Skills aren’t your plug-and-play solution for inclusive competitiveness
By Laura Nurski

Skills have become a central pillar in policy discussions on the future of work. Since the 2000 Lisbon Strategy, the EU has gradually shifted from focusing on formal education and qualifications – as indicators of skill bundles – to a greater emphasis on skills as individual units that can be independently acquired and traded. The Recommendation on Microcredentials – first adopted in 2022 and now featured prominently in the Union of Skills – represents the clearest indication of this shift.

Since then, policymakers frequently turn to skilling as a silver bullet – something to reduce labour shortages and help the workforce adapt to technological change, ultimately providing social mobility and even supporting the inclusion of vulnerable groups in both the labour market and society at large.

In the recent Competitiveness Compass skills are seen as ‘horizontal enablers’ of competitiveness that also ensure social fairness. But it doesn’t explain how exactly this mechanism would work. This isn’t surprising, as the debate on skills is riddled with misconceptions that oversimplify skills’ role in the labour market and in society.

In short, if we don’t move beyond this simplified view, inclusive competitiveness will remain out of reach.

For the third year in a row, CEPS is marking International Women’s Day on 8 March with a special short series of Expert Commentaries to highlight the insights and expertise of some of our most talented female researchers.

 

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