A new skills Agenda for Europe

SEDEC-VI/015

A new skills Agenda for Europe

 Adoption: 07/12/2016
Commission: Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture (SEDEC-VI)
welcome the proposed New Skills Agenda and call for a swift and effective implementation to tackle the skills gap in Europe, focusing on renewed efforts to modernise the European education systems, to achieve excellence and to stimulate innovation in these policy fields;
support the Commission's proposal for a Skills Guarantee aimed at improving employment opportunities and full participation in society for low-skilled adults in Europe;
promote new learning approaches, through various forms of IT-based learning, and ask to also include outreach activities for disadvantaged groups;
ask for local and regional authorities to be involved in these efforts, so as to ensure that the skills are deployed as soon as possible;
favour the reviewing the European Qualifications Framework and call for maintaining quality assurance coordination between the Member States;
call for cooperation to be developed on the basis of partnerships between national and local authorities, companies, employees and employee associations, as well as civil society players, with the aim of taking more account of skills and qualifications acquired through non-formal and informal learning.
The main objectives have been included in the CoR drfat opinion SEDEC-VII/006 on "European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience", rapporteur Csaba Borboly (RO/EPP). The Opinion is planned for adoption at the CoR Plenary session on 3-4 February 2021.
THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
- welcomes the Commission's proposed Agenda and considers that every effort should be made to ensure it is implemented swiftly and effectively;
- supports the Commission's proposal for a Skills Guarantee and believes it should be designed with reference to national, regional and local conditions and available resources, while also considering that investment in human capital should be seen as social investment;
- underscores that for investment in digital skills to be effective, strong pedagogical leadership is needed from teachers at different educational levels;
- underlines the importance of maintaining quality assurance coordination between the Member States and a step-by-step approach for cooperation between the EU and third countries over the comparability of qualifications;
- would like to see cooperation developed on the basis of partnerships between national, regional and local authorities, companies, employees and employee associations, as well as civil society players, with the aim of taking more account of skills and qualifications acquired through non-formal and informal learning.
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