European companies increasingly struggle to get qualified workers

At its plenary session on 22 February, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a debate that warned about companies' growing struggle to get a skilled workforce and pointed to the pressing need for an all-encompassing skills strategy at all levels. The debate saw the participation of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and development (OECD), SMEunited and Social Economy Europe.

According to projections, half of the European workforce needs to update their skills or acquire new ones to stay employable or get a job that corresponds to their competence or education level. Europe is thus in dire need of a modern and comprehensive skills strategy that would allow workers, companies and entrepreneurs alike to keep pace with radical labour market changes brought by the green and digital transition.

At the debate, held in the context of the European Year of Skills and in connection with the adoption of the EESC opinion Supporting market developments, the EESC welcomed OECD Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Stefano Scarpetta, Vice President of SMEunited Marianna Panebarco and President of Social Economy Europe, Juan Antonio Pedreño.

Opening the debate, EESC President Christa Schweng said: In the aftermath of the pandemic, the accelerated digitalization, greening, and changing work organisation have shown how important upskilling and reskilling of workers are in maintaining people's employability and productivity, especially in our ageing society.

Speakers welcomed the proclamation of 2023 as the European Year of Skills. They expressed the hope that it would not remain a dead letter but would rather prove to be an instrument for promoting lifelong learning, training and retraining as key prerequisites for employability, addressing skills mismatches and competitiveness of companies in the profoundly transformed labour markets of the near and distant future.

They stressed the crucial role of skills for the success of the green and digital transition, but also highlighted many issues with upskilling, reskilling or vocational training. One issue is limited participation of workers in trainings due to, among other things, lack of time or finances. Another is training programmes that are unattractive or inaccessible to older workers and those with lower-level skills or training that do not match the needs of companies. Then there is the issue of  training programmes that are simply not flexible enough in terms of when and where they take place.

Emphasis was placed on the vital role social partners can play in pushing for the recognition of skills to help people remain employable. The role of social dialogue as a key instrument for identifying needs and developing skills in workplaces was also underlined.

Both in the EESC opinion and in the debate there was a special focus on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as they are already struggling to find qualified workers or offer tailor-made training programmes.

Ms Schweng emphasised the need to support SMEs as they are the backbone of Europe's economy and have a direct impact on its competitiveness.

Only a competitive Europe can create prosperity, as well as sustainable solutions to climate and environmental problems. It is then vital to provide EU businesses with a favourable environment and skilled workers to be able to grow, innovate and be competitive on the global stage, she stressed.

Mariya Mincheva, rapporteur of the EESC opinion Supporting labour market development, which was adopted after the debate with an overwhelming majority of votes, spoke about the importance of anticipating skills needs.

The transformation of the European labour market requires a good understanding of what type of skills are needed for future labour market transformations, including in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in order to maintain sustainable employability, contribute to a high level of productivity and reduce labour shortages, she maintained.

In the opinion, the EESC argued in favour of making lifelong learning an integral part of broader economic growth strategies and recovery and resilience plans. It also suggested that SMEs should be encouraged to work in networks and pool their capacities to respond to the challenges of the twin transition.

Mr Scarpetta said that the labour market impact of the green transition is likely to be highly uneven, with workers with traditional skillsets or the low-skilled facing more challenges on the new job markets.

It will be crucial to invest in connecting people to jobs through more broad-reaching active labour market policies and promoting access to lifelong learning for all is an important instrument to promote growth and inclusiveness. Innovation in this area is important, to promote effectiveness and inclusiveness, he maintained.

Ms Panebarco said skills were essential for the growth and competitiveness of our SMEs: Today I bring the voice of my fellow entrepreneurs to alert you to a structural crisis that we are all facing: the lack of a skilled workforce. SMEs face huge difficulties in recruiting qualified staff, and this has consequences on their growth potential. We should work on strengthening the links between education and small businesses and making SMEs and crafts more attractive for young people. At SMEunited, we adopted six priorities to tackle the labour and skills shortages in SMEs, and we will work on them throughout the European Year of Skills.

Mr Pedreño spoke about the vital role of the social economy, which currently employs 6.3% of the EU's active population in 2.8 million companies. It has so far shown great potential in achieving the economic and social recovery of the EU as a whole as it addresses economic, environmental and social challenges in the most inclusive and innovative way.

We think it is the responsibility of the governments to ensure that workers acquire the necessary skills so that they do not lose their jobs. It is governments that must facilitate access to the labour market for the unemployed. This should be done by using a business model with a democratic and participatory culture and with values and principles that are in tune with those of the new generation.

According to a CEDEFOP and Eurofound survey conducted in 2021, 3 in 4 surveyed companies experienced changing skills needs. Other estimates show that 128 million Europeans will have to upskill and reskill to stay active in the labour market.

OECD figures show that workers in low-skill occupations are the most at risk, with 18% to 27% of skills required in these jobs being highly automatable. However, workers with low skills have the lowest participation in training, with only 4% taking part in EU27 over an observed period of time.

The participation of adults overall is also low, with only 11% taking part in a given period. Workers aged 25-34 are most likely to attend trainings, with their attendance rate at 22%, compared to only 8% in all age groups.