• Lifelong Learning Policy
• Strategic framework for education and training
• Mobility and lifelong learning instruments
• School education
• Higher education
• Vocational education and training
• Adult learning
• Innovation and creativity
• Research and analysis
• Lifelong Learning Programme
• Lifelong Learning Programme overview
• Erasmus for higher education
• Leonardo da Vinci for vocational training
• Comenius for school education
• Grundtvig for adult education
• Transversal programme
• Jean Monnet for European integration
• External Programmes and Policies
• Tempus
• Erasmus Mundus
• Co-operation with industrialised countries
• External co-operation in education and training
• More Information
• Reports and studies
• Education and training in the Member States
• Former programmes
• Dissemination and Exploitation of Results
• Lifelong Learning Programme
• Who we are
• Our Commissioner
• Our structure
• Our mission

New skills for new jobs: better matching and anticipating labour market needs

Across Europe, technological change, globalisation, the shift to a low-carbon economy, ageing populations and the evolution of social structures all mean that both labour markets – and the skills people need – change ever faster. Therefore we must make sure to anticipate future needs and respond by enable people to develop the right skills.

The European Commission is proposing to improve the monitoring of short-term trends and to develop tools for better matching of skills and job vacancies on the European labour market. The Commission will also develop better information on needs in the EU in the medium and long-term, with regularly updated projections of future labour market trends and analysis of skills needs by sector. It will improve the EU's understanding of global challenges related to skills and jobs through cooperation with third countries and international organisations. Moreover, the Commission will help Member States and regions and all actors involved in the upgrading and matching of skills by mobilising existing Community policies and funds, especially the European Social Fund.

With this proposals the Commission responds to a request by the European Council to provide an assessment of skills needs up to 2020. One of the preliminary findings is that Europe will see the creation of new jobs in the service sector: by the year 2020, almost three quarters of jobs in the EU-25 will be in services. Further, there will be many jobs created in high-skilled occupations, but also some job creation in "elementary jobs". More and more jobs will require high and medium education levels from the working population. Across sectors, transversal and generic skills will be increasingly valued on the labour market: problem-solving and analytical skills, self-management and communication skills, the ability to work in a team, linguistic skills and digital competences.

To know more

• "New Skills for New Jobs. Anticipating and matching labour market and skills needs" Communication from the Commission, COM(2008) 868, 16 December 2008
• Staff Working Document accompanying the "New Skills for New Jobs" Communication, SEC(2008) 3058, 16 December 2008
• European Commission: Education and Training: European strategy and co-operation in education and training
• European Commission: Employment: Employment in the EU
• The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop)
• The Cedefop Skills Forecast to 2020
• Press release "New skills for new jobs: better matching and anticipating labour market needs" [IP/08/1984 on Rapid, 16 December 2008]
• Memo "New skills for new jobs: anticipationg and matching labour market and skills needs" [MEMO/08/791 on Rapid, 16 December 2008]
• Citizens summary