Developing the European education area for high-quality job opportunities

Organiser: European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in cooperation with the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Slovak Republic

EESC members: Miroslav Hajnoš (group 2), Vladimír Báleš (group 3)

Theme: Debate ahead of the European elections – focus on skills and lifelong learning in the digital era

Key message: AI will have a huge impact on the labour market. Life-long learning is key. We also need to promote digital skills and interest in science.

The technological era has already started. Lifelong learning will be a necessity

It is not unusual for a graduate with a master's degree to apply for a job as a shop assistant. Slovakia leads the ranking of overqualified workforce. Up to 30% of employees work in jobs with a lower education requirement.

"This trend appeared at the turn of this century. Companies, authorities and the state administration started to require higher education. A bachelor's degree was no longer sufficient," said Monika Uhlerová, President of the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Slovak Republic.

Aligning education and the labour market is one of the goals of the Alliance of Sectoral Councils.

"The Alliance's task is to monitor the needs of the labour market and to link them and transfer them to education. It is an institution that operates on a tripartite principle. The key measure is education and preparation for the era we are actually already living in," explained Monika Uhlerová.

To what extent is Slovakia ready to respond to new challenges and developments on the labour market? Can a shared European education area help us overcome the widening gap between supply and demand on the labour market?

These questions were discussed by the guests of the event entitled "Developing the European education area for high-quality job opportunities". The event took place at the House of the European Union in Bratislava on 29 February. The debate was organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in cooperation with the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Slovak Republic, as part of events focused on the upcoming European elections. Miroslav Hajnoš, a member of the EESC, gave the opening speech.

"Only 1% of girls in Europe are interested in studying engineering programmes. Only 27% of engineering professionals are women. Secondary school pupils have only limited knowledge about what the job of an engineer is. We need to change this. However, we also see positive trends in education. The Erasmus programme can be considered a success. We have to propose to extend this educational programme to secondary schools as well," said Miroslav Hajnoš.

Digital skills – a necessity

According to the OECD, 70% of jobs in Slovakia will be transformed or modified within the next ten years. Jobs in almost all sectors will require digital skills, but two out of five Europeans aged 16 to 74 lack them.

"We have jumped into the age of artificial intelligence, and any study you look at will tell you that only the countries that have quality education ready for the age of artificial intelligence will survive. If there is one thing that keeps me awake at night, it is the sight of Slovakia in 2035, when these things will be obvious. But if we are not prepared, we will end up with an army of zombies who will not be able to work. This is one of the darkest scenarios," said the head of the European Commission Representation in Slovakia, Vladimír Šucha.

Interest in science must be increased

Automation and the advent of AI technologies are a special threat for the Slovak economy, given its monothematic nature. According to an OECD analysis, 33% of all jobs in our country can be automated.

"It's five minutes past twelve now to start preparing for the digital era we are already living in. We are already feeling the negative impacts and yet we are still pretending as if they are not there. Although we have one of the lowest unemployment rates, we also have probably the highest level of need for a workforce that is missing on the market," said the President of KOZ SR.

Despite visions for the future, there is not much interest in studying information technologies. According to Vladimír Báleš, a long-time rector of the Slovak University of Technology, it is necessary to increase interest among children from a young age.

"Pupils are led to other areas than mathematics and physics. Why don't young people want to go to study IT? Well, because they don't have a relationship to these exact sciences and this cannot be cultivated in a year or two, it is long-term work," explained Vladimír Báleš.

It's time to start investing in lifelong learning

Last year was dedicated to lifelong learning within the European Year of Skills. In Slovakia, we do not yet have lifelong learning anchored in law. This legislation should be on the table in the second half of this year, but its content is unknown.

"Employers complain that graduates are not ready for real-life work. They will never be prepared in a way that a chemist will come to Slovnaft and manage all the technologies. That's why we need lifelong learning. In many cases, employers underestimate its importance, I would even say that they do not want to invest in it because it is extra money, but the investment will certainly return," Vladimír Báleš stated.

We are also losing a large part of our experts due to brain drain. These are mainly medical and technical graduates who are attracted by job offers abroad. Salary is not always the only motivation.

"Of course, it is about better financial conditions, but also about the political set-up of the country, the social atmosphere, the philosophy of the company, how it reacts to current events or problems," said Zuzana Hozlárová, chairwoman of the Student Council of Universities.