The EU’s Plan to Upskill workers
A taskforce for the future:
The EU's plan to upskill workers to tackle labour shortages
One of the most recent episodes of Real Economy delves into the EU’s strategies for addressing labour shortages and how businesses in Slovenia and Portugal are upskilling and reskilling their workers in the context of the digital and green transitions.
“We aim to recruit different profiles from design, performance marketing, software developers, to senior designers. However, self-motivation is key to undertaking various training courses”, remarked Rok Zajc, CEO of a digital marketing agency in Ljubljana.
To achieve its goal of acquiring 20 million ICT professionals by 2030, the EU needs an additional 11 million people to join the information and communication technology (ICT) sector. Stojmenova Duh, Slovenia's Minister of Digital Transformation, emphasized the importance of initiatives aimed at training and upskilling young women, given that only 17% of ICT experts are female.
EU funds are investing around €65 billion in training. Thanks to the European Skills Agenda and the Pact for Skills, around two million workers across Europe have already benefited from advanced training opportunities.
Meanwhile, in Portugal, the metallurgical and metalworking industry faces a shortage of workers with the right qualifications. Eduardo and Rui's career paths underwent a transformation when they enrolled in a professional training programme at CENFIM, a training centre supported by the European Social Fund Plus. Both individuals have since become CNC programming and operation technicians.
"As companies seek to attract talent, they must also provide avenues for individual growth", emphasized Nuno Teixeira, CEO of Alsil Group in Portugal.