EU

The misalignment between demand and supply contributes to the labour market problems experienced by many recent graduates in Europe. Not only does the growth in the number of recent university graduates differ from the growth in job vacancies potentially available for them, but also a large number of individuals end up completing their tertiary degree in subjects for which there is little demand or for which there is an excess of supply relative to demand. In an attempt to investigate whether the EU is expected to generate the appropriate number and type of graduates, this study compares projections on forecasted graduate labour market development tendencies made by Cedefop between 2016 and 2030 with estimated trends in the supply of tertiary graduates during the same period. The analysis predicts that, while a rough balance between graduate demand and supply is likely to emerge at aggregate level, there will be a small surplus of graduates in the fields of ICT and a more relevant one in Science and Engineering. Results, however, significantly differ across individual EU Member States.

To see the full report, click the 'link to source' button above.

On May 30 the European Commission published two communications in which STEM and the EU STEM Coalition are prominently featured. The Communication on a Renewed EU Agenda for Higher Education states that "the Commission will launch an up-scaled EU STE(A)M coalition bringing together different education sectors, business and public sector emloyers to promote the uptake of relevant STE(A)M subjects and modernise the STE(A)M and other curricula, including through more multi-disciplinary programmes and cooperation between relevant faculties and HEI's." The Commission states that the initiative will build on the EU STEM Coalition (see p. 5-6).

In the Communication on School Development and Excellent Teaching for a Great Start in Life, the Commission focuses on the recent OECD PISA survey results. In relation to STEM the commission states that it will: "Support improvements in school level education in science, technologies, engineering and maths (STEM) by promoting best practice in developing links and cooperation of higher education, research, businesses with schools at EU level and effectively addressing gender gaps and stereotypes in STEM, using Erasmus+" (see p. 4).

The EU STEM Coalition is currently exploring with the Commission and various partners how it can support these action points. 

On May 30 the European Commission published two communications in which STEM and the EU STEM Coalition are prominently featured. The Communication on a Renewed EU Agenda for Higher Education states that "the Commission will launch an up-scaled EU STE(A)M coalition bringing together different education sectors, business and public sector emloyers to promote the uptake of relevant STE(A)M subjects and modernise the STE(A)M and other curricula, including through more multi-disciplinary programmes and cooperation between relevant faculties and HEI's." The Commission states that the initiative will build on the EU STEM Coalition (see p. 5-6).

In the Communication on School Development and Excellent Teaching for a Great Start in Life, the Commission focuses on the recent OECD PISA survey results. In relation to STEM the commission states that it will: "Support improvements in school level education in science, technologies, engineering and maths (STEM) by promoting best practice in developing links and cooperation of higher education, research, businesses with schools at EU level and effectively addressing gender gaps and stereotypes in STEM, using Erasmus+" (see p. 4).

The EU STEM Coalition is currently exploring with the Commission and various partners how it can support these action points. 

The EU STEM Coalition is a network of national STEM platforms: organisations that support the coordination and implementation of national or regional strategy for STEM education and labour market. The focus of the network is primarily on the implementation of the national or regional objectives. In other words, ‘how can we translate a policy objective into an effective implementation programme’. These programmes often rely on the close cooperation between the ‘triple helix’ of government, industry and education providers.

For full article, please see link above.

Pan European Networks, a journal on EU policy on science, technology, education and defence governance, featured an editorial on the EU STEM Coalition in the September issue of 'Science and Technology'. The editorial focuses on thhe challenges in promoting STEM accross Europe, and the EU STEM Coalition's support of the Commission's intention to launch an upscaled EU STE(A)M Coalition. 

The competitiveness of industry in Europe is dependent on the effective use of new technologies and the knowledge, skills, competences and creativity of its workforce. Shortages, gaps and mismatches in high-tech skills negatively affect innovation, productivity growth, job creation and social cohesion. Estimates of the number of jobs that will be lost to automation over the next decades have been alerting policy makers and the public. Although the numbers differ by author and scenario, there is a broad consensus that many of the tasks carried out by workers today are likely to be automated in the not too distant future. As jobs change in their task content at an accelerating pace, and as new jobs emerge, policy makers must help industry and workers to keep pace with fast-changing skills requirements. This calls also for large-scale multi-stakeholder partnerships and re- and upskilling initiatives, as well as a clear view of the way lifelong learning should be funded, managed and incentivised to become a reality for all.

In their report on Education on the digital era: challenges, opportunities and lessons for EU policy design (2018), the European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education indicated that it “supports the increased funding available for digital skills across the next generation of Multiannual Financial Framework programmes”. However, it also “insists on the need to deliver synergies across programmes to maximise the effectiveness of funding for digital skills development and deliver lasting results”. The Committee also stresses the importance of setting up education and training programmes between industry and training providers that are more cooperative and give greater importance to re-skilling and up-skilling efforts. It calls for a “shift towards more on-the-job learning and insists on the need to have the right education and training frameworks in place, and to ensure that vocational education systems are properly resourced; believes that opportunities for re-skilling and up-skilling are essential, with relevant digital skills components mainstreamed in workplace training programmes”.

Please note that the Katapult-programme (public-private partnerships in VET and higher education) of the Dutch national STEM Platfom was referenced as a best practice. 

Leaders of some of Europe’s largest employers have today called for an EU competition policy which would allow European businesses to compete successfully at scale in today’s globalised and fast-moving economy. Measures would include adopting a more dynamic approach to competition enforcement and taking a more holistic view to safeguard global competitiveness. These reforms would enable competition policy to operate under the demands of the modern, digital and often borderless economy. The paper sets out four key policy recommendations to ensure that EU competition policy remains fit for purpose in the modern digitised and global markets:

1. Align competition enforcement with the demands of the modern digitised economy: a more dynamic and pragmatic approach, which in particular takes into account non-price factors such as the role of data, innovation, quality, and choice, and the potential consumer benefits of inter-company relationships.
2. Implement a smarter, leaner merger control regime: a broader and forward-looking substantive assessment, simplifying and shortening the merger control procedure, including by reducing the burden of information requests, improving checks and balances within the Directorate-General for Competition and implementing effective judicial review.
3. Increase legal certainty for competitive collaboration: providing a more welcoming environment for pro-competitive business activities, ensuring a harmonised approach between the Commission and National Competition Authorities, and better guidance for firms, for example in the form of ‘comfort letters’.
4. Adopt a holistic viewpoint to safeguard global competitiveness: the Commission must adopt a more comprehensive view of market practices and market power held by foreign state-owned or state-supported companies operating in Europe, and introduce more flexibility in state aid rules to enable research, especially in key strategic areas.