Today, with the support of the Commission, industry partners, research organisations, social partners, and educational and training organisations have set up a large-scale skills partnership for energy-intensive industries (EIIs). The aim of this partnership is to identify skill needs and develop appropriate curricula and training programmes to ensure that the EII workforce has the right skills for energy-intensive industries to remain leaders in the green and digital transition. It will also promote recruitment and upskilling of workers. EIIs currently make up more than 20% of European manufacturing and employ over 7 million people in Europe.
Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, said:
Energy intensive industries are essential to the EU's green and digital transition. They provide steel for wind turbines, aluminium for electric cars, chemicals for semiconductors. Ensuring energy intensive industries' competitiveness and twin transition requires a highly qualified and specialised workforce. This new large-scale skills partnership is the latest example of the successful collaboration in each industrial ecosystem between relevant partners to build the required training and skills programmes.
Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, said:
The green and digital transitions are creating huge changes in Europe's industries, including the energy-intensive sectors. We need people's skills to keep pace with these changes so that they can navigate the changing labour market and companies can find workers with the requisite skills to grow. Today's partnership is an excellent step in the right direction and helps us reach our EU 2030 training goals.
This partnership is the 18th large-scale skills partnership under the Pact for Skills, a flagship initiative under the European Skills Agenda. With this, at least one large-scale skills partnership for each industrial ecosystem of the EU Industrial Strategy has been set up. The Pact for Skills contributes to the European Year of Skills and the EU headline target that by 2030, at least 60% of all adults should participate in training every year. The Net-Zero Industry Act recently proposed actions to ensure a skilled workforce in the cleantech sector to support our transition to a net-zero economy.
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Details
- Publication date
- 10 May 2023
- Author
- Directorate-General for Energy