Considerations on COM(2022)526 - European Year of Skills 2023 - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2022)526 - European Year of Skills 2023. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2022)526  |
| date | May 10, 2023 |
(2) Across the Union, companies report difficulties to find workers with the necessary skills. In 2021, 28 occupations were classified as having shortages, including the healthcare, hospitality, construction and service sectors, in addition to shortages of IT and security specialists, in particular cybersecurity experts, and workers with science, technology, engineering and mathematics background. 22 Increasingly, the biggest constraint to a successful digital and green transition is the lack of workers with the right skills. In many Member States, demographic ageing is expected to accelerate over the coming decade as “baby boom” cohorts retire, reinforcing the need to make use of the full potential of all working-age adults through continuous investments in their skills as well as activitating more people, in particular women and young people especially those not in education, employment or training (NEETs).
(3) The availability of skilled staff or experienced managers also remains the most important problem for a quarter of Union’s 25 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) 23 , constituting the backbone of Union’s economy, representing 99% of all businesses and employing 83 million people. The Commission Communication “An SME strategy for sustainable Europe” 24 recognises the essential role of SMEs to Europe’s competitiveness and prosperity.
(4) Low skills of working-age adults remain a significant challenge for the Union, pointing to considerable untapped potential of upskilling and reskilling to help mitigate increasing labour shortages in sectors such as manufacturing and services, and in particular in economic activities related to hospitality and manufacturing of computer and electronic equipment, and the care sector. 25 However, participation in adult learning in the Union has stagnated over the last decade and 21 Member States fell short of the 2020 EU-level target. For many adults, such as those in atypical forms of work, employees of small and medium-sized enterprises, the unemployed, the inactive and the low-qualified, skills development opportunities are too often out of reach. Increasing the upskilling and reskilling opportunities for these groups, and all working-age adults, also contributes to reaching the EU employment target of 78%, with employment rate in the EU in 2021 being at 73.1%. 26
(5) The first principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights 27 states that everyone has the right to quality and inclusive education, training and lifelong learning in order to maintain and acquire skills that enable them to participate fully in society and successfully manage transitions in the labour market. Principle 4 touches on active support for employment, to uphold everyone’s right to timely and tailor-made assistance to improve their employment or self-employment prospects, including the right to receive support for training and re-qualification. Principle 5 on secure and adaptable employment emphasises that, regardless of the type and duration of the employment relationship, workers should enjoy fair and equal treatment with respect to working conditions, access to social protection and training. Article 14(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the ‘Charter’) 28 states that everyone has the right to education and access to vocational and continuing training.
(6) Principle 3 of the European Pillar of Social Rights underlines that regardless of gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, everyone has the right to equal treatment and opportunities, and this includes employment and education. The European Year of Skills should be carried out in a way that is inclusive and actively promotes equality for all. The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan 29 points out that by increasing participation of groups which are currently under-presented in the labour market, we can achieve a more inclusive employment growth.
(7) The European Skills Agenda 30 , adopted in July 2020, calls for a skills revolution to ensure the recovery of our economy, strengthen Europe’s global competitiveness and turn the green and digital transitions into opportunities for all. It aims to foster collective action on skills, ensure that training content is aligned with the evolving labour market needs, and better match training opportunities with people's aspirations to incentivise their uptake across the working-age population. The European Parliament welcomed the objectives and actions of the European Skills Agenda in its Resolution of 11 February 2021. 31
(8) On 25 June 2021, the European Council welcomed the EU headline targets of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, in line with the Porto Declaration 32 , thereby supporting the ambition of ensuring, by 2030, an employment rate of at least 78% and that at least 60% of all adults participate in training every year.
(9) On 14 September 2022, President von der Leyen announced in her State of the European Union 33 Address that the European Commission would propose to make 2023 the European Year of Skills. The President pointed to the problem of labour shortages in certain sectors and underlined the importance of investments in professional education and upskilling. She also underlined that attracting the right skills to Europe has to be part of the solution, supported by speeding up and facilitating the recognition of qualification also of third country nationals. In bringing the European Year of Skills to life, the Commission seeks to increase momentum and foster implementation of the many actions it has already taken to strengthen reskilling and upskilling in the Union to address labour market shortages and support the sustainable growth of the EU social market economy.
On 15 September 2021, President von der Leyen announced in her State of the European Union Address the launch of a structured dialogue at top-level to strengthen commitments on digital skills and education. Member States appointed national coordinators for this process. The European Year of Skills 2023 will build on the structured dialogue process, expanding its focus in line with the objectives of this Decision.
The Year of Skills follows the 2022 European Year of Youth which sought to empower, honour, support and engage with young people, including those with fewer opportunities, in a post-COVID-19 pandemic perspective with a view to having a long-term positive impact for young people. The European Year of Youth already emphasised the importance of skills to find good quality employment for young people.
(10) As companies and other stakeholders know best what skills are needed in their industrial ecosystems, strengthening their collective action on skills development has to be part of the solution. The Pact for Skills brings together companies, social partners, education and training providers, public employment services and other key skills stakeholders, both private and public. So far, more than 700 organisations have signed up and 12 large scale partnerships in strategic sectors have been set up, with pledges to promote 6 million training opportunities. The regional dimension is also important, including in border regions, where finding workers with the right skills requires targeted measures to support effective cross-border labour markets. Similarly, disadvantaged and remote regions, including the outermost, face particular challenges as access to the labour market and upskilling and reskilling opportunities are limited.
(11) The Council Recommendations on Individual Learning Accounts 34 and Micro-credentials for lifelong learning and employability 35 help people to update or complete their skill-sets, also in response to emerging skills needs in the labour market, in a more flexible and targeted way. The Council Resolution from December 2021 on a new European Agenda for Adult Learning 2021-2030 36 promotes upskilling and reskilling that can in turn reduce skills mismatches and labour shortages. Skills guidance and skills self-assessment opportunities are among the measures which support people in their up- and reskilling.
(12) The strengthened active labour market policies advocated for by the EASE (Effective Active Support to Employment) Commission Recommendation 37 aim to support transitions into new employment amid the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and the better matching of skills in the labour market, supported by employment services with a sufficient administrative capacity.
(13) The Council Recommendation on vocational education and training (VET) 38 supports modernisation of VET systems to equip young people and adults with the knowledge, skills and competences they need to thrive in the evolving labour market and society, to manage the recovery and the just transitions to the green and digital economy, in times of demographic change and throughout all economic cycles. It promotes VET as a driver for innovation and growth, which is agile in adapting to labour market changes and providing skills for occupations in high demand.
(14) Skills for the green transition and the upskilling and reskilling of the workforce will be needed in the context of the shift to a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy, as laid out under the European Green Deal 39 setting the path towards EU climate neutrality by 2050. The Commission Communication “Fit for 55” 40 recognises that the green transition can only succeed if the Union has the skilled workforce it needs to stay competitive and points to the flagship actions of the Skills Agenda to equip people with the skills that are needed for the green and digital transitions.
(15) The Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030 41 reiterates the objective of ensuring that at least 80% of the EU population have at least basic digital skills by 2030, and sets the target of 20 million employed ICT specialists, with the aim of achieving gender convergence, by 2030, also by creating a cooperation framework between the Member States and the Commission. The Digital Decade 42 stresses the lack of capacity of specialised education and training programmes to train additional ICT experts. The Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 43 emphasises that technological means should be used to ease accessibility and strengthen flexibility of learning opportunities, including upskilling and reskilling.
(16) The Commission Communication on An Updated Industrial Strategy 44 calls for decisive action to make lifelong learning a reality for all and ensure that education and training keep pace with and help deliver the digital and green transitions. It underlines that a skilled workforce is key in ensuring successful transitions, supporting the competitiveness of the European industry, its digital and green transition and quality job creation. It also recognises the importance of strong partnerships between the EU, Member States, social partners and other relevant stakeholders and cooperation between and within industrial ecosystems. The social economy can play a decisive role as it is an important proponent of socially fair and inclusive digital and green transitions and a key driver of social innovation, including in the field of reskilling and upskilling.
(17) Attracting skilled third-country nationals can contribute to tackling the Union’s skills and labour shortages. In October 2021, the revised EU Blue Card Directive 45 entered into force, a key achievement for attracting highly skilled talent into the labour market. The New Pact on Migration and Asylum 46 also places a strong emphasis on labour migration and on integration of third country nationals. Against this background, the Commission adopted a Skills and Talent Package 47 in April 2022 to reinforce the legal framework and Union action in this area. Proposals to recast the Long-Term Residents Directive and the Single Permit Directive will allow to simplify the procedures for the admission of workers of all skill levels to the Union. The Commission will also continue to roll out an EU Talent Pool to facilitate labour matching with non-EU nationals. The Commission is also working towards the launch of tailor-made Talent Partnerships with specific key partner countries to boost international labour mobility and development of talent in a mutually beneficial and circular way. In addition, the Union continues to be the leading contributor to global funding for education focusing especially on teacher training, girls education and vocational education and training. This work, under the umbrella of the Global Gateway strategy 48 , is complementary to the objectives of this proposal.
(18) Trust in and transparency of qualifications, whether acquired in Europe or beyond, is key in facilitating their recognition. EU transparency tools (European Qualifications Framework, Europass, ESCO, EU Skills Profile Tool for third country nationals, European Digital Credentials for Learning) are a starting point to help increase the transparency and comparability of qualifications. For well functioning labour markets, skills must be understood and valued, whether acquired in formal, non-formal or informal settings. Skills identification and documentation, as well as guidance to make skills visible, are crucial steps in this context.
(19) Overall public and private investments in upskilling and reskilling are insufficient. Most job-related training in the Union is employer-sponsored. However, many companies, in particular SMEs, do not provide or fund training for their staff, and individuals in atypical work have less or no access to employer-sponsored training. Such inequalities undermine individuals’ welfare and health, reduce economic competitiveness, result in missed opportunities and barriers to innovation and risk leaving people behind in the transition to more sustainable economic activities. An enabling framework unlocking and incentivising employers’ financial investments in skills and giving visibility to the economic value of upskilling and reskilling is needed.
(20) In the past, the Union witnessed significant increases in the public investments in initial education and training. However, so far, this has not been matched with corresponding increases in investments to support continuing skills development throughout the entire working life. 49 The Council Conclusions of 8 June 2020 50 invite Member States to “explore possible models for public and private financing of lifelong learning and the development of skills on an individual level”, and call on the Commission to support Member States in these efforts.
(21) Significant EU funding support is available for reskilling and upskilling, for instance through the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) 51 , the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Just Transition Fund (JTF), the InvestEU programme, the Digital Europe Programme, Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, the Programme for Environment and climate action (LIFE), the Modernisation Fund, the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI). The ESF+ remains the main EU funding tool to invest in more and better skills of the workforce, in particular by supporting institutions and services to assess and anticipate skills needs and challenges, supporting reskilling and upskilling opportunities for workers offered by the public and private sectors. Reforms and investments included in Member States’ national recovery and resilience plans have a prominent skills dimension, often linked with active labour market policies, in particular youth employment support. In the national recovery and resilience plans endorsed by the Commission and the Council so far, around 20% of the social expenditure is dedicated to “employment and skills” 52 . REACT-EU was the first instrument of NextGenerationEU to make payments for the recovery of Member States. It helped create jobs and invest in skills in the regions most in need. Workers that lose their jobs due to large-scale restructuring events, may also benefit from support through the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) to find new jobs, for instance through further education and training and tailored career guidance and advice.
(22) Regulation (EU) 2021/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Just Transition Fund 53 recognises that upskilling and reskilling of workers and jobseekers is an instrument needed to ensure a fair and inclusive green transition and to mitigate adverse consequences. The Council Recommendation on ensuring a fair transition towards climate neutrality 54 sets out specific guidance to help Member States devise and implement policy packages on relevant employment and social aspects, including upskilling and reskilling policies. Furthermore, the Council Recommendation on learning for the green transition and sustainable development 55 promotes policies and programmes to ensure that learners of all ages acquire the knowledge and skills to benefit from a changing labour market, live sustainably and take action for a sustainable future.
(23) The InvestEU programme, under its Social investment and Skills window, supports demand for and supply of skills, improving final recipients’ skills sets or skills utilisation and fostering skills-investment markets. InvestEU supports also general investments in education, training and related services. In addition, the Just Transition Scheme under the InvestEU supports investments, including those aimed at supporting upskilling and reskilling of workers, in regions having an approved just transition plan under the Regulation (EU) 2021/1056 or projects that benefit those regions, provided they are key to the transition of those territories.
(24) Tailor-made expertise through the Commission’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI) can help Member States undertake reforms linked to national or regional strategies on skills, translating temporary EU funding into durable improvements in the available reskilling and upskilling opportunities. Mutual learning, facilitated by the Commission, can also support the process.
(25) The European Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 56 aims to ensure their full participation in society, on an equal basis with others in the Union and beyond. Within the Strategy, the European Commission commits to make sure that persons with disabilities can take part in trainings and learn new skills, as a fundamental requisite for employment and independence.
(26) At Union level, the necessary financial allocation for the implementation of this Decision would be identified within the budget of the contributing programmes in accordance with the Multiannual Financial Frameworks 2014-2020 and 2021-2027. Without prejudice to the powers of the budgetary authority, the aim should be to provide funding for the implementation of this Decision of at least 9.3 EUR million for operational expenses.
(27) Since the objectives of this Decision cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but can rather by reason of the scale and effects of the proposed action be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, as set out in Article 5 TEU. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.
(28) In order to ensure swift implementation of the European Year of Skills, this Decision should enter into force as a matter of urgency on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.