New position on an EU action plan on labour and skills shortages

The position, adopted as a response to an ad-hoc social partner consultation of the European Commission, states its support for a new EU action plan on labour and skills shortages and emphasises that

• labour and skills shortages are critical challenges facing the EU’s economy and labour market in the short- and medium-term.
• the shortages pose significant obstacles to growth, sustainability, innovation, and competitiveness across various economic sectors as well as the public sector, and emphasises.
• as the EU strives to navigate through demographic shifts, technological advancements, climate change and global economic transformations, it becomes imperative to adopt effective strategies to mitigate shortages and ensure a skilled and adaptable workforce of the future.

The position requests an action plan to reduce labour and skills shortages in particular through:

• Improved working conditions: Making working conditions in sectors with shortages better for employees is paramount for enhancing staff recruitment and retention.
• Flexible working arrangements and access to care: Flexible working arrangements and available, affordable and high-quality care services are a key complement to better working conditions and are needed especially by working parents to resolve professional work and domestic and care responsibilities. This is a key component of improved working conditions and adds to the attractiveness of employment.
• Improved public recognition of professions: In the care sector specifically, a better perception of professions in the public eye is essential to increase their valorisation and attractiveness.
• Investments in training on the job: Investing in training on the job and development programmes tailored to employees’ evolving skills needs not only boosts productivity but also equips workers with the competencies required to adapt to changing job roles and emerging technologies in the green-digital twin transition.
• Enhanced (fair) labour mobility: Facilitating labour mobility within the EU can help alleviate regional disparities and match workers with job opportunities across borders. However, fostered labour mobility – within the EU and from third countries – must remain fair and mitigate brain drains as much as possible.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “Closing the skills gaps requires decided steps by policy makers, who should act in close coordination, cooperation and consultation with social partners. Social partners have a crucial role to play in identifying skills needs and addressing labour shortages across various policy domains. Through collaboration and dialogue at the EU, national, sectoral as well as company and authority level, they can devise holistic as well as targeted solutions to enhance workforce development, promote fair labour practices, and drive economic prosperity.”

He added: “In praticular, a key to a successful mitigation of labour shortages will be pluralistic and inclusive social dialogue. It will be key to reach out to and take on board all actors. Social dialogue restricted to only the established biggest and most representative social partners will leave aside and thus exclude a significant portion of the European workforce. As such, the envisaged action plan should explicitly spell out the need for pluralist and inclusive social dialogue to address labour and skills shortages in the most comprehensive and effective manner.”

The full position is available here.