To upskill the workforce, regional partnerships must be strengthened and the relevant stakeholders brought together. This is the conclusion reached by the ‘European Skills High-Level Board’. It is therefore calling for partnership ecosystems.
The aim of the proposal is to promote upskilling, reskilling, innovation and applied research across Europe – particularly where skills gaps exist.
This is in response to participation in continuing education in the EU, which currently falls far short of the target that by 2030 at least 60 per cent of adults should take part in a continuing education programme each year.
In its conclusions, the panel emphasises that qualification shortages affect almost every economic sector and are holding back productivity, innovation and growth. Whilst businesses are struggling to find skilled workers with the necessary qualifications, education and training systems are under increasing pressure to respond more quickly to technological and economic changes.
Greater collaboration through SPARKs
The panel therefore calls for the establishment of ‘Skills Partnerships for Adult Reskilling’ (SPARKs). These are agile regional and sectoral partnership ecosystems designed to promote adult learning, innovation and applied research.
SPARKs are intended to bring together organisations involved in the development and utilisation of competencies. They are intended to strengthen collaboration between education and training providers, businesses and public authorities, so that educational programmes better meet the needs of the labour market.
The relevant stakeholders active within SPARKs include:
- Businesses
- Education and training providers, including trainers
- Trade unions and employers’ organisations
- Research and innovation institutions
- Regional and local authorities
- business support services and other relevant partners.
The Committee also proposes increased funding for micro-certificates, platforms for structured exchange and cooperation, and the involvement of public employment services.
The proposed partnerships are not a new model. Successful examples already exist in various EU countries, regions and sectors. The challenge now is to scale up these initiatives and link them together more effectively.
More flexible and adaptable
The Committee’s conclusions send a clear message: education and training systems must become more flexible, more adaptable and more closely linked to the realities of the labour market.
In the face of rapid technological and economic developments, education and training providers are called upon to adapt more quickly and to support an increasingly diverse range of learners throughout their lives – particularly adults who need to update their competencies, retrain or change careers.
The Committee calls for a learner-centred framework that supports people throughout their working lives and makes it easier for adults to acquire new abilities / skills, change careers or update their existing competencies.
Four areas for action
To make this possible, the Committee identifies four priority areas for action:
- More agile education and training providers: Policy and financial frameworks should be adapted to enable providers to collaborate more flexibly with businesses and to offer learning opportunities in the workplace and within the local community.
- Wider use of micro-certificates: Expanding short, flexible learning programmes and ensuring that these are recognised and adequately funded.
- Early anticipation of skills needs: Involving employers and employee representatives in identifying future organisational changes and the resulting new learning needs.
- Strengthening public employment services: Investing in modern advisory, job placement and further training services that help individuals and employers navigate changing labour markets.
For education and training providers, this means developing more flexible learning pathways, strengthening collaboration with employers and facilitating access to lifelong learning for adults at every stage of their careers.