The COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of people in the EU to lose their jobs or experience significant income loss. Many will need to acquire new skills for new jobs in different sectors or upskill to keep their job in a new work environment. For many young people, entry in the labour market will be very challenging.
The pandemic has proven that digital skills are not an asset for career progress but essential in many aspects of our lives. However, there is a wide digital gap in Europe.
In this context, on 1 July 2020 the Commission adopted:
- a Communication on a "European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience"
- a Proposal for a Council Recommendation on vocational education and training (VET)
- a Communication and proposal for a Council Recommendation to support youth employment.
The European Skills Agenda aims to support a prompt recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, by:
- strengthening sustainable competitiveness, to achieve the European Green Deal and putting its digital and industrial strategies into practice
- ensuring social fairness, putting into practice the first principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights: access to education, training and lifelong learning for everybody, everywhere in the EU
- building up resilience to react to crises, based on the lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic
Check the attached factsheet or read more about the European Skills Agenda.