The youth unemployment rate is close to 23 per cent across the European Union - yet at the same time there are more than 2 million vacancies that cannot be filled. Europe needs a radical rethink on how education and training systems can deliver the skills needed by the labour market.
The challenge could not be tougher in the context of widespread austerity measures and cuts in education budgets. The European Commission is launching a new strategy called Rethinking Education to encourage Member States to take immediate action to ensure that young people develop the skills and competences needed by the labour market and to achieve their targets for growth and jobs.
Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said: "Rethinking education is not just of question of money: whilst it is true that we need to invest more in education and training, it is clear that education systems also need to modernise and be more flexible in how they operate to respond to the real needs of today's society. Europe will only resume sustained growth by producing highly skilled and versatile people who can contribute to innovation and entrepreneurship. Efficient and well-targeted investment is fundamental to this, but we will not achieve our objectives by reducing education budgets."
Rethinking Education calls for a fundamental shift in education, with more focus on 'learning outcomes' - the knowledge, skills and competences that students acquire. Merely having spent time in education is no longer sufficient. In addition, basic literacy and numeracy still needs to be significantly improved, and entrepreneurial skills and a sense of initiative need to be developed or strengthened.
Skills are key to productivity
To ensure that education is more relevant to the needs of students and the labour market, assessment methods need to be adapted and modernised. The use of information and communication technology (ICT) and open educational resources (OER) should be scaled-up in all learning contexts. Teachers need to update their own skills through regular training.
The strategy also calls on Member States to strengthen links between education and employers, to bring enterprise into the classroom and to give young people a taste of employment through increased work-based learning. EU (European Union) Education Ministers are also encouraged to step-up their cooperation on work-based learning at national and European level.
Other proposed measures include a new benchmark on language learning, guidelines on the assessment and development of entrepreneurship education, and an EU-level impact analysis on the use of ICT and OER in education to pave the way for a new initiative in 2013 on Opening-up Education, aiming to maximise the potential of ICT for learning.
Skills are key to productivity and Europe needs to respond to the worldwide increase in the quality of education and supply of skills. Forecasts show that more than a third of jobs in the EU will require tertiary level qualifications in 2020 and that only 18 per cent of jobs are expected to be low-skilled.
Currently, 73 million Europeans, around 25 per cent of adults, have a low level of education. Nearly 20 per cent of 15 year olds lack sufficient literacy skills, and in five countries more than 25 per cent are low achievers in reading (Bulgaria, 41 per cent, Romania, 40 per cent, Malta, 36 per cent, Austria, 27.5 per cent, and Luxembourg, 26 per cent). Early school leaving remains at unacceptably high levels in several Member States: in Spain it is 26.5 per cent and in Portugal 23.2 per cent (EU target is under 10 per cent). Less than 9 per cent of adults participate in lifelong learning (EU target is 15 per cent).
The recommendations outlined in Rethinking Education are based on the findings of the 2012 'Education and Training Monitor', a new annual Commission survey which outlines skills supply in the Member States.