European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience

Summary:

Communication published by the European Commission on 1 July 2020, setting out a new European Skills Agenda which is focused on offering individuals the right skills to secure jobs.

Further information:

This Agenda sets a number of objectives for improving existing skills and training in new skills, to be achieved within a period of 5 years. Its 12 actions focus on skills for jobs by partnering up with Member States, companies and social partners to work together for change, by empowering people into lifelong learning and by using the EU budget as a catalyst to unlock investment in people's skills. The 12 actions are as follows:

• A Pact for Skills
• Strengthening skills intelligence
• EU support for strategic national upskilling action
• Council Recommendation on Vocational Education and Training for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience
• Rolling out the European universities initiative and upskilling scientists
• Skills to support the green and digital transitions
• Increasing STEM graduates and fostering entrepreneurial and transversal skills
• Skills for Life
• Initiative on Individual Learning Accounts
• A European approach to micro-credentials
• New Europass Platform
• Improving the enabling framework to unlock Member States' and private investments in skills

The new Agenda builds on the original European Skills Agenda and delivers on the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR). It is anchored on the strategies set up to implement green and digital transitions, as well as on the New Industrial Strategy. It also supports a Recommendation on reinforcing the Youth Guarantee, which was published on the same day.

Official

EUR-Lex: SWD(2020)121: Staff Working Document accompanying the Communication - Evaluation of the Council Recommendation of 20 December 2012 on the validation of non-formal and informal learning https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2020:121:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2020)122: Staff Working Document accompanying the Communication - Executive Summary of the Evaluation https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2020:122:FIN

European Commission: Press Release, 01/07/2020: Commission presents European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_1196

European Commission: Questions and answers: European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience (1 July 2020) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_20_1197

European Commission: Remarks by Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis at the press conference on the Youth Employment Support package and the European Skills Agenda (1 July 2020) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_20_1252

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