The European skills agenda is on its way
On January, 20 the social partners gathered in a hearing with DG Employment to discuss the upcoming new skills agenda for Europe. The core of the agenda will be ensuring higher and more relevant skills for all.
The driving force of having a skills agenda is the new era of digitalisation. The Commission wants to ensure “basic skills” for all; including literacy, numeracy and reading; however not forgetting digital skills that are needed for the modern labour market. Be that as it may, the social partners find it difficult to define what should be the minimum skills. What can be set as being a minimum level?
One of the ideas of the agenda is to ensure that low-skilled workers get away from their trap and are given a possibility for education and training. Workers of all ages should have access to further development as well as to exploring opportunities abroad. For the moment labour mobility within the EU is very low: only 3.4 % of EU citizens work in another EU country.
Eurocadres agrees with the Commission, that skills are not always properly identified or used. We would like to remind that between 25 to 45 percent are either under or over-qualified.[1] It is not only the low-skilled adults that need further training. Professionals and highly educated workers also need re-skilling, skills updating or professional development, especially in the context of digitalisation and its potential effects on employment.
Professionals and highly educated workers also need re-skilling, skills updating or professional development, especially in the context of digitalisation and its potential effects on employment.
In this field, higher education institutions have to work closer with the social partners to minimise the risk of skills mismatch. Measures to enhance access to higher education also later in work-life needs to be put in place to promote professional development.
The social partners have been given a rather quick possibility to submit a written contribution to the Commission by the 4th of February. Eurocadres will point out the importance of including highly-skilled professionals in the agenda.
[1] Skills mismatch in Europe: statistics brief / International Labour Office, Department of Statistics. - Geneva: ILO, 2014, http://bit.ly/1p1LLdO.