On Monday 4 December, the European Commission announced support for a skills partnership for the healthcare sector, including pharmaceutical companies and universities.
“This partnership will make it possible to increase training in this field in Europe, which is essential for the EU’s industrial and social prosperity”, according to a press release.
The sector is facing major skills and labour shortages, which are likely to intensify with the growing demand for healthcare products and services due to Europe’s ageing population.
“The new partnership, covering the manufacture of pharmaceutical products, medical devices and personal protective equipment, complements the existing skills partnership in the healthcare sector covering medical services”.
The aim of the partnership is to facilitate professional development and retraining initiatives across the health sector and to promote learning opportunities and on-the-job training.
To date, the press release adds, the pact has enabled over 2 million workers to be trained, with 15,500 training programmes updated or developed and €160 million invested. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)