On 23 February, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European Commission held a flagship event for the European Year of Skills, bringing together over 400 young people from all EU Member States to shine the spotlight on the skills needed for current and future jobs.
More flexible and even tailored pathways to upskilling and lifelong learning can be one way of reaching people with low skills levels, from poorer backgrounds or at risk of social exclusion. Attention still needs to be paid to gender imbalances in labour markets.
The Recovery and Resilience Facility has increased the capacity for social investment in the EU. However, National Recovery and Resilience Plans, funded by the facility, are still plagued by shortcomings such as uneven investing in social programmes in different Member States, insufficient consultation with social partners and a gender dimension that is too weak
The EESC held a conference on the future of European strategic autonomy. The event was organised jointly by three Committee bodies; the Digital Transition and Single Market Observatory, the Labour Market Observatory and the Sustainable Development Observatory. Policy-makers, experts from organised civil society and academia, as well as youth representatives, gathered to discuss how to overcome current and future obstacles to a self-sufficient EU in times of great geopolitical tensions and multiple crises.
The appeal of living in the countryside may have grown over the past few years, but many rural areas in the EU still battle with a number of problems that prevent people from staying or moving there
Although the majority of young people were not considered as the main risk group for COVID-19, they were among those who most strongly felt the consequences of the social and economic measures deployed to fight against the spread of the virus
With less than half of Europeans in possession of basic digital skills, the EU will need a skills revolution to enable a smooth transition to a digital and green economy and – more importantly – to ensure that no-one is left behind
As European trade unions battle with falling membership, the EU proposes to set a minimum threshold for the percentage of work contracts that have to be concluded by collective bargaining. Welcomed by the unions, the proposal has, however, been met with criticism by employers.
COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on Europe's labour markets, taking the heaviest toll on the lowest paid sectors and those involving a high level of human interaction. Whereas the possibility of working remotely and the government measures taken across Europe have managed to cushion the most severe blows by keeping people employed and businesses running, the EU and the Member States will have to take action to curb inequalities once the support policies are withdrawn
