Published on 27th November 2024
On 27 November, the European Parliament gave its vote of confidence to the team of 26 Commissioner-designates put forward by all Member States of the European Union (EU). The World Employment Confederation-Europe paid close attention to the portfolios attributed to Roxana Minzatu (Executive Vice-President for People, Skills and Preparedness), Valdis Dombrovskis (Commissioner for Economy and Productivity; Implementation and Simplification) and Teresa Ribera Rodríguez (Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition). Those departments would be responsible for some of the key initiatives proposed in President von der Leyen’s Political Guidelines: a new Action Plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights, a Roadmap for Quality Jobs and an initiative on artificial intelligence at the workplace.
As the voice of the European private employment services industry and the EU Sectoral Social Partner for temporary agency work, the World Employment Confederation-Europe welcomes the strong thematic focus on addressing skills and labour shortages under the mandate of the next European Commission. “The evolving requirements on skills and qualifications have been at the centre of the World Employment Confederation strategic initiative “the Work We Want”. We are looking forward to sharing these new insights on skills required for the digital and green transitions and innovative approaches for re- and upskilling of workers in order to ensure people’s preparedness to navigate the ever-changing labour market landscape,” reacted Sonja van Lieshout, President of the World Employment Confederation-Europe.
Another important priority for the new European Commission that we share is to ensure a human-centred approach to digitalisation and the use of artificial intelligence. With the EU Artificial Intelligence Act and the EU Platform Work Directive, important steps have been taken by the outgoing European Commission to regulate key dimensions of digitalisation. The World Employment Confederation-Europe welcomes the focus of the new European Commission on the transposition and enforcement of these rules. In addition, the HR services industry is open to a constructive dialogue on the impact of digitalisation and AI to contribute to effective European policy responses. Based on our research in The Work We Want, a strong focus should be laid on re- and upskilling people to prepare them for the new jobs in the digital age. Also, the effective deployment of artificial intelligence solutions requires new skills and qualifications, which many workers must be trained in.
Over the past years, the European Union has developed a comprehensive acquis to regulate labour markets and diverse forms of work. These European rules are largely appropriate and balanced, while on some occasions, more action would be welcomed to ensure effective compliance and enforcement. Appropriate regulation, compliance and enforcement are essential for the private employment agencies industry to operate in national markets, but equally so for the cross-border provision of services and the mobility of agency workers in the European Single Market.
The private employment services industry now looks forward to working with the new Commission and delivering Europe’s future preparedness and prosperity. Long live the new Commission!
