Amid rising skills shortages across EU member states, the European Commission announced an action plan setting out key measures that the EU, member states and social partners should take in the short to medium term.

The aim of the plan is to help unlock the EU’s growth potential, support its competitiveness, and provide better opportunities for all.

It comes after the Commission identified 42 occupations which have shortages.

The Commission noted five areas for action:

1.     Supporting underrepresented people to enter the labour market

2.     Providing support for skills development, training and education

3.     Improving working conditions

4.     Improving fair intra-EU mobility for workers and learners

5.     Attracting talent from outside the EU

“The proposed actions are necessary if the EU is to reach its 2030 headline targets on skills and employment, i.e. at least 78% of the population aged 20 to 64 should be in employment, and 60% of adults participating in yearly training,” the European Commission stated.

The plan follows on from numerous initiatives that the EU, Member States and social partners have already put in place including the European Skills Agenda, the Pact for Skills and the European Year of Skills. 

Menno Bart, Executive Committee Member and Public Affairs Committee Chair of the World Employment Confederation-Europe said, ““The World Employment Confederation-Europe welcomes the fact that the Action Plan recognises the role of effective cooperation between public and private employment services in tackling labour market shortages.”

WEC-Europe said, “Private employment services contribute to enhancing labour market participation, especially for young people, who are strongly represented among the agency workers.”

“HR services value a skills-first approach and invest in up- and reskilling of workers based on company-based training schemes, bipartite training funds and apprenticeships,” it said. “Additionally, working conditions in the HR services industry, particularly in agency work, are fully appropriate and fair, including the principle of equal treatment and equal pay based on the EU Directive on temporary agency work, national regulation and collective labour agreements to settle working conditions.”

The priorities and policies in the Action Plan are consistent with the policy recommendations the World Employment Confederation-Europe has put forward in its 2024 Manifesto, “The Europe We Want – Creating Futureproof Labour Markets That Work For All”.

The Manifesto focuses on addressing the current and future megatrends in the world of work and calls for a new social contract that protects all, skills policies to empower all in the labour market and fair and appropriate regulation in times of digitalisation.