European Year of Skills 2023

The European Year of Skills helps citizens keep up to date and active in the labour market, and also acquire the right skills for high quality jobs; moreover, it supports companies in addressing skill shortages in Europe.

Why? A labour force equipped with highly demanded skills is key to long-term sustainable development and competitiveness. It can also ensure that the green and digital transitions are socially fair. How? A large number of events and activities focused on skills development are (going to be) held around the EU.

The European Year of Skills officially started on 9 May 2023 and will run for 12 months, comprising several activities and initiatives aimed at informing all EU citizens.

The European Years of Skills pursues the following key objectives:

Promoting investment in training and upskilling, so that EU citizens can be equipped with the right skills to stay in their jobs or find new ones that better match their career aspirations.
Ensuring that workers’ skills match the needs of employers, including by closely cooperating with social partners and companies from all sectors.
Matching people’s aspirations and skill sets with opportunities in the labour market, especially in view of the green and digital transitions and economic recovery.
Attracting skills and talent from third countries, including by strengthening learning opportunities and mobility and facilitating the recognition of qualifications.

Click here for the relevant EU Decision

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DYPA’s Governor, Spiros Protopsaltis, undertook the role of the President of the National Council for Workforce Skills, pursuant to Law No. 4921/2022 “Jobs Again”, given that the said Law also assigned the Public Employment Service the responsibility of implementing the Strategy for workforce upskilling and connection with the labour market.

Moreover, in February 2023, Spiros Protopsaltis was named National Skills Coordinator, undertaking to highlight and promote the importance of skilling, upskilling and reskilling for unemployed people, workers, and students, in order to address the challenges raised by skills shortages as a result of the green and digital transitions.

Moreover, within the context of the European Year of Skills 2023 and the European Commission’s strategic objective of reducing current skills shortages in the labour market, the National Skills Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the competent ministries, organizations and social partners at both national and EU level, in order to promote policies and measures aimed at ensuring equal access to education and training opportunities for all.

As far as Greece is concerned, the said task has prioritized for the very first time the reduction of the existing skills mismatches, given that Greece has recently been placed below the relevant OECD average (“Survey of Adult Skills-PIAAC” in Education at a Glance, 2021).

The increased participation of citizens in workforce skills development programmes presupposes that a substantial, constructive dialogue should be held between public and private organizations, universities and businesses, which is to be ensured by the National Skills Coordinator.

Besides, the National Skills Coordinator promotes the EU social targets to be attained by 2030 (at least 60% of all adults should participate in training every year; at least 78% of people aged 20 to 64 should be in employment), focusing the relevant measures and initiatives on ensuring a culture of reskilling and upskilling aimed at helping citizens acquire the right skills for quality jobs.

Click here for the relevant Press Release