The skills of the future and who will provide them

The radical transformation of the economy towards a more decarbonised and digital industry will change the skills that are in demand. But how can these skills be acquired in sufficient quantity and speed, and who is responsible for making this happen?

For more than a year, European companies have been sounding the alarm over labour shortages, especially concerning some important skills, like IT or technological skills, but shortages are also very acute in care jobs and other sectors.

On the one hand, a general skills shortage is an inherently unsolvable problem, because the more new jobs you fill, the more new demand and economic dynamism and thus new needs for skills you will create. On the other, trying to solve the shortage still makes sense because it creates economic growth and resilience.

The EU is particularly challenged in this regard as the EU as such does not have much power in education matters, member states differ widely in their education systems, and companies vary in how much resources they are able or willing to commit to training their employees.

In this mini-series of articles, Euractiv will shed light on some parts of this problem.