steel organisations that were collected during the ESSA project are collected on this page to serve as best practice examples. Furthermore, this page also shows links to current European Recruitment Events that stand in connection with the steel sector and other energy-intensive industries.

At the same time, it is not only the attraction of talent that plays a major role for the steel industry. After all, skilled workers must also be retained in the company - therefore, the topic of talent retention is no less important. In this respect, it is of great importance that not only promises are made, but that modernisation and change actually become noticeable in the steel companies. Especially with regard to the green and digital transformation, it is of great importance that employees feel they are making a positive contribution to societal challenges and contributing to the decarbonisation of the industry, for example. This goes hand in hand with modernised corporate structures and a new way-of-working, for example in the form of flat hierarchies, less shift work and models that enable a better work-life balance. This page thereby also collects some of the main results of the ESSA project with regard to the retention of skilled personnel (see section on Talent Management below).

Based on the findings of the ESSA project and a survey by Schröder/Echterhoff (2015), the table below summarises some of the important demands applicants make on working conditions:

With the European steel industry undergoing a digital and green transformation, people are needed to drive these changes and ensure their success - the steelworkers of the future. Recruiting as well as retaining skilled young talent in particular will shape the work of the coming years - at the same time, the industry should also be open to recruiting talented people of all ages. In particular, ESTEP's Focus Group People is increasingly looking at the workforce of the future as part of its research agenda.

Therefore, the ESTEP focus group "People" together with EUROFER 2015 launched an EU-wide survey in which 268 talents identified by steel companies were able to assess their values, ambitions and needs (see Echterhoff/Schröder 2015). The survey addresses the topic of talent retention and the question of what talents are expecting in order to work in the steel industry in the long term. The survey thereby clearly shows that talents attach great importance to personal career development and professional advancement. The talents demand a new corporate culture and a leadership style adapted to their needs as well as support in teaching leadership skills. To counter the shortage of skilled workers in the future, it is important to support female employees and their careers and to develop appropriate work-life balance models (for men and women).

The results of the survey are also in line with the results of the ESSA rollout (also referred to as ESSA Regional Training Ecosystem). In the course of the rollout, several workshops were held in a total of 9 European countries, some of which took place at national level and others in selected regions of the respective countries. In this way, more than 100 stakeholders from different groups could be reached and in-depth assessments of the current situation of the European steel sector could be gained. The stakeholder discussions showed that the poor image of the steel sector is a major hurdle in attracting talent. The modernisation of job profiles is an important factor in both recruiting and retaining talent in steel companies. These should be updated especially against the background of digitalisation and a green, sustainable transformation. The connection between work-life balance and better integration of women in the steel sector, which is already mentioned above, was also discussed and acknowledged in the rollout workshops: If more women are to be included, more family-friendly conditions must also be created, such as part-time working models, etc. The same applies to other labour market groups, such as older workers. At the same time, the younger generation also has high expectations of flat hierarchies and, for example, mobile, digital working.

The survey and the ESSA rollout also show that European steel companies are already well equipped to meet these demands and have various tools to improve the current situation. However, the change in values and the vision of how steel companies will work need to be embedded in the organisations. Companies need to work on issues such as corporate culture to attract and, maybe even more importantly, retain talent. Existing resources in large companies should focus on learning, talent development or talent management as a whole. Therefore, a comprehensive package of measures for a variety of needed competences is necessary. Seeing change as an opportunity and adapting the industry to the needs of talent is a question of survival in the steel industry in competition with other industries.