EU labour ministers back Commission's call to tackle skills shortages with targeted training and funding

EU ministers responsible for employment have adopted a recommendation pledging to tackle labour and skills shortages in the EU by developing human capital.

The recommendation, which is part of the Union of Skills initiative developed by the European Commission, includes measures to address some of the most widespread shortages in areas such as health, ICT, civil engineering and education.

Marinos Moushouttas, Cyprus’ minister of labour, who chaired the meeting in Brussels as his country holds the presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, said: “Human capital is Europe’s greatest asset. With persistent labour and skills shortages affecting strategic sectors from health to digital technologies, today’s recommendation marks a decisive step to strengthen our competitiveness, resilience and social cohesion by investing more effectively in people’s knowledge, skills and potential.”

To tackle the problem of a lack of basic skills in some parts of the population, the recommendation calls on EU countries to boost skills acquisition across all ages and levels of education and training…