The European Employment and Social Rights Forum and the proposed “Union of Skills”

CESI SecretaryGeneral Klaus Heeger participated in the European Employment and Social Rights Forum 2025, Europe’slargest event on employment and social affairs, which took place on March 5-6 inBrussels.

Under the heading“Skills for a Competitive Europe”, the conference aimed at proposing possiblesolutions to the key problems identified in the communication a “Union of Skills”, adopted the sameday: skills shortages and gaps, slow adaptation to technological and green transitions,and a fragmented governance and skills intelligence.

The communicationoutlines different steps and initiative to address declining literacy,numeracy, and digital skills, to promote STEM education, to improve theattractiveness and support for teaching careers, to expand digital learning, AIliteracy, and cybersecurity training, and finally to render vocationaleducation more attractive.

Especially in viewof the enormous disruptions of labour market in times of transitions, a focusis put on skills rather than just formal qualifications, to ensure that workerscan more easily find new new jobs.

To address criticallabour shortage, the Commission seeks for instance to have short-termcertifications recognized across the EU, to ensure that workers have theexpertise needed for emerging industries, to provide sector-specific trainingin AI, cybersecurity, and clean energy, to improve skills mobility across theEU, and to develop “European Universities Alliances”.

As investments remain key to sustaining these efforts, the Commissionproposes to mobilize public and private financing for education and training,to create incentives for companies to encourage greater employer investment inworkforce development, and to enhance data collection and forecasting to bettermatch skills supply with labor market needs.

Klaus Heeger said: “This ambitious package aims at building afuture-ready workforce and at strengthening European competitiveness. Ifimplemented at large scale, upskilling andreskilling policies could play a major role in safeguarding ourcompetitiveness, in implementing green and digital transitions, and in saving employment.The proposals must also be appreciated as they coincide with long-standingdemands of our teachers, education and VET providers. What pleases me the mostare two things: First, a focus is laid on the importance of the teachingprofession by improving the attractiveness and support for teaching careers.Second, civic education is mentioned as a key pillar of lifelong learning,democratic resilience, and social inclusion. Our teachers repeatedly warnedagainst Europe’s citizens becoming mere instruments of economic systems and newtechnologies. We must be equipped with critical thinking skills, medialiteracy, and a strong understanding of democratic values to keep our compassin the modern world.”