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Events

2023/03/29
   Indicative plenary sitting date
2023/02/15
   EP - Committee decision to enter into interinstitutional negotiations confirmed by plenary (Rule 71)
2023/02/13
   EP - Committee decision to enter into interinstitutional negotiations announced in plenary (Rule 71)
2023/02/09
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading
Details

The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted a report by Loucas FOURLAS (EPP, CY) on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on a European Year of Skills 2023.

The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the proposal as follows:

Subject matter

Members proposed that the year starting from 9 May 2023 until 8 May 2024 should be designated as the ‘European Year of Skills’ (European Year).

Objectives

The overall objective of the European Year has been clarified by the committee.

The Europe Year should:

- enhance continuous learning, employability and career progression, and to provide sustainable, lifelong learning systems;

- promote access to decent wages that ensure a decent standard of living;

- promote the creation of quality jobs and retention strategies as the best way to attract and retain a skilled workforce and provide incentives for employers to invest in the development of their workers´ skills;

- promote decent working conditions at company level to attract and retain skilled workers;

- promote the increased mobility of the workers in the Union under the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes for students, apprentices, teachers and trainers, while aiming for the better recognition of the skills and competences acquired during periods of mobility.

Type of measures

New types of measures have been added by Members to achieve the main objectives of the initiative. These include, inter alia :

- online and in person conferences;

- initiatives targeting inter alia individuals, employers, in particular SMEs;

- supporting social dialogue, collective bargaining and the role of the social partners in designing national, sectoral and company-specific skills strategies and training;

- promoting and further implementing tools and instruments for increased transparency of qualifications, including qualifications awarded outside the Union, including the improvement of the validation systems and the automatic mutual recognition, validation, and certification of those qualifications, and of skills acquired in non-formal or informal settings;

- developing a toolbox to support disadvantaged groups, in particular persons with disabilities, persons with a migrant background and people living in remote areas and in the outermost regions;

- enabling everyone to acquire and perform the skills of immediate intervention and simple chest compressions and if possible, also rescue breathing ( CPR – CardioPulmonary Resuscitation) after sudden cardiac arrest;

- establishing a common legal framework to ensure remuneration for traineeships and apprenticeships and to avoid exploitative practices.

Coordination in the Member States at Union level

Effective social dialogue and collective bargaining processes are crucial to anticipating the needs of the labour market and the need for skills, as well as to defining strategies at both Union and national level. In this regard, Member States should ensure the involvement of the social partners, civil society, learning and education providers, national and regional parliaments, as well as other relevant stakeholders, including from remote areas and from the outermost regions.

Moreover, the Commission should closely engage with the social partners, civil society, learning and education providers, labour market bodies, learners, and representatives of organisations or bodies active in the field of skills, education, training and lifelong learning to assist in implementing the European Year at Union level.

Monitoring and evaluation

Members proposed that by 31 May 2025 (as opposed to 31 December 2024), the Commission should present a report on the implementation, results and overall assessment of the initiatives provided for in this Decision.

Documents
2023/02/06
   EP - Vote in committee, 1st reading
2023/02/06
   EP - Committee decision to open interinstitutional negotiations with report adopted in committee
2022/12/14
   ESC - Economic and Social Committee: opinion, report
Documents
2022/12/12
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2022/12/06
   EP - Specific opinion
Documents
2022/12/01
   EP - NEGRESCU Victor (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in CULT
2022/11/29
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2022/11/09
   EP - FOURLAS Loucas (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in EMPL
2022/10/20
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading
2022/10/12
   EC - Legislative proposal published
Details

PURPOSE : to make 2023 the European year of skills.

PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: a skilled workforce is crucial to ensuring socially fair and just green and digital transitions , and to strengthening the Union’s sustainable competitiveness and resilience in the face of adverse external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic or the fallout of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. A workforce with the right skills is a precondition for the green transition too, forecasted to generate 2.5 million additional jobs in the EU by 2030.

In 2021, 28 occupations were classified as having shortages , including the healthcare, hospitality, construction and service sectors, in addition to shortages of IT and security specialists, in particular cybersecurity experts, and workers with science, technology, engineering and mathematics background.

At the same time, demographic change is reducing the available workforce. Even if the average unemployment rate in the EU remained at 6% in August 2022, 77% of companies are experiencing difficulties in finding employees with the required skills since 2019. In particular, the biggest problem for a quarter of the 25 million small and medium-sized enterprises in the EU is finding qualified staff and experienced managers.

The already evident shortage of staff will deepen further, as the size of the European working-age population is expected to shrink from 64% in 2019 to 56% in 2070, and the old-age dependency ratio is expected to increase from 32 in 2020 to 54 in 2070. Thus, additional effort is needed to activate more people for the labour market through reskilling and upskilling , in particular women and young people not in education, employment or training. It is also important to promote the digital skills of the older population and ensure they have the capacity to fully participate in society and access vital services increasingly available only online.

The EU's domestic workforce alone is and will not be sufficient to meet current and future labour market demands. In this context, migrants already play a crucial role in the European economy and society. For the EU to become an attractive space for talent from all over the world in labour-scarce professions, third-country nationals must be able to develop their full potential and use their skills in the European labour market.

To boost competitiveness of European companies, in particular SMEs, to realise the full potential of the digital and green transitions in a socially fair, inclusive and just manner, the 2023 European Year of Skills would further promote a mindset of reskilling and upskilling.

CONTENT: the European Commission proposes to make 2023 the European Year of Skills .

The overall objective of the European Year is to:

- continue to foster a mindset of re-skilling and up-skilling, thereby boosting the competitiveness of European businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises, and;

- boost competitiveness of European companies, in particular SMEs, to realise the full potential of the digital and green transitions in a socially fair, inclusive and just manner.

The activities of the European Year will promote skills policies and investment to ensure that no one is left behind in the twin transition and recovery process, and to address labour shortages to ensure a better skilled workforce in the EU that is able to seize the opportunities offered by this process.

These activities consist of:

1. promoting increased, more effective and inclusive investment into training and upskilling to harness the full potential of the European current and future workforce and to support people in managing job-to-job transitions, active ageing, and benefiting from the new opportunities brought by the ongoing economic transformation;

2. strengthening skills relevance by closely cooperating with social partners, public and private employment services, companies, education and training providers and developing joined-up approaches with all branches of governments;

3. matching people’s aspirations and skills-set with labour market opportunities especially those offered by the green and digital transitions and the core sectors in need of recovery from the pandemic. A special focus will be given to activate more people for the labour market, in particular women and young people especially those not in education, employment or training (NEETs);

4. attracting people from third countries with the skills needed by the Union, including by strengthening learning opportunities and mobility, and by facilitating the recognition of qualifications.

The European Year of Competences 2023 is expected to have positive effects at the level of the individual, governmental and societal. The types of measures planned (events, information, communication and awareness-raising campaigns, increased dialogue, promotion and development of tools) will lead to:

- more and better focused investment in labour market relevant reskilling and upskilling opportunities, benefitting workers and employers by addressing existing labour shortages and fostering employment and social inclusion;

- increased information exchange, mutual learning, and strengthened collaboration, benefitting the work of public and private organisations, as well as social partners, at international, European, national, regional and local level.

Documents

AmendmentsDossier
236 2022/0326(COD)
2022/12/13 EMPL 236 amendments...
source: 739.629

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

forecasts/0
date
2023-03-30T00:00:00
title
Vote in plenary scheduled
forecasts/0
date
2023-03-29T00:00:00
title
Indicative plenary sitting date
forecasts/0/date
Old
2023-04-17T00:00:00
New
2023-03-29T00:00:00
docs/4
date
2023-02-09T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2023-0028_EN.html title: A9-0028/2023
type
Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
body
EP
events/4/summary
  • The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted a report by Loucas FOURLAS (EPP, CY) on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on a European Year of Skills 2023.
  • The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the proposal as follows:
  • Subject matter
  • Members proposed that the year starting from 9 May 2023 until 8 May 2024 should be designated as the ‘European Year of Skills’ (European Year).
  • Objectives
  • The overall objective of the European Year has been clarified by the committee.
  • The Europe Year should:
  • - enhance continuous learning, employability and career progression, and to provide sustainable, lifelong learning systems;
  • - promote access to decent wages that ensure a decent standard of living;
  • - promote the creation of quality jobs and retention strategies as the best way to attract and retain a skilled workforce and provide incentives for employers to invest in the development of their workers´ skills;
  • - promote decent working conditions at company level to attract and retain skilled workers;
  • - promote the increased mobility of the workers in the Union under the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes for students, apprentices, teachers and trainers, while aiming for the better recognition of the skills and competences acquired during periods of mobility.
  • Type of measures
  • New types of measures have been added by Members to achieve the main objectives of the initiative. These include, inter alia :
  • - online and in person conferences;
  • - initiatives targeting inter alia individuals, employers, in particular SMEs;
  • - supporting social dialogue, collective bargaining and the role of the social partners in designing national, sectoral and company-specific skills strategies and training;
  • - promoting and further implementing tools and instruments for increased transparency of qualifications, including qualifications awarded outside the Union, including the improvement of the validation systems and the automatic mutual recognition, validation, and certification of those qualifications, and of skills acquired in non-formal or informal settings;
  • - developing a toolbox to support disadvantaged groups, in particular persons with disabilities, persons with a migrant background and people living in remote areas and in the outermost regions;
  • - enabling everyone to acquire and perform the skills of immediate intervention and simple chest compressions and if possible, also rescue breathing ( CPR – CardioPulmonary Resuscitation) after sudden cardiac arrest;
  • - establishing a common legal framework to ensure remuneration for traineeships and apprenticeships and to avoid exploitative practices.
  • Coordination in the Member States at Union level
  • Effective social dialogue and collective bargaining processes are crucial to anticipating the needs of the labour market and the need for skills, as well as to defining strategies at both Union and national level. In this regard, Member States should ensure the involvement of the social partners, civil society, learning and education providers, national and regional parliaments, as well as other relevant stakeholders, including from remote areas and from the outermost regions.
  • Moreover, the Commission should closely engage with the social partners, civil society, learning and education providers, labour market bodies, learners, and representatives of organisations or bodies active in the field of skills, education, training and lifelong learning to assist in implementing the European Year at Union level.
  • Monitoring and evaluation
  • Members proposed that by 31 May 2025 (as opposed to 31 December 2024), the Commission should present a report on the implementation, results and overall assessment of the initiatives provided for in this Decision.
events/6
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2023-02-15T00:00:00
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2023-02-13T00:00:00
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Committee decision to enter into interinstitutional negotiations announced in plenary (Rule 71)
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2022-12-14T00:00:00
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Economic and Social Committee: opinion, report
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2023-02-09T00:00:00
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url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2023-0028_EN.html title: A9-0028/2023
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2023-02-09T00:00:00
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Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading
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EP
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2023-0028_EN.html title: A9-0028/2023
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting committee decision
New
Awaiting Parliament's position in 1st reading
events/2
date
2023-02-06T00:00:00
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Vote in committee, 1st reading
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Indicative plenary sitting date
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2023-02-06T00:00:00
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Rules of Procedure EP 159
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type
Committee Opinion
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CULT
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False
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name: NEGRESCU Victor date: 2022-12-01T00:00:00 group: Group of Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
committees/1
type
Committee Opinion
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Culture and Education
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name: VERHEYEN Sabine date: 2022-12-01T00:00:00 group: Group of European People's Party abbr: EPP
docs/2/docs/0/url
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/EMPL-AM-739629_EN.html
docs/0
date
2022-10-12T00:00:00
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events/0
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2022-10-12T00:00:00
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Legislative proposal published
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docs
summary
docs/0
date
2022-10-12T00:00:00
docs
summary
type
Legislative proposal
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EC
events/0
date
2022-10-12T00:00:00
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date
2022-12-12T00:00:00
docs
title: PE739.629
type
Amendments tabled in committee
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2022-10-12T00:00:00
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EC
docs/1
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2022-12-06T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CULT-AL-739623_EN.html title: PE739.623
committee
CULT
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Specific opinion
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EP
events/0
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Legislative proposal published
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summary
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2022-10-12T00:00:00
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summary
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Legislative proposal
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date
2022-10-12T00:00:00
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committees/1/rapporteur
  • name: VERHEYEN Sabine date: 2022-12-01T00:00:00 group: Group of European People's Party abbr: EPP
docs/0
date
2022-11-29T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/EMPL-PR-738559_EN.html title: PE738.559
type
Committee draft report
body
EP
docs/0
date
2022-10-12T00:00:00
docs
type
Legislative proposal
body
EC
committees/0/shadows/0
name
ALBUQUERQUE João
group
Group of Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
abbr
S&D
committees/0/shadows/0
name
BRUNET Sylvie
group
Renew Europe group
abbr
Renew
forecasts
  • date: 2023-02-06T00:00:00 title: Vote scheduled in committee
committees/0/rapporteur
  • name: FOURLAS Loucas date: 2022-11-09T00:00:00 group: Group of European People's Party abbr: EPP
committees/0/shadows/1
name
RODRÍGUEZ PALOP Eugenia
group
The Left group in the European Parliament - GUE/NGL
abbr
GUE/NGL
committees/0/shadows
  • name: RAFALSKA Elżbieta group: European Conservatives and Reformists Group abbr: ECR
events/0/summary
  • PURPOSE : to make 2023 the European year of skills.
  • PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.
  • ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
  • BACKGROUND: a skilled workforce is crucial to ensuring socially fair and just green and digital transitions , and to strengthening the Union’s sustainable competitiveness and resilience in the face of adverse external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic or the fallout of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. A workforce with the right skills is a precondition for the green transition too, forecasted to generate 2.5 million additional jobs in the EU by 2030.
  • In 2021, 28 occupations were classified as having shortages , including the healthcare, hospitality, construction and service sectors, in addition to shortages of IT and security specialists, in particular cybersecurity experts, and workers with science, technology, engineering and mathematics background.
  • At the same time, demographic change is reducing the available workforce. Even if the average unemployment rate in the EU remained at 6% in August 2022, 77% of companies are experiencing difficulties in finding employees with the required skills since 2019. In particular, the biggest problem for a quarter of the 25 million small and medium-sized enterprises in the EU is finding qualified staff and experienced managers.
  • The already evident shortage of staff will deepen further, as the size of the European working-age population is expected to shrink from 64% in 2019 to 56% in 2070, and the old-age dependency ratio is expected to increase from 32 in 2020 to 54 in 2070. Thus, additional effort is needed to activate more people for the labour market through reskilling and upskilling , in particular women and young people not in education, employment or training. It is also important to promote the digital skills of the older population and ensure they have the capacity to fully participate in society and access vital services increasingly available only online.
  • The EU's domestic workforce alone is and will not be sufficient to meet current and future labour market demands. In this context, migrants already play a crucial role in the European economy and society. For the EU to become an attractive space for talent from all over the world in labour-scarce professions, third-country nationals must be able to develop their full potential and use their skills in the European labour market.
  • To boost competitiveness of European companies, in particular SMEs, to realise the full potential of the digital and green transitions in a socially fair, inclusive and just manner, the 2023 European Year of Skills would further promote a mindset of reskilling and upskilling.
  • CONTENT: the European Commission proposes to make 2023 the European Year of Skills .
  • The overall objective of the European Year is to:
  • - continue to foster a mindset of re-skilling and up-skilling, thereby boosting the competitiveness of European businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises, and;
  • - boost competitiveness of European companies, in particular SMEs, to realise the full potential of the digital and green transitions in a socially fair, inclusive and just manner.
  • The activities of the European Year will promote skills policies and investment to ensure that no one is left behind in the twin transition and recovery process, and to address labour shortages to ensure a better skilled workforce in the EU that is able to seize the opportunities offered by this process.
  • These activities consist of:
  • 1. promoting increased, more effective and inclusive investment into training and upskilling to harness the full potential of the European current and future workforce and to support people in managing job-to-job transitions, active ageing, and benefiting from the new opportunities brought by the ongoing economic transformation;
  • 2. strengthening skills relevance by closely cooperating with social partners, public and private employment services, companies, education and training providers and developing joined-up approaches with all branches of governments;
  • 3. matching people’s aspirations and skills-set with labour market opportunities especially those offered by the green and digital transitions and the core sectors in need of recovery from the pandemic. A special focus will be given to activate more people for the labour market, in particular women and young people especially those not in education, employment or training (NEETs);
  • 4. attracting people from third countries with the skills needed by the Union, including by strengthening learning opportunities and mobility, and by facilitating the recognition of qualifications.
  • The European Year of Competences 2023 is expected to have positive effects at the level of the individual, governmental and societal. The types of measures planned (events, information, communication and awareness-raising campaigns, increased dialogue, promotion and development of tools) will lead to:
  • - more and better focused investment in labour market relevant reskilling and upskilling opportunities, benefitting workers and employers by addressing existing labour shortages and fostering employment and social inclusion;
  • - increased information exchange, mutual learning, and strengthened collaboration, benefitting the work of public and private organisations, as well as social partners, at international, European, national, regional and local level.
events/1
date
2022-10-20T00:00:00
type
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading
body
EP
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
  • EMPL/9/10315
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Preparatory phase in Parliament
New
Awaiting committee decision