Challenges of the digital transition and training of the work-force

We hold our seminar with the following guestspeakers:

• Antoine FOUCHER, Deputy Director-General, MEDEF
• Christophe GAUTHIER, Mission Director, SECAFI
• Wolfgang KOWALSKY, ETUC’s Political Advisor
• Robert PLUMMER, Adviser, social affairs Department, BusinessEurope
• Alexander RIEDL, Deputy Head of Unit, European Semester and Knowledge Base, DG CNECT, European Commission

The digital transformation is profoundly changing our economies (all sectors) and societies. Our ways of life, methods of production, patterns of consumption, value chains and qualifications are transformed. In the near future 90% of jobs will require some level of digital skills. Yet, Europe is not investing effectively in education and skills, which poses a threat to our competitiveness position in the medium term and the employability of our labour forces. For instance, 40% of EU citizens have only low or no digital skills. By 2020, the estimated shortage of qualified information and communication technology staff in the EU is up to 900,000. How can we transform the risks involved in such a drastic change into opportunities for all?

• How do social partners view the challenges at stake?

1. Do you have a vision developed internally? To what extent is it shared with other partners?
2. How do you analyse the training needs? How should we go about them? Should we consider a deeper change in management?
3. How do you see your role and the role of social dialogue to overcome these challenges?
4. Do you see differences of awareness /degree of readiness at national/sectoral level? (namely between our 6 countries of study : Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Greece)

• What is being done concretely by social partners?

1. At which level (company, territorial, sectoral, national, European)? How to articulate them? In particular, should territorial dialogue deal with reconversion training? What about bipartite/tripartite dialogue?
2. What is the role of public authorities? Should there be incentives for training? How should regulations and rules be adapted? How to best identify, stimulate, and spread good practices?

• How to renovate social dialogue & place training & digital on top of European agenda?

1. How to get emerging actors involved in social dialogue? How to better integrate new forms of employment (self-employed, part-time, temporary…)? The unemployed?
2. Are traditional representative bodies able to meet future development and challenges due to the digital transition? What place for direct participation of workers in problem solving?
3. Can the new digital technologies serve the renovation of the social dialogue? What tools, methods and systems could be invented for this purpose?

You will find the minutes of the seminar in the PDF document.