When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced her Omnibus I competitiveness proposals in February, the audience was filled with senior European businesses figures. Notably absent were representatives of the people who will power the European Union’s economic reconstruction: its workers.
Von der Leyen followed up in March with a proposal for a Union of Skills, aimed at ensuring Europe’s workforce is equipped for the transformation ahead.
Employers and unions welcomed the initiative, but some worry it will be treated as an afterthought and will not go far enough.
“It points to the right policy areas that need to be tackled,” Valentina Guerra, policy director for social affairs and training at small-business group SMEUnited, told The Parliament. But she expressed concerns about the specifics and the extent of financing commitments: “The risk is… create[ing] an empty shell.”
The Commission’s plan builds on existing legislation and promises to pilot new concepts. These include a basic skills support mechanism and a guarantee to offer workers at risk of unemployment the opportunity to learn new skills.
“We in Europe put people first, because the success of every person – in learning, at work and in life – is essential for competitiveness and for a stable and resilient union,” Roxana Mînzatu, the commissioner in charge of social rights and skills, quality jobs and preparedness, said when announcing the proposal.
This article is part of The Parliament's latest policy report, "Building a competitive Europe."
As job requirements change, so do skills requirements. Evolving technologies and changing political priorities mean that fewer people can enter increasingly specialised jobs. Policymakers and businesses in Europe have been quick to identify skills shortages as a reason for lagging behind competitors. But policy proposals have been slower and less forthright than plans to cut red tape, leaving workers out of the loop.
Much of the investment suggested in Mario Draghi’s competitiveness report, for example, focused on education, skills and productivity. In his report, the former Italian prime minister wrote that investment was needed to address skills shortages which remain one of the most pressing issues for five per cent of EU businesses of all sizes.
Some EU policymakers are concerned that the Union of Skills, being released to little fanfare after the Omnibus I package rather than as a part of it, will not have the necessary political backing to succeed.
“I do hope that, within the Commission, they understand the things Mînzatu is trying to push now are things that should be at the centre of competitiveness… not something that you add on to everything else to make it sound nicer,” Li Andersson, a Finnish MEP from the Left group and chair of the European Parliament’s committee on employment and social affairs, told The Parliament.
Right to training?
A lobbying battle is brewing over whether the legislation should include a legally binding right for workers to receive skills training within working hours. This is not currently included in the proposal. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), a broad umbrella group representing numerous trade union federations across the region, has urged the Commission to “shift focus from vague commitments to legally binding measures.”
Nayla Glaise, president of Eurocadres, the European trade union voice of professional and managerial staff, said the right to training was essential for hard-pressed workers to upskill.
“A workforce squeezed economically, with little workplace autonomy, poor work-life balance and reduced purchasing power will not have the time or resources to upskill outside of their working hours,” she told The Parliament.
Employers see things differently. “The right to training is not a silver bullet because we see it as a shared responsibility among public authorities, employers and workers,” said Guerra. The SMEs that she represents have smaller workforces, meaning that time away from work can be hard to backfill and can stifle economic activity – adding to the competitiveness deficit, she argued.
Guerra also said that there needed to be a mechanism to ensure that employers were offering relevant, high-quality training to their workers rather than just meeting a compliance checkbox.
Funding the ambition
Funding is another source of tension. “The Union of Skills is an important initiative, but it's not backed up by the kind of financial proposals you would need to see a boost in the skills investment for workers,” said Andersson.
She also cautioned against focusing only on funding, noting that long, antisocial working hours are also harming conditions for workers. “Skills gaps in some areas of the labour market might also be linked to working conditions,” she said.
As budgets are being refocused into other sectors such as defence and security, securing public funding for training has become more difficult.
Glaise said funding should be better targeted and legislators should ensure workers are properly compensated for their skilled labour. “Is it a skills gap if you’re offering to pay below or just at the market rate, or is the shortage of skills just at the price you’re willing to pay?” she said. “We cannot continue to write blank cheques for bad employers and expect them to help workers.”
One solution is to involve businesses alongside public funding at both the EU and national level, as has already be trialled in sectoral joint training funds, often established by trade unions and employers.
“When training is established and funded via this training fund and discussed by the social partners in a specific sector, it reaches more people and it's much more effective,” said Guerra.
Whatever form it takes, some support for workers to improve their skills will be crucial if the EU’s competitiveness drive is to succeed. Failing to catch up with global competitors could leave the bloc treading water while others power ahead.
“Without the workers really being involved and being taken care of as part of their competitiveness agenda, I don't think that the EU will succeed in the goals that are being set now,” said Andersson.
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