EU-Funded Research Supports Policy Learning on Employment
A new report synthesizing findings from 17 EU-funded research projects encourages Member States to learn from each other's employment policies.
The report, which provides comparative data from all 27 EU countries, should inform efforts to implement the EU's Agenda for New Skills and Jobs (a Europe 2020 flagship initiative).
Emphasising the need for intergovernmental discourse, the publication offers a critical assessment of policy approaches and instruments. Cultivation of transversal skills, greater access to education and a balancing of job security and flexibility are recommended. The report's policy orientation is clearly expressed in its title: 'New skills and jobs in Europe: Pathways towards full employment'. Results from 7th and 6th Research Framework Programmes of the European Commission - Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities projects are articulated in the context of the flagship initiative on employment, with individual chapters devoted to each of the initiative's four key priorities:
- better-functioning labour markets
- more skilled workforce
- better job quality and working conditions, and
- stronger policies to promote job creation and demand for labour.
The 92-page document features a section on factors affecting employment of struggling demographic groups such as youth, older workers and migrants. As Robert-Jan Smits, Director-General for Research and Innovation, observes: 'This report argues that the way forward is a more open employment dialogue at European level, based on innovative comparative evidence compiled by first-class research'.
New skills and jobs in Europe: Pathways towards full employment (Download)