‘Getting the skills right to get people into jobs’

To prosper and lead fulfilling professional lives, people need the right skills at work.

There are many different ways to learn skills. Vocational and educational training (VET), including dual learning, is one of them. It typically combines solid workplace learning with theory.

Unfortunately, a wide perception persists that apprenticeships and other forms of VET are only second best choices compared to university and other academic schooling. In reality, VET is one of the bestplaced methods to equip people with the skills that match labour market needs. Around 40% of European employers cannot find people with the right skills to grow and innovate. This is tragic given that over 20 million people across Europe are looking for a job. Action is urgent to close this skills gap.

Therefore, I am extremely happy to announce that the very first European Vocational Skills Week will start on 5 December. Hundreds of events in all parts of Europe will take place, also in Malta. The aim is to raise awareness about the positive outcome of VET schooling to showcase how vocational training can prepare young people for a smooth start into their professional life, help experienced workers to stay on top of their game or make career changes easier.

I welcome Malta’s high investment in education and the efforts to create a ‘culture’ for apprenticeships aimed at attracting large number of both students and employers. However, the supply and quality of apprenticeships can still be improved, and complemented by opportunities for adults to engage in appropriate skills development.

Making VET a first choice is one major aim of the Commission’s New Skills Agenda for Europe, which I proposed in June. If we want to tackle the roots of unemployment, we cannot ignore skills. The most competitive countries in the EU, and in the world, are those that invest most in skills.

The European Commission does its part. Our flagship schemes to fight youth unemployment are starting to show positive results. So far 9 million young people have found a good-quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship. I have also launched several initiatives to bring together governments with businesses, social partners, VET providers and other key stakeholders to strengthen the quality, supply and image of apprenticeships in Europe.

And finally, in a couple of days, the Commission will present its Youth Initiative, to create even more opportunities for young people to get a foot on the job ladder. This will include the launch of the European Solidarity Corps. It will give socially minded young people in Europe a chance to make a meaningful contribution to society and show solidarity. This is an opportunity to give help where it most needed in the face of pressing social challenges such as people that live in poverty, the integration of refugees or rebuilding areas hit by natural disaster. We hope that 100,000 young people will be able to have a first work or volunteering experience by 2020.

This first edition of the European Vocational Skills Week will make these efforts at European, national, regional and local level even more visible. I wish the organisers of the various events in Malta the best of success to show that VET is a successful path to get people into jobs.