IndustriAll Europe's Executive Committee has adopted a new position paper on training in the context of the European Year of Skills and in response to a record tight labour market, which is exacerbating the long-standing problem of skills shortages. The position comes on top of a previous position on training, published in 2021, in which we already warned of serious skills shortages.

The paper presents an analysis of skills shortages in Europe, focusing on the situation in industrial sectors. Drawing on recent reports by Eurofound, the OECD, the IMF, CEDEFOP and the European Commission, the paper points to the poor quality and unattractiveness of jobs as the main causes of the current record shortages. In line with the recommendations of these reports, industriAll Europe calls for wage increases and improved working conditions to address the shortages.

Our position paper stresses that migration is not a sustainable solution to the current shortages. Migration risks exacerbating the brain drain already plaguing Eastern Europe and would widen the already wide gap between Member States. Unions insist that where labour migration is used as a short-term solution to skills shortages, it must be accompanied by clear rules to protect migrant workers from exploitation and ensure equal pay for equal work.

IndustriAll Europe's position on training follows a holistic approach based on industrial policy, employment and social policy, active labour market policy, education and training policy and collective bargaining.

Our main demands include:

• An individual right to training, collectively negotiated and preferably guaranteed by collective agreement, to ensure access to training for all.

• Significant public and private investment in vocational education and training (VET). Social conditionality on all public investment to ensure that it only funds the creation of quality jobs where collective bargaining is respected and training is guaranteed.

• Full trade union involvement in all skills initiatives/strategies developed at company, local, sectoral and national levels.

• High quality training leading to qualifications that are validated (quality assurance) and recognised (a qualifications framework comparable between Member States).

• A commitment to skills forecasting at sectoral/regional level (e.g. local skills observatories) and at company level (e.g. strategic skills planning, including career guidance).