EESC Corner: New Skills for New Jobs

The opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee welcomes the New Skills for New Jobs Agenda as the Commission’s contribution to the need to increase employment, improve the functioning of labour markets and to encourage national governments to use the social and civil dialogue effectively to find appropriate solutions and measures to improve labour markets.

However, the Committee regrets that the proposed initiative lacks the urgency of creating new jobs and does not push the Member States to set ambitious national targets supported by structural reforms, leading to growth and new jobs. The Committee appreciates that the Agenda is built on the concept of flexicurity and stresses the need to find the right balance between internal and external flexicurity.

Furthermore, the Committee welcomes the approach of linking education with employment in one strategic document. However, the link between increasing and updating skills and productivity improvement is lacking. The Committee recognises the Commission’s efforts to offer new tools and initiatives; however, it also expresses the concern over the coherence and synergy with the existing tools.

Vladimíra Drbalová
Member of EESC and rapporteur of this opinion