EU initiatives on skills, our report for the European Parliament
The European Parliament published the report Maximising the Impact of EU Initiatives on Skills. Is the EU's skills policy prepared for future labour market shifts?. Now available online on the website of the European Parliament, the study was developed by Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini at the request of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) in the European Parliament to support the legislative and non-legislative work of the Committee in the 2024-2029 term.
The research was conducted for FGB by Terence Hogarth, Professor at the Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick, and member of FGB's scientific committee; Ioan – Cristinel Raileanu, Officer at FGB's Labour Market & Skills Research Unit; Costanza Pagnini, Head of FGB's Policy Evaluation and Analysis Unit, and Giancarlo Dente, Coordinator of Fondazione Brodolini's Policy Evaluation and Human Capital Area.
The study provides a comprehensive understanding of how skills demand is likely to change over the medium term, as EU Member States adapt to transformations determined by the digital and green transitions and to labour market shifts enabled by demographic changes. The current situation and future trends in the EU concerning aspects related to skills demands, skills shortages, and skills mismatches are presented. The report also addresses the EU’s policy-making in the area of skills, to assist Member States in responding to future change so that skill mismatches do not act as a constraint on competitiveness.
Based on an extensive review of research studies that address the EU’s skill needs, along with an analysis of key policy developments in the recent past, the report sheds light on the complex skills policies landscape developed at the EU level.
Divided into three parts, it comprises an assessment of the emerging skill needs in the European Union, based on current trends and the impact of the digital, green and demographic transitions; a review of the various EU skills initiatives, assessing their impact, complementarity and gaps; and a set of recommendations to address the identified policy gaps, to assist EU Member States to respond to future change.
Key findings from the study show that "the impact of twin digital and green transitions on employment and skill demand, for the time being, appears to be relatively muted" explains Costanza Pagnini, who coordinated the study for Fondazione Brodolini. "Workers' skills tend to be augmented rather than substituted by the twin transitions. Should the transitions accelerate, then this is likely to place even greater pressure on skills systems across the MS to match skills supply to demand" she concludes.
