In October 2020, the Advanced Technology for Industry (ATI) published its policy brief about meeting the sectoral skills challenge in advanced technologies. The report explains the need for adequate skills in advanced technologies (AT) when investing and implementing those technologies. Furthermore, the report also reviews the European Union (EU) policy framework for advanced technology skills.
In the short to medium-term, the global recession that will affect the economy due to the COVID-19 crisis will force the transformation of the job market which will therefore be disrupted. Indeed, action needs to be taken to train the right skills in advanced technologies. The report highlights in its introduction that the most vulnerable industries are “accommodation and food services”, “wholesale and retail trade, sales, shop” and “social and personal services”, because they are not yet digitalised, or at a really low level. A reason for this is that in the EU, skills for advanced technologies are not well distributed among sectors. For instance, in advanced manufacturing, skills are mainly focused on the automotive industry instead of textiles or chemicals, for instance. By hiring highly skilled professionals from other sectors, industries unlock the potential for economic growth and progress in low digitalised sectors. The report underlines that engineer and professional staff are the most skilled ones when it comes to advanced technologies; that talent mobility is important; and that there is a gender gap in terms of skills in advanced technologies, women being less present in this area.
Moreover, the report gives an overview of the EU policy framework regarding advanced technology skills, mentioning:
- The European Skills Agenda, published in July 2020. This agenda is a five-year plan that aims at developing skills in order to bolster sustainable competitiveness, establish social fairness and build resilience.
- The European Blueprint for sectoral cooperation on skills, which is a framework built to adapt to the job market disruption.
- National Industry 4.0 initiatives from which you can find examples on the ATI website in the policy briefs section.
As stated, there is an issue in terms of diffusion of the skills in between the different sectors. Therefore, it will be important that policies promote this diffusion. For more information, please consult the report. Learn more about the ATI project.