Joost Korte has been Director General of the European Commission's Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion since March 16, 2018. Previously, he served as Deputy Director General in the European Commission's Department of Trade, as well as in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and of Enlargement.
In addition, Korte worked for several years at the General Secretariat of the European Commission as Director responsible for relations with the EU Council of Ministers.
A lawyer by training, Joost Korte joined the Commission in 1991, after eight years of academic work on European law at the Universities of Utrecht and Edinburgh.
What are the main labour market challenges in Europe and Spain, and how is the European Commission addressing these challenges?
Looking at Spain, unemployment rates have clearly decreased recently: from nearly 27% in 2013 to less than 13% now. Nevertheless, Spain remains one of the countries with the highest unemployment in the EU where the average rate is only 6%. The number of long-term unemployed people and young people in unemployment are particularly worrisome – both rates are twice the EU average.
In addition, a persistent challenge is the high share of temporary employment in Spain. I have hope however that the comprehensive reform of fixed-term contracts in Spain, and the reform on hiring incentives, will increase permanent and quality employment effectively.
Another challenge in Europe in general, and also in Spain, is the mismatch between the skills profiles that employers look for, and the skills sets of many people who are looking for work. In the euro area, 3.1% of all jobs were vacant in the EU at the end of last year which is the highest on record. Moreover, between one in three and one in four employers reported recently that labour shortages are limiting industry production, services and construction in the EU.
To address this issue, Spain passed a law for integrated vocational education and training in 2021. It aims at increasing the share of people with a middle educational level – which currently is only half of the EU average level.
"To support youth employment, we launched the Youth Guarantee – thanks to which over 24 million young people started employment, continued education, apprenticeships and traineeships"
At EU level, a series of initiatives address the skills gap, as well as broader employment and social challenges. Let me just name a few: Member States will have to apply new EU rules for adequate minimum wages as of the end of next year. The EU is also supporting women participation in the labour market through pay transparency rules that will reduce the gender pay gap, and with new EU rules requiring that women hold at least 40% of non-executive director posts in a company. To support youth employment, we launched the Youth Guarantee – thanks to which over 24 million young people started employment, continued education, apprenticeships and traineeships. In addition, the Commission has proposed a new law to improve the working conditions of people working through digital labour platforms.
What are the professional profiles (occupations) most requested by companies in Europe (and Spain) and what are the most difficult to find?
According to the latest European Company survey, 77% of firms in the EU across all sectors, and 68% of companies in Spain, reported that they struggle to find employees with the skills they need.
A EURES report from last month shows that qualifications linked to science, technology, engineering, and maths dominate the shortage occupations. Shortage of jobseekers with these qualifications were reported at every level: professional, technical, and – most of all – at the craft level. This is a particular concern in the construction sector. Further shortages concern software specialists, healthcare and nursing workers, and jobs in the hospitality sector.
"Some of the biggest skills challenges are linked to green and digital transitions"
In Spain, labour shortages are most widespread across various categories of workers in hospitality, information and communication technologies, and healthcare, according to the same report.
At the same time, some of the biggest skills challenges are linked to green and digital transitions. Labour shortages in key sectors and jobs for the green transition doubled between 2015 and 2021. In addition, 70% of businesses in Europe see the lack of digital skills as an obstacle to investment.
Which occupations will be most affected by the digitization and automation of the labour market? How can the European Commission help companies and workers in this?
The digital and green transitions are changing the world of work. In the future, around 90% of jobs will require digital skills. However, only 46% of the EU population can perform basic digital tasks such as connecting to WiFi or using websites. These figures clearly illustrate that for most workers the ongoing transitions will change the tasks, the job profiles, and the skills they need at work. Workers with routine and repetitive tasks and limited social interaction are at highest immediate risk, for instance in manufacturing.
It is our job to make the transitions fair, and to support people and companies in adapting. This is at the top of the EU's political agenda, and this is also what we demonstrate with the European Year of Skills. We have launched the Pact for Skills for instance, with 18 large-scale partnerships so far. The members of these partnerships have pledged to help develop the skills of at least 10 million people. Just a few weeks ago, the Commission presented a digital education and skills package to make sure Member States make much-needed investments and put policies in place to advance digital education and the equipment needed for it, connectivity and to support the development of digital skills of all teachers. These, and many more initiatives, help Member States to be ambitious and set the right conditions to ensure everybody has the digital skills they need.
The EU supports Member States with funding to invest in people's professional skills and lifelong learning. The European Social Fund Plus alone offers €42.7 billion to support education and skills.
What are the skills and competences that you consider essential for workers today? And, in the future (5 years from now)?
Over 90% of jobs today require some level of digital skills. This means that already now, nearly everyone needs at least basic digital skills, and this will only increase. In addition, workers will increasingly need skills that differentiate them from robots and algorithms, such as analytical thinking, active learning, complex problem-solving, empathy and other social skills, as well as cognitive flexibility.
Workers will also need skills for the green transition. This includes transversal skills, for example the efficient use of energy and resources, and specific technical skills – such as installing solar panels or charging stations for electric vehicles. This is essential for the productivity of our industry, the prosperity of our society and to meet our climate and environmental objectives. This challenge is reflected in the Green Deal Industrial Plan and the Net-Zero Industry Act proposal, which highlight the importance of skills development for the European economy and its long-term competitiveness and resilience.
How important is career guidance in improving the employability of people and the productivity of companies?
Accurate career guidance is crucial at all stages of a career, both for employees and employers. Counsellors can advise workers on opportunities for a move, and they can also suggest further training to better match the needs of the company. More in general, this also helps companies to better understand what skills they need, and what skills their employees currently have.
The EU also supports career guidance with funding, and we have good examples in Spain as well. For instance, the European Social Fund supported people in the Canary Islands at risk of social exclusion with an integration programme composed of counselling, training courses and job-search advice by counsellors.
"Accurate career guidance is crucial at all stages of a career, both for employees and employers"
For workers on the other hand, and for those looking for a job, career guidance helps people to understand in how far changing their location, the economic sector, or their concrete job could offer them new opportunities. This is particularly important in the green and digital transitions.
Career guidance should be a systemic component of skills policies, and it is an integral part of many EU policies, for instances on youth, adult learning, or strategies for inclusion. A concrete example is last year's Council Recommendation on individual learning accounts, to ensure that everyone has access to relevant training opportunities that are tailored to their needs.
What key measures is the European Commission taking to promote the training of people in the economic sectors where workers are needed?
The 2020 European Skills Agenda is the Commission's strategy for education and training. It contains 12 actions to advance and make the best out of the digital and the green transitions, continue a fair recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, ensure sustainable competitiveness, social fairness, and strong resilience.
In addition to the Pact for Skills and other initiatives that I already mentioned, we have also put in place the European Alliance for Apprenticeships. The alliance unites governments, companies and key stakeholders to strengthen the quality, offer, and overall image of apprenticeships. Another example is the initiative on micro-credentials, which EU governments adopted last year. Micro-credentials offer a quick route to develop and advance the skills of workers, learners and jobseekers and can be designed to meet the needs of very different groups.
What main initiatives are being promoted by DG Employment to improve the employability of the youth and guarantee their future employment in Europe?
The reinforced Youth Guarantee, which I mentioned earlier, is a corner stone of EU youth employment policies. It ensures that all young people receive a good-quality offer of employment, of continued education, of an apprenticeship or of a traineeship within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education. Similarly, we have the Quality Framework for Traineeships, which sets standards for high-quality traineeships for all age ranges, and which we will review this year. We also promote EU standards for quality apprenticeships through the European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships.
Another important EU initiative is ALMA, which stands for Aim, Learn, Master, Achieve. It offers young people who are not in employment, education or training a supervised work experience in another EU Member State, accompanied by coaching, counselling and training opportunities throughout the entire experience cycle.
Finally, the European Year of Skills has a special focus on helping young people find jobs, so that they can realise their full potential in the digital and green transitions. Some of the upcoming flagship initiatives on youth under the European Year of Skills include the European Youth Event 2023, which will focus on Green Excellence, and a Youth Entrepreneurship Policy Academy that promotes entrepreneurship among young people.
