The environment and employment Environmental problems are imposing new constraints on economic development in terms of the pattern of growth, the type of goods produced and the methods used to produce them. The future growth of jobs in this sector will be highly dependent on government policies and the public expenditure allocated to it. A large proportion of its workforce is employed in jobs with a low skill content and it is essential to ensure a significant increase in the number of skilled employees and improve the extent and quality of training. The Community will undoubtedly lose markets if its products are not environmentallyfriendly and are not based on sophisticated pollution techniques. Women's access to employment The participation of women in the labour market is still small.
Women seeking employment face many more obstacles than men.
Many are employed on atypical contracts sometimes because they are unable to find another job, and working conditions are poor. Managing change in large companies The way large firms recruit and manage their labour forces has an important impact on standards and practices in the labour market generally. Large firms devote greater attention to human resource management. They are more concerned with their personnel's training and skill levels and with working hours and the flexibility of their production systems. Globalization of markets is bringing many changes, not least in management style.