New Skills for New Jobs – Anticipating and matching Labour Market and Skills needs

Labour markets – and the skills people need – are evolving ever faster and future jobs are likely to require higher levels and a different mix of skills, competences and qualifications. It will be increasingly necessary for workers to acquire transversal key competences, to participate in lifelong learning and to develop new skills to be able to adapt to a variety of tasks over their working lives. But some workers risk being left behind in fast-changing economies which rely on complex skills. Unless preventive measures are taken to make lifelong learning a reality for all, there is a risk that these workers will be trapped in low-skilled jobs with poor career development prospects. Skills upgrading and the matching of skills to jobs are strategic priorities for the EU, and we are convinced that they must remain so in these difficult economic times, both in the shorter and the longer term.

Read