Skills intelligence

A massive effort to reskill and upskill Europe's workforce is needed to help workers adapt to more sustainable jobs and enable the green and digital transitions of the economy. It calls for ambitious and inclusive skills strategies, Cedefop research suggests.

Cedefop’s labour market intelligence and skills forecasts and analyses underpin European VET policymaking. Since the 2019 Commission Communication on the Green Deal and the 2021 European Parliament and Council Regulation on the InvestEU programme, Cedefop has focused in particular on how employment trends and national vocational education and training systems are adapting to provide the skills required for a green and digital economy.

EU Member States’ skills strategies must support workers in declining sectors and regions and across qualifications, seniority levels, and occupations, to move into more sustainable jobs. According to Cedefop’s sectoral skills foresights, skills for the green transition cover a wide range from job-specific to transversal skills. In a circular economy, “system thinking” and empathy are crucial to process and product design and the transition to fair green business models. Communication skills strengthen consumer and citizen awareness as well as engagement to act, live, and work “green”.

The digital transition, central to a sustainable, green economy, is driving demand for highly skilled IT software and application developers and analysts. It is also raising the level of digital skill needs across sectors, including in some traditionally low-skill jobs, e.g. in agriculture, that increasingly require at least basic digital skills. Digital and data analysis skills are essential to the green transition and must be embedded in education and training programmes. Sectors at the core of the Green Deal Industrial Plan, such as ICT and manufacturing, have the highest shares of high-tech jobs.

Upskilling and reskilling remain at the top of the European policy agenda. Skills shortages are most acute in human health and social work, construction, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning, ICT, waste management, accommodation, food services, and manufacturing. However, shortages challenge companies and regional labour markets in different ways and to different degrees. Besides the need for more people to acquire new skills, skills supply is also affected by other factors, including workforce aging and companies adopting new working and learning processes. Shortages of ICT professionals indicate scant supply, while shortages of health professionals can be driven by poor working conditions.

Consequently, holistic policy approaches are needed, based on stakeholder cooperation and close coordination between skills policy and other policy areas such as innovation, social inclusion and migration.

The Cedefop/Eurofound 2020 European Company Survey shows that companies offering attractive, challenging and skills-intensive jobs are better at unlocking employees’ motivation, self-esteem and readiness to learn. Vocational education and training, with its close connection to the world of work, offers both job-specific and soft skills while encouraging team-based learning. Companies that empower their employees through opportunities for them to learn, to use their skills and grow in their jobs, are the best placed to face the challenges that lie ahead.

Cedefop’s Antonio Ranieri will give more insights into Cedefop’s work at the EMPL Committee hearing on Future-proof jobs and skills training for the digital and green transitions on 17 July.

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