EC: Guidelines for up- and re-skilling in micro and small enterprises
Skills development is necessary to face changes in the labour market, led by important transformations such as digitalisation, ageing populations and climate change.
The European Commission has recently published a guidance pack presenting information, recommendations and additional resources on up- and re-skilling of employees in micro and small companies.
Small enterprises are vital for the EU economy, and together with medium-sized companies are accounting for more than 99% of European businesses and two thirds of jobs in the private sector. Given the importance of micro and small enterprises for the EU economy and employment, the study provides insights into the main challenges faced by those companies, potential opportunities stemming from up-skilling and re-skilling activities as well as policy options.
The automotive sector will need an specific evaluation, since the sector involves a complex network of tens of thousands of companies: from materials suppliers to component and parts manufacturers, OEMs, parts distributors and local service providers including repairs shops. SMEs are key building blocks in the complex automotive industry ecosystem and deserve special attention. They have an innovation role to play, complementing the needs that mayor players may have in developing a number of technological fields and registering patents, contributing with technical solutions to the priorities of today and becoming part of global value chains, and they are facing particular challenges when it comes to the re- and upskilling of their workforce.
CLEPA, through the Project DRIVES is working on analysing the skills needed for the automotive sector in the coming decade, aiming to define the key future trends that will shape demand for specific skills and jobs needed, identifying the relevant skills that will be needed and creating an EU labour market based on the mutual recognition principle and common acceptance of the skills required for certain job roles, with the aim to enhance labour mobility across Europe and enhance the effectiveness of apprenticeships, that is also very much affecting SMEs.
For a successful restart of the EU’s automotive sector, CLEPA, together with the other three associations representing the automotive sector (equipment, tyre suppliers, vehicle manufacturers, dealers and workshops) have urged the Commission to accelerate the establishment of a sectoral Skills Pact for the automotive sector, that will need to specifically address the complexity of the sector by creating specific measures.
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In: CLEPA News, Growth & Competitiveness, Skills