Addressing Europe’s skills gap

Every young person at an early stage in life must decide what kind of career they want to pursue to realise their dreams and live happily until retirement. 

In most Western countries, the socio-educational culture promotes university education, with many young people aspiring to traditional careers, often in fields that no longer offer the opportunities they once did. Many young Europeans are beginning to understand the consequences of the clash between their career aspirations and brutal realities.

According to Eurostat, in 2023, approximately 75% of employers in 21 European countries were unable to find workers with the necessary skills. This was up from 42% in 2018, an increase of 33 percentage points. 

An Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) study, entitled ‘The Stage of Global Teenage Career Preparation’, reveals that while jobs in digital, cloud and data science have proliferated since 2000, young people are not willing to meet the demand. In the UK, the study found that almost 50% of young people are uncertain about their career options, up from 25% in 2018. 

Unsurprisingly, according to the OECD study, 50% of 15- and 16-year-olds, who do not have career aspirations, are interested in becoming a lawyer, doctor, performer, teacher, police officer, engineer, nurse, veterinarian, or working in sports. More worrying, a large number of young people want to pursue careers as social media influencers and sports stars, with very slim chances of success.  

Most European employers are struggling to recruit locals for jobs such as biological scientists, bricklayers, care workers, graphic designers, laboratory and pharmaceutical technicians, plumbers and electricians. Some resort to recruiting third-country nationals, but this is creating political tensions. 

There are various reasons behind the skills shortages. Demographic shifts in most European countries are the leading cause. According to Brussels-based Business Europe’s ‘Analysis of Labour and Skills Shortages’ report between 2012 and 2050, the EU’s working population is projected to fall by 40 million.

A second cause of the skills shortage crisis is the steep rise in demand for new skills linked to technological developments. This is partly caused by education policymakers’ failure to create the right incentives and enablers to encourage young people to pursue technical courses that lead to qualifications that open doors to jobs the modern economy demands. 

The most daunting challenge in resolving Europe’s skills shortage is changing the political and social culture

Insufficient alignment of education and training curricula with market needs is a critical component of the shortage of appropriately skilled workers.

Employers play a crucial role in addressing the skills shortage. For too long, European employers have pleaded with their governments to liberalise the migration of skilled workers, mainly from low-cost labour third countries. 

With the rising social concerns about the impact of rapidly increasing migration, large-scale labour importation will never be a viable long-term solution.

Investing in upskilling, reskilling and preparing young people for tomorrow’s jobs has become a major obstacle to growth. It will remain more critical and should be the top of every business leader’s agenda. For too long, labour has been treated as a disposable commodity, supplied as and when required to reduce operational costs.

Educational reforms are also necessary, even if the results will not become apparent for more than a decade. No country can expect to resolve the skills shortages challenge if it does not calibrate its incentives and investment in education to ensure that more young people pursue studies that lead to careers that are in demand in today’s economy. 

Policymakers must stop measuring success by the number of university graduates in traditional fields of study, the amount of money spent on incentives for all students, irrespective of their choice of study programmes, or the level of educators’ qualifications.

The education infrastructure in most countries must be re-engineered to put technical and practical education on the same level of importance and status as academic qualifications. Trade schools must be re-energised after a thorough skills gap analysis that identifies where and how skills shortages need to be addressed to satisfy the economy’s future needs.

The most daunting challenge in resolving Europe’s skills shortage is changing the political and social culture. While everyone has the right to pursue a career that inspires them, we must acknowledge that the realities of creating wealth and jobs in today’s world are often brutal.

Europe can no longer sustain economic prosperity and well-being for its citizens unless it addresses its failures in preparing young people for the workplace.