Following the announcement by President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union address, the Commission adopted a proposal to make 2023 the European Year of Skills. The Year of Skills will bring opportunities for the EU’s economy, as well as for people living and working across Europe.  

As the European Union’s main instrument for investing in people, the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) will ensure Europe is ready for the jobs of today and tomorrow. Training, reskilling and upskilling workers to prepare for the green, blue and digital transitions is a main priority of the ESF+. The fund also recognises the need to improve structures – such as the modernisation of the education system and the creation of stronger links between educational and training systems. These investments will help prepare Member States for the changing needs of the labour market – with a focus on the a green and digital economic recovery.   

Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicholas Schmit, said: ‘Skills mean jobs – good jobs. Europe needs the vision, commitment and investment to harness the full potential of a resilient economy that is greener, more inclusive and digital. During the European Year of Skills, we will connect the dots to address the skills and labour shortages in sectors such as green technologies, information and communication technology, manufacturing, tourism, and hospitality. We need more on-the-job training, and we need to make it easier for people and businesses to connect with the right training that can help them thrive. This will be at the heart of the European Year of Skills and is the core of our European Skills Agenda.’ 

Member States are currently finalising their ESF+ programmes. As it stands now, they are planning to invest nearly a quarter of ESF+ funds to support education and skills. Some examples include: 

• The Bulgarian ESF+ programme ‘Human Resources Development’ will invest more than €318 million to support workers and jobseekers in learning new or additional skills and will pay special attention to those young people who are neither in employment, nor in education or training. 

• The programme ‘A Stronger Denmark Through Education and Skills’ will use €120 million in ESF+ funding to promote a more inclusive and skilled labour force that meets the needs of the national labour market by investing in better skills through expanded vocational training and improved higher education. 

• Czechia’s cohesion policy programme ‘Johannes Amos Comenius’ will invest €457 million to prepare more than 20,000 teachers and other pedagogical staff for the challenges of the smart, multidisciplinary and interconnected environments of the fourth industrial revolution.  

The proposal for the European Year of Skills 2023 comes as part of the EU Skills Agenda 2020-2025 – the framework for EU skills policy cooperation – which will continue to help individuals and businesses develop more and better skills, and to put them to use.