The Vice President of the European Parliament, Victor Negrescu, proposes a series of measures to ensure that the Union of Skills turns from a strategy into a ”concrete commitment for the future of Europe”.

”80 million adults in the European Union do not have basic digital skills.  20% of young people risk entering the job market without adequate skills, and 40% of employers cannot find skilled workers. The figures show that we need to act now. The Union of Skills can be an important step for the future. But education and skills must really become strategic priorities, and for this we need to make sure that this initiative has a real impact on citizens and does not remain just a policy on paper”, said the MEP. 

Thus, Victor Negrescu, co-chair of the Intergroup on Education and Skills in the European Parliament, proposed a series of measures aimed at transforming the Union of Skills into a ”concrete commitment for the future of Europe”: 

• Right to training: Guaranteed access to lifelong learning and tackling barriers to access
• Education for All: A European Erasmus 2.0 plan for education and skills
• Investing in people: targeting 20% of the EU budget towards education and skills

”If we want a competitive and fair Europe, we need to invest first and foremost in people”, concluded the MEP. 

Roxana Mînzatu, executive Vice President of the European Commission, launched on March 5 the Union of Skills, a strategic initiative to prepare Europe for the future that will: 

• Deliver higher levels of basic skills, for example through the Basic Skills Support Scheme pilot;

• Provide lifelong opportunities for adults to regularly upskill and reskill, for example through a Skills Guarantee pilot;
• Facilitate recruitment by businesses across the EU, for example through a Skills Portability Initiative;
• Attract and retain the skills and talents needed in the European economy, for example through the ”Choose Europe” action to attract top talent globally;
• Have a strong governance foundation, building on the new European Skills High-Level Board that will be informed by a European Skills Intelligence Observatory.