Commissioner Schmit's keynote speech at the OECD Skills Summ
- Dear Prime Minister, dear Secretary General of the OECD, dear Ministers, ladies and gentlemen
- First I really want to thank the Belgian Presidency and the OECD for organising this Skills Summit.
- The OECD has shown us the way when it indicated that skills are at the heart of our future, for our economic and societal development.
- It is also the perfect opportunity to have this Skills Summit during the European Year of Skills.
- It is exciting to be here in this forum with such a great mix of actors and to get inspired about skills.
- We need a skills revolution. And it is very obvious why.
- We are in midst of different revolutions. We have a rapid, technological revolution. Every day technologies are changing, including an overwhelming influx of Artificial Intelligence.
- We also need a technological revolution in our industries as we have to transform them into low carbon.
- We cannot face these major transformations without a skills revolution.
- We need this skills revolution for Europe to be competitive. The global economy is changing, and Europe has to reinforce its competitiveness. As PM De Croo said, our best assets are our knowledge, our intelligence, our people.
- We need it to build a resilient, innovative and sustainable economy. We have learned a lot from the Covid crisis, how important it is to be capable of adapting rapidly, using our resilience to overcome a crisis like that.
- And we need it for citizens to be empowered and able to thrive on today's ever changing labour market.
- And what does this mean in concrete terms? It means completely changing the mindset when it comes to learning, training and adapting our skillsets.
- Already decades ago, it was in 1971 that Jacques Delors designed the first law in France on “lifelong learning”.
- When he became President of the European Commission, it remained at heart of his ideas. He understood that without lifelong learning, the EU would not be able to develop the internal market. We have to put this lesson into practice.
- We need to strengthen skills systems across all the EU's Member States, and put skills investment at the top of the priority list.
- I insist on the idea of investment – very often we still consider spending on skills and education as normal budgetary expenditure. It is not. It's a fundamental investment in our future.
- To trigger such a revolution, at the Porto Social Summit in 2021, the EU agreed on a target to meet by 2030: that 60% of adults should take part in training at least once a year.
- When I look at this figure, I say this is relatively modest. There are some Member States doing better, but also some that are much lower. So we really need to make an effort here.
- That same year, all Member States came forward with their own national training targets to achieve that EU-wide goal.
- Of course, to meet this ambition, it cannot be “business as usual”. Ministries, public employment agencies, social partners and others – all have to overhaul their programmes and actively mobilise people to get learning.
- A very practical initiative that the Commission launched to help with this objective is the Pact for Skills, which is also a good example of social dialogue.
- By bringing together private and public sector actors from each industrial or economic eco-system, they create partnerships and can:
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- identify what skills gaps exist
- define how best to meet those needs, and
- make commitments to set up training opportunities.
- Last summer's evaluation revealed that Pact partnerships will lead to training opportunities for at least 10 million people across the EU in the coming years.
- Many sectors are facing fundamental changes. Some sectors will see current types of jobs disappear. We have to train, reskill and upskill all those workers who will change their job.
- The transition has to go fast, as climate change is going fast.
- We have to help people navigate those changes. We can't wait, or risk losing a generation, as has happened in the past.
- The Pact is a very concrete result from a project of collaboration, and we expect the numbers to continue growing.
- Alongside actions such as the Pact, the EU is also heavily investing in skills, pledging around €65 billion of EU funding.
- The European Social Fund Plus and the Recovery and Resilience Facility are strong levers for action, prompting reforms and investment in training across all Member States.
- So, as I said, this is not business as usual. The EU and the Member States are conscious of the urgent need for new ideas, new programmes.
- An area where I have witnessed a lot of good initiatives - but that really need to be scaled up - is related to NEETs: young people not in employment, education or training.
- We have around 8 million NEETs in Europe. They have a real potential for work, for their talent, and we risk losing this potential.
- That's why we have to make all the efforts to give them the right skills to bring them to the labour market – but not just that. As PM De Croo said, work is not just a job, it's being part of society.
- I have been fortunate to visit many Second Chance Schools and similar organisations in different Member States which reach those young people who did not thrive in traditional education, and who need support to get back on track.
- The Youthreach programme in Ireland is a very good example: there are now over 100 centres across the country, part-financed by the European Social Fund, which offer young people an avenue to learn - not only vocational skills - but also life skills like resilience and confidence.
- So funding is certainly one way in which the Commission is supporting Member States in developing their skills programmes.
- It's also about exchanging good ideas. That's why the Skill Summit is so important. We need to hear from other countries from other parts of the world with different experiences.
- More generally, the EU Skills Agenda comprises a series of flagship initiatives that incite action at different levels.
- The Council Recommendations on Micro-credentials and on Individual Learning Accounts are two very practical ways to help people take training courses and build up their skills.
- And we placed a big emphasis on vocational education and training, especially work-based learning programmes, such as apprenticeships.
- The Council Recommendation on VET guides Member States in how to make it more attractive to learners, and how to adapt it to the changing labour market.
- It is my firm belief that we have to revalue how we see vocational training and technical professions.
- Still in many countries, VET is not regarded as highly as “higher education”, and parents discourage their children from applying for technical training, preferring they go to universities.
- To be frank, this is an outdated approach.
- Today's labour shortages are primarily in jobs that require vocational education and training!
- At Euroskills in Gdansk last September, I saw the amazing talents of people from across Europe competing in skills like welding and robotics, and it is clear that these are the skills in demand in today's labour market!
- This week, we are bringing the skills champions together here in Brussels to again celebrate their achievements.
- The Commission also organises a “VET week” each year, which entails hundreds of online and in-person events in all corners of the EU, putting the spotlight on the benefits of vocational training and education, and inspiring others.
- And, we are working hard to improve the international exchanges for vocational education learners.
- Mobility of apprentices and VET learners is a very important element, not just between EU countries but also with other partners outside.
- And on the theme of inspiration, in May last year, we launched the European Year of Skills.
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- The Year has helped accelerate the discussion on skills and training in the EU;
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- it has brought together the Member States via their national coordinators to exchange best practice;
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- and it has triggered local events and initiatives that mobilise action on the ground.
- For example Cyprus has presented a Year of Skills Action Plan called "Modern Professional Development for the green and digital transitions", with the ambitious goal of getting 100,000 people into training, including from vulnerable groups.
- While the Year comes to a conclusion in May, the work does not stop there. We have to continue to build on the momentum and push Member States to step up their efforts.
- In a context of persistent labour and skills shortages, addressing skills mismatches is a big priority.
- Of course to know where the gaps are, you need reliable skills intelligence.
- Analysis done by the EU's agency CEDEFOP, and by the OECD, for example, can help anticipate what the future trends will be, to help training institutions and learners make smart choices about their skills development.
- A major area where we know the EU workforce has to develop its skills is Artificial Intelligence.
- According to the OECD's analysis, on average across 14 OECD countries, the share of online vacancies requiring A.I. skills increased by 33% between 2019 and 2022.
- Nearly half of SMEs across Europe (45%) state that skills shortages hinder their efforts to adopt or use digital technologies.
- We have to move quickly, and train experts in these new technologies, for the benefit of our industries, and also for workers' employability.
- My final point is about inclusion. With the rapid changes we are seeing in the labour market, there is a risk that we leave whole sections of society behind. This is not the European way.
- We still have in many countries with much lower female employment rate than men.
- We have a very big gender gap when it comes to working with new technologies – and yet these are the quality jobs of the future. It cannot be the new element of discrimination between men and women. So we have to push girls and women into STEM subjects and jobs.
- We must make a concerted effort to reach out to those people who are marginalised and find ways to support them and bring them into the labour market. We need their talents, their ideas, and their productivity, especially people with disabilities
- So I have tried to give you a snapshot of what the Commission has been doing - and will continue to do - to bring about a skills revolution in the EU and inspire partners outside the EU.
- I call upon everyone here to take inspiration from today's exchanges and make skills count. Thank you.
| Zařazeno | st 21.02.2024 12:02:00 |
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| Zdroj | Evropská komise en |
| Originál | ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/documents?reference=SPEECH/24/968&language=en |
| lang | en |
| guid | /SPEECH/24/968/ |
