Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper), Companies are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit qualified staff.
MEPs meeting in Strasbourg have highlighted the value of vocational education and training in the context of demographic change, labor shortages, and skills mismatches.
They backed an own-initiative report by ECR rapporteur Anna Zalewska which was adopted by a large majority in Strasbourg.
Artificial intelligence will play a key role, it says.
Lifelong learning, up-skilling and re-skilling, and the possibility of training during working hours will therefore become increasingly important.
“The world is changing rapidly and a lot of work is now done online. We have to face the challenges. Preparation for the labor market starts at school, continues through vocational or higher education, and continues in the workplace. Education must always be labor market-oriented”, Zalewska said.
The Polish member added: “The reality is changing so fast that the world of Industry 4.0 will probably soon become the world of 5.0, and we need to adapt.
“It is important to support companies that help their employees develop the necessary skills. This will not only benefit them but also the overall competitiveness of our economies.
“We need new skills, especially in the digital world. Key skills today are those related to management, programming, and analysis. All this means that we will have a completely different way of working in the future.”
Zalewska pointed out that the implementation of the Parliament’s recommendations is the responsibility of the Member States, which have sole competence in this area.
The text was adopted by 508 votes to 12, with 76 abstentions.
Meanwhile, BusinessEurope, the Brussels-based body representing Europe’s business community, has published its spring 2023 economic outlook
It highlights that falling energy prices through the mild winter have helped steer the EU economy away from recession, but the situation remains challenging for many companies.
Commenting, BusinessEurope Director General, Markus J. Beyrer said: “The EU economy has avoided recession, but many challenges remain. Rising interest rates make access to finance more expensive for businesses.
“The majority of our member federations expect stagnation in investment in the short term. To achieve the digital and green transition, policymakers need to use all the tools at their disposal to attract more investments to the EU. This means providing breathing space on regulatory and reporting requirements and speeding up permitting procedures, particularly for energy projects.”
Beyrer added, “More than half of our member federations view the overall business climate as generally better than the extremely uncertain outlook in the autumn. Energy prices and supply chain disruptions are declining, but companies, especially SMEs, continue to operate in a highly uncertain environment.
“In 2023, bankruptcy declarations reached the highest level in the last eight years. Inflation rates have recently fallen, but to keep EU’s economy on track to the recovery, we urge social partners to continue efforts to avoid a damaging wage-price spiral.”
