MEP Victor Negrescu, rapporteur of the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education for the European Year of Skills, managed to introduce several important elements in the final version of the report, adopted by the European legislature.

The objectives introduced by the rapporteur are as follows:

• automatic recognition and certification of qualifications obtained from all Member States;
• adaptation of curricula to the competences and skills needed on the labour market;
• making education and training systems more flexible to introduce the necessary skills into working life;
• access to lifelong learning systems becomes a right;
• education for citizenship becomes a central competence in the training process.

”To implement these measures, the European Union and the Member States have billions of euros available from the recovery and resilience plans and the European Social Fund”, announced Victor Negrescu, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education.

The European legislature is about to start talks with Member State representatives to set the direction for the European Commission’s approach to the European Year of Skills, which starts on 9 May, on Europe Day.

It is to be noted that the President of the European executive, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed in her 2022 State of the Union address to make 2023 the European Year of Skills.

In cooperation with the European Parliament, Member States, social partners, public and private employment services, chambers of commerce and industry, education and training providers, and workers and companies all together, the Commission proposes to give a fresh impetus to lifelong learning by:

• Promoting increased, and more effective and inclusive investment in training and upskilling to harness the full potential of the European workforce, and to support people in changing from one job to another.
• Making sure that skills are relevant for labour market needs, by also cooperating with social partners and companies.
• Matching people’s aspirations and skill sets with opportunities on the job market, especially for the green and digital transition and the economic recovery. A special focus will be given to activate more people for the labour market, in particular women and young people, especially those not in education, employment, or training.
• Attracting people from third countries with the skills needed by the EU, including by strengthening learning opportunities and mobility and facilitating the recognition of qualifications.