Brussels, 30/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - The new skills strategy in Europe will definitely contain a “skills guarantee” (see EUROPE 11536), learned this newsletter as the European Commission was unveiling the broad thrust of the new initiative at the Education Council on Monday 30 May.
We understand that the strategy to be unveiled on 7 June will be based on three key priorities: (1) improving the quality and relevance of skills acquisition; (2) making skills and qualifications more visible and comparable; (3) improving information about skills in order to facilitate career choices.
The strategy will be unveiled in the form of a general communication along with a Council recommendation establishing a skills guarantee, a Council recommendation on the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and a review of the decision establishing the Europass system for transparency in skills and qualifications.
Employment Commissioner Marianne Thyssen said the skills guarantee will aim to help member states in finding the best way of boosting access and use of means to improve the skills of adults with low qualifications.
Along with these non-binding initiatives, the communication will announce: measures to make education and professional training more attractive (2017) and to encourage the development of digital skills (end of 2016); a review of the key skills framework (2017); a toolbox for people from outside the EU (June 2016); a survey of best practice to address the brain drain (2017); a roadmap to encourage sectoral cooperation on skills (June 2016); and an initiative on monitoring graduates (2017).
The European Commission says a fifth of Europeans - 70 million adults - have problems reading, writing or doing arithmetic. Nearly 40% of companies report problems recruiting staff with the skills they require, including digital skills. At the same time, it is estimated that around 25% of highly skilled young people are overqualified for the jobs they are doing. It is against this backdrop that the European Commission is preparing to unveil an Agenda for New Skills in Europe on 7 June 2016. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)