Officially launched the Pact for Skills

At the occasion of the 5th edition of the European Vocational Skills Week (EVSW) (10 November 2020), the European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, M. Nicolas Schmit, alongside European Commissioner for Internal Market, M. Thierry Breton, have officially launched the Pact for Skills. This pact is a new engagement and governance model for a joint skills endeavour. The coronavirus pandemic demonstrates that the European Union requires more than ever skills to master the digital and green transitions in order to expect a prompt and durable recovery.

Furthermore, employers from small and medium businesses already demonstrated the need to invest in new skills, which are key issues for their competitiveness, innovation and growth strategy. The Pact for Skills aims to mobilize and incentivize all relevant stakeholders to take concrete commitments to upskill and reskill people of working age, and, when relevant, pool efforts via partnerships supporting green and digital strategies as well as local and regional growth strategies.

The Commissioners have been talking with high level representatives of industrial ecosystems, regional and national authorities, education and social partners and education and training providers. The pact is taking part of the European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience, presented by the European Commission presented on 1 July 2020.

During the launch, M. Schmit, stated: “Today, most employers know that investing in skills needs to be a key issue in their strategy. They realize that they cannot rely on governments alone to take the responsibility for education and training. The Pact for Skills will gather and inspire different commitments from companies large and small, employment agencies, social partners, VET providers and other partners to create large-scale industrial partnerships. We do not have time for half measures. We need to act now.”  

By joining the Pact, stakeholders will gain access to networking, knowledge and resource hubs. The Commission will also offer information and guidance on EU funding and programmes for skills development by offering a single-entry point at EU level. In addition to the funding available under REACT-EU, the European Social Fund Plus and other relevant programmes of the new multiannual financial framework (2021-2027), up- and reskilling is one of the flagship investment priorities of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, worth €672.5 billion. The Pact for Skills is accompanied by a Charter outlining a shared vision from industry, social partners, vocational education and training (VET) providers, national, regional and local authorities as regards quality training.

“European talent is at the heart of our industrial resilience and will be the engine for the recovery from the pandemic. As the twin green and digital transitions are gathering speed, we want to equip all Europeans with the right skills. Today, we are announcing first skills partnerships in three industrial ecosystems: automotive, microelectronics and aerospace and defence. More will follow. The launch of the Pact for Skills is just the beginning of our European skills offensive” added during his speech M. Breton

As you probably already know the European Week for Skills is co-organised by the European Commission together with the (German now) Presidency of the Council of the European Union held the. The EVSW is annual event where local, regional or national organizations expose the best of vocational education and training (VET). The objective of this edition was to encourage people of all ages to ‘Discover Your Talent’ through vocational education and training. CEPLIS attended the venue virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Pact for Skills is open to all partners interested in promoting the upskilling and reskilling of people, for example:

  • individual companies, organisations or associations;
  • large-scale European public-private multi-stakeholder partnerships in specific industrial ecosystems;
  • large-scale European public-private multi-stakeholder partnerships across different sectors;
  • national/regional or local partnerships based on cluster or territorial skills strategies;
  • social partners agreements and/or tripartite agreements.

According to the European Commission, several benefits can be underlines when joining the Pact for Skills.

At EU level, the Pact for Skills will offer in 2021:

  • A platform  where businesses of all sizes and all relevant stakeholders can meet and build large-scale skills partnerships to advance upskilling and reskilling.
  • A  platform where organizations can present themselves as credible leaders committed to invest in human capital.
  • A single entry point providing clear and efficient access to information on relevant EU funding instruments and programmes in support of upskilling and reskilling.
  • Assistance for the exchange  between the large-scale skills partnerships and national/regional authorities from Member States about financial support.
  • A knowledge hub  focused on building upskilling and reskilling partnerships and other important aspects of developing human capital.