In his answer to a letter of the President of EurEta, Mr Urs Gassmann, who was underling that the EU should support practice-oriented professions in order to succeed the goal of post-pandemic recovery and growth, the President of the European Parliament, Mr. David Sassoli, has underlined that “The sector of practice-oriented professionals plays a very important role in our economies, both in terms of job creation and economic growth“.
Mr. Sassoli admitted that “during the current crisis, this has become all the more evident, as many practice-oriented professionals have been essential in fighting the pandemic and in ensuring the continuity of important services. Others, however, have faced economic difficulties or even lost their jobs, as a result of the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic“. He also assured Mr. Gassmann that “The European Parliament underlined with great dedication and responsibility, on various occasions, that, in the context of the current crisis, the European Union and its Member States need to take all possible measures to keep as many jobs as possible and ensure that all workers, including practice-oriented professionals, are protected from income loss“.
Mr. Sassoli agreed with EurEta on the fact that “the promotion of the free movement of workers and constant efforts to develop and update our workforce’s skills, along with our vocational education and training systems are key elements in meeting the demand of the constantly evolving labour markets“, and reminded that “the Parliament stressed at many occasions the great importance of skills development, vocational education and training (VET) and lifelong learning“.
David Sassoli informed Urs Gassmann on the current efforts of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) of the European Parliament, which has worked on drafting a report on the ‘Impacts of EU rules on the free movements of workers and services’. He added that the EMPL Committee has been active on providing the Parliament’s take on the Commission proposal for a ‘Council Recommendation on vocational education and training (VET) for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience’ and on the European Commission’s Communication on an updated skills agenda.
The President of the European Parliament assured EurEta that it “will always find a reliable and responsible partner in the European Parliament, ready to engage in an open and constructive dialogue“.