Overview of the New Skills Agenda for Europe Key elements and actions

Main drivers Digital transformation Skills mismatches (affect productivity and growth, as well as individuals' self-actualisation) EU workforce ageing and shrinking Quality of education and training varies in EU Perceptions not rooted in reality (e.g. VET) Importance of learning outside the formal system

What's new Strong (but not exclusive) focus on low-skilled Impact of digitisation mainstreamed across all actions Involvement of business and trade unions key, alongside traditional education stakeholders Closer to economic reality and sectoral dimension

10 Key Measures in 3 Priority Areas: Improving the quality and relevance of skills formation Making skills and qualifications more visible and comparable Improving skills intelligence and information for better career choices

I. IMPROVING THE QUALITY AND RELEVANCE OF SKILLS FORMATION Proposal for a Skills Guarantee - adopted Proposal for the review of the Key Competences - 2017 Proposals on making VET a first choice (e.g. revision of EQAVET and ECVET) – 2017-2018 Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition – end 2016

II. MAKING SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS MORE VISIBLE AND COMPARABLE Proposal for the revision of the EQF - adopted Skills Profile Tool for Third Country Nationals – end 2016 Synergies with Integration Action Plan for Third Country Nationals labour market integration through "fast-track" insertion and vocational training (call for proposals) promotion of best practices for integration

Proposal for the revision of the Europass Framework – adopted III. IMPROVING SKILLS INTELLIGENCE AND INFORMATION FOR BETTER CAREER CHOICES Proposal for the revision of the Europass Framework – adopted Blueprint for Sectorial Cooperation on Skills - ongoing Analysis and sharing of best practice on brain drain - 2017 Proposal on Graduate Tracking - 2017

DELIVERING THE AGENDA Joint agenda for the EU, the Member States and stakeholders. Social partners: central role to play European Semester OECD-EU support for national skills strategies EU funding

The Skills Agenda and the ESF: key synergies Employment (IP 8.1) Inclusion (IP 9.1) Relevance of Education & Training (IP 10.4) Lifelong Learning (IP 10.3) Integration (IP 9.2) The Skills Agenda can be supported by the ESF under the following thematic objectives (TOs) and investment priorities (IPs): TO8: Promoting sustainable and quality employment and supporting labour mobility, in particular under IP 8.1: (8.1) Access to employment for job- seekers and inactive people, including the long-term unemployed and people far from the labour market, also through local employment initiatives and support for labour mobility. TO9: Promoting social inclusion, combating poverty and any discrimination, in particular under IPs 9.1, 9.2: (9.1) Active inclusion, including with a view to promoting equal opportunities and active participation, and improving employability. (9.2) Socio-economic integration of marginalised communities such as the Roma. TO10: Investing in education, training and vocational training for skills and lifelong learning, in particular, under IPs 10.3, 10.4: (10.3) Enhancing equal access to lifelong learning for all age groups in formal, non-formal and informal settings, upgrading the knowledge, skills and competences of the workforce, and promoting flexible learning pathways including through career guidance and validation of acquired competences. (10.4) Improving the labour market relevance of education and training systems, facilitating the transition from education to work, and strengthening vocational education and training (VET) systems and their quality, including through mechanisms for skills anticipation, adaptation of curricula and the establishment and development of work-based learning systems, including dual learning systems and apprenticeship schemes. The following key actions of the Skills Agenda can benefit most from the ESF support: Skills Guarantee (from IP 8.1, 9.1, 9.2, 10.3) Making VET a first choice (from IP 10.4) Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition (from IP 10.3, 10.4) For example, talking about the Skills Guarantee, beyond the €27 billion ESF funding to be invested in education, training, skills and life-long learning under TO10, from 2014 to 2020, a further € 21.2 billion are available for social inclusion (TO9) and € 30.8 billion for sustainable and quality employment (TO8). Not all of these funds have been committed by Member States to initiatives targeting low-skilled people but, based on experience from the period 2007-13, we can expect that substantial number of low-skilled people will benefit. The evaluation of the previous ESF programmes found that across the then EU27, 7.1 million participants per annum had been registered in ESF human capital measures between 2007 and 2013, 3.6 million (almost 50%) of whom it is estimated had not completed upper secondary education. Offers in line with the Skills Guarantee would improve the quality and lasting outcomes of such measures during the current financial period. In a number of Member States, the financial resources of the ESF are not as substantial as in other Member States. Therefore, the investment of national resources in implementing the reforms is crucial. These should be prioritised in national budgets. Skills Guarantee Digital Skills & Jobs Coalition Anticipation of skills needs

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