The European Commission’s Communication on the Union of Skills is a timely call for more and better investment in citizens’ skills and competencies.

In this response, the European University Association highlights the urgent need for a strategic and enduring approach to enhance Europe’s lifelong and continued learning capacities. As such, EUA calls for the establishment of a flagship EU initiative for lifelong learning, which would align with Europe’s economic and societal needs and ongoing transformations, be attractive for European and international talent and send a strong, positive signal towards the EU’s global partners and competitors.

Emphasising the importance of addressing skills needs across all disciplines for Europe’s competitiveness, EUA further advocates for the Union of Skills to count on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as well as other professional and academic disciplines. Moreover, this paper stresses that the EU should avoid overly prescriptive measures in the field of education. Instead, it should empower universities to develop long-term learning capacity and support interdisciplinary collaboration, so that Europe can step up to innovate and transform its economies, all the while strengthening democracy and social cohesion.

Finally, EUA calls for investment in higher education and research to be a priority of the Union of Skills and Competitiveness Compass, e.g. through a dedicated European ‘Skills Fund’. Failure to step up investment risks undermining universities’ ability to fulfil their core missions in education, research and societal engagement, which all contribute to the wider objectives of the Union of Skills.

Skills and education for Europe’s competitiveness

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