Skills and jobs experts call for action now
Immediate action is required to solve Europe's skills deficiencies and give Europeans a better chance of labour market success in the future, says an independent expert report published by the European Commission today. The report - 'New Skills for New Jobs: Action Now' - stresses the need to provide the right incentives for people to upgrade their skills, to better link education, training and work, to develop the right mix of skills, and to better anticipate those skills needed in the future. Today's report is one of the major outputs of the European Commission's 'New Skills for New Jobs' agenda and will be presented at a high level conference in Brussels today.
Vladimír Špidla, Commissioner for Employment said: "Improving people's skills will help us out of the crisis in the short term and prepare for sustainable economic success in the future".Maroš Šefčovič, Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, added "We need to break down the divisions between 'education and training' and 'work' so that people can make sure that their skills are suited to evolving labour market needs throughout their lives."
The nature of the problem is that at present, one in three Europeans of working age has few or no formal qualifications, making them 40% less likely to be employed than those with medium level qualifications. The actual employment rate across the EU as a whole differs substantially according to what level of skills people have: for those with high skill levels it is 84%, for medium skill levels 70%, and for low skill levels it stands at 49%.
Those with low qualifications are also much less likely to upgrade their skills and follow lifelong learning. Meanwhile, companies that train their staff are 2.5 times less likely to go out of business compared to those that do not, and education systems that provide adequate skills for all could increase GDP by as much as 10% in the long term.
Today's expert report provides concrete recommendations on how to solve Europe's skills deficiencies and is addressed to decision-makers at EU and national level, businesses, trade unions, education and training providers and employment services.
It calls for action in four main areas:
- Provide better incentives for employers and individuals to up-skill, and investment in skills must be significant, smart and not just financial;
- Open up the worlds of education and training by making education and training institutions more innovative and responsive to both learners' and employers' needs, and by developing relevant qualifications that focus on concrete learning outcomes;
- Offer a better mix of skills that is more suited to labour market needs;
- Better anticipation of future skill needs.
To know more
- Full Commission press release
(IP/10/123, 4 February 2010) - Expert report: 'New Skills for New Jobs: Action Now' February 2010
- New Skills for New Jobs: Employment
- New Skills for New Jobs: Education and training
- Cedefop Press release: "Forecast shows jobs in Europe becoming more skills- and knowledge-intensive"
- Cedefop Briefing Note "Jobs in Europe to become more knowledge- and skills-intensive"
