EU social affairs ministers agreed on the importance of addressing the issue of skills, both for young people and adults, to meet the challenges of the green and digital transition, at an informal meeting of the Employment and Social Policy Council (EPSCO) on Tuesday 15 February in Bordeaux.
Hosting the meeting, French Labour Minister Elisabeth Borne stressed the importance of training in the current major transitions, giving as an example the automotive sector, where some 800,000 workers will need to be retrained by 2025 to support the rise of electromobility. In this respect, she stressed the importance of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, the Just Transition Fund, as well as the role of social partners.
Taking the example of semi-conductors, the Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, underlined the importance of supporting Europe’s reindustrialisation. He highlighted the role of the European Social Fund and especially that of the NextGenerationEU Recovery Plan, which allows for significant investment in the social sector.
Welcoming the individual training account system set up in France, the Commissioner said that several Member States had expressed interest in implementing a similar initiative at national level. He recalled that the Commission had presented a recommendation on this subject last December (see EUROPE 12851/13).
The issue of traineeship remuneration
Asked by a journalist about abuses in the area of trainee remuneration, the Commissioner acknowledged that there was a problem with the way in which compensation was paid, but said that it was necessary to ensure that skills were respected. He urged Member States to end successive traineeships.
Mr Schmit did not discount the possibility of a revision of the Recommendation on quality traineeships to address the issue of remuneration, within the limits of his competence.
The Commission had launched a consultation on the subject (see EUROPE 12772/13) in July 2021. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)