Brussels, 09/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 9 June, at the premises of the European Commission in Brussels, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) presented the preliminary results of a Europe-wide study on developments affecting the qualifications of European workers. A report was published in a Commission communication in December 2008, “New Skills for New Jobs”. The goal is to provide an overview of the situation in European countries (member states, except Malta whose data is incomplete, as well as Norway) and determine whether supply converges with demand from employers. The first observation is that young people today are more qualified than their elders and this characteristic will become more pronounced in the future. Secondly, this trend towards more qualifications converges with demands set by the labour market, which demands more highly qualified people. Finally, the economic crisis will underscore these two trends and young graduates will seek to increase their additional qualifications in an effort to improve their chances of obtaining work, while employers will take the best qualified people in an attempt to be in a better position economically. Future skill supply in Europe: medium-term forecast up to 2020. This report presents different situations with regard to assessing supply and demand for qualifications up to 2020 according to age and gender and economic situation (Ed: the reference scenario and study was compiled during an economic situation that was worsening worse). The main results of the study are that the level of qualifications and skills is rising across Europe, particularly among younger people - and even more so among women. Workers with few qualifications are declining throughout the member states, whilst people with average or high levels of qualifications are slightly increasing. A Cedefop expert said that these trends converge with the Lisbon agenda and its goal of increasing the number of highly qualified people. According to this expert, Europe will have to have an overall and significant improvement in workers' qualifications, including the under-qualified, in keeping with the future needs of the labour market. The same source also stressed that if the Lisbon objectives are to be reached in education and employment, collaboration between DG Employment and DG Education should be improved, common and convergent projects should be pursued and employers' future needs anticipated. This report is just the outline of the evaluation process, which is expected to produce a comparative and accurate study of supply and demand in qualifications in Europe. The objective is not only to identify qualifications required in the next few decades and to provide young people with appropriate training, it is also to work out what qualifications have become obsolete and to encourage other paths to be chosen, concluded Cedefop. (I.L./transl.rh).