The new European Commission's Union of Skills aims to strengthen so-called human capital in the EU. This is to ensure that companies have access to a sufficiently skilled workforce to expand and be competitive. The focus is on:

• Promoting basic skills: Schools are to be given targeted support as part of a pilot project to promote basic skills (Basic Skills Support Scheme).
• Strengthening lifelong learning: Regular further training and (re-)qualification should become the norm for as many employees as possible.
• Improving qualification recognition: To enable companies to recruit workers across the EU, a Skills Portability Initiative should facilitate the EU-wide recognition of skills and qualifications.
• Attracting talent from around the world: The Choose Europe programme aims to bring talented workers to the EU.
• Strengthening governance: Existing and new measures in the area of labour market policy are to be better coordinated through improved governance structures.

The EU plans to invest €150 billion in education and training between 2021 and 2027 – focusing on employees, companies, and training institutions. However, the Union of Skills is not to receive any additional funding. At the same time, it should be noted that the EU has only very limited competences in the field of vocational education and training. It can mainly supplement, e.g. through pilot projects, coordination and recommendations.

Skills Guarantee: pilot project to cushion the effects of the twin transition
The announced pilot project for a Skills Guarantee is exciting from an employee perspective. It aims to give workers who are negatively affected by restructuring in the course of the digital and ecological transformation or who are at risk of unemployment to opportunity to develop further their careers in another company or sector. This proposal – in its currently vague formulation – comes close to the demand of a job guarantee. It is important that funding for companies is tied to strict social criteria, such as collective agreements, apprenticeships and opportunities for further training during working hours. It will also be crucial to define which employees have access to such a programme, i.e. how being negatively affected by the digital and ecological transformation is defined, and whether this initiative will be implemented across the board if the pilot project is successful.

Insufficient funding: the right to training must be enshrined in law
Even though the European Commission's desire to prioritise education and training is to be welcomed in principle, it is clear that vague commitments and funding are not enough. A just transition is only just if there is finally a right to training, e.g. according to the qualification allowance model proposed by AK. During the (re)qualification, employees must receive sufficient and, above all, long-term livelihood security. The Union of Skills must also prioritise quality jobs with fair wages and decent working conditions, instead of placing greater emphasis on competitiveness. Without legal requirements, employers and private circumstances (e.g. caring responsibilities) will determine whether employees can benefit from the planned training programmes.

The Union of Skills does not accept that the high demand for labour in some sectors is due to poor working conditions and a lack of qualification possibilities. Even though 86 per cent of Austrian companies state that shortages of skilled workers is an investment barrier and 53 per cent of SMEs report difficulties in finding employees with the right skills, companies are increasingly less prepared to invest in the training and further education of their employees. The labour shortage is also to be addressed within the framework of the Union of Skills through increased labour migration from third countries. Apart from the fact that high labour force potentials within the EU and at the level of Member States are not being realised, these efforts must also be viewed critically for reasons of the wage and social dumping that they threaten.

What happens next?
As part of the European Semester, the European Commission intends to issue a recommendation on training and skills. In general, care must be taken to ensure that the social partners, in particular trade unions, are well involved in the development and implementation of the programmes emerging from the Union of Skills. However, while the new EU Commission is focusing on lifelong learning with the Union of Skills, the Austrian government has just announced plans to abolish educational leave (Bildungskarenz), a tool for promoting adult education. It remains to be seen to what extent a reformed model announced for 2026 will enable employees to access (re)qualification.

Further information:
EU Commission: A Union of Skills to equip people for a competitive Europe
AK EUROPA: European strategy for education and continued learning: managing change, shaping the future
Lifelong Learning Platform: The Union of Skills: Are we honouring Jacque Delors’ vision on lifelong learning?
ETUC: Right to training missing from “Union of Skills”
IndustriAll: The Union of Skills falls short of concretely delivering on lifelong learning and employment security