Commission staff working document
: SECTOR STUDIES AND THE NEW SKILLS FOR NEW JOBS INITIATIVE
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- 3.2: SECTORAL STUDIES OF INNOVATION, SKILLS AND JOBS
- 3.3: EVOLUTION OF OCCUPATIONS IN THE EU
- 3.4: EMERGING COMPETENCES
- 3.5. WORK AND LIFE QUALITY IN NEW AND GROWING JOBS
3: SECTOR STUDIES AND THE NEW SKILLS FOR NEW JOBS INITIATIVEThis section explores a range of EU initiatives designed to help boost skills and competence development, and to try to prepare the EU for the likely kinds of skills that will be needed in the future. 3.1: NEW SKILLS FOR NEW JOBS INITIATIVESCompanies in Europe are faced with a continually changing environment. Challenges such as the ageing of the population, the rapid evolution of ICT, increasing globalisation and the greening of the economy have concrete implications for companies in their day-to-day business. Factors such as a changing regulatory framework, evolving consumer preferences, new and more efficient technologies and increased competition from abroad, affect companies and their business, with implications for their competitiveness. To stay competitive, companies have to invest permanently in human capital to acquire, or equip the workforce with, the skills mix that they need today and tomorrow. The issues of identifying future skills needs, upgrading skills and matching them with labour market demands have gained increased attention in recent years throughout the Union. In December 2008, the Commission published a Communication entitled New Skills for New Jobs: anticipating and matching labour market and skills needs.46 In February 2010, the expert group on new skills for new jobs issued a report47 to the European Commission, in which it detailed recommendations for future action. The report called for action in four main areas:
In March 2010, the Commission presented its strategy for the next 10 years, Europe 2020 — A European strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth,48 in which, under the theme of inclusive growth, a flagship initiative entitled An agenda for new skills and jobs was announced. This initiative highlights, among other issues, the role and importance of skills in enabling workers to adapt to changing conditions and stay productive, and also in reducing unemployment. On 15 September 2010, the Commission set out its agenda of actions targeted at young people in the Communication Youth on the Move.49 In particular, actions are targeted at supporting lifelong learning strategies, the reform of higher education, the reinforcement of learning mobility programmes and actions to improve the employment situation of young people. 3.2: SECTORAL STUDIES OF INNOVATION, SKILLS AND JOBSIn 2008 and 2009, the Commission conducted a series of 19 sectoral studies50 (see table 2.1) to map and analyse the evolution of innovation, skills and jobs within each of the selected sectors, taking into account each sector’s global, national and regional contexts, in order to anticipate possible changes in jobs and skills needs up to 2020. These studies also served the purpose of bringing attention to ways and methods of achieving forward-looking and strategic human resource management and thereby improving European competitiveness in the global economy. A common ‘foresight’ methodology (see box 2.3 below) was applied to 18 of the 19 studies (the study on the construction sector followed a similar but different methodology), allowing for comparisons between sectors. Box 2.3: Methodology The sector studies followed a European Foresight Methodology (EFM) developed by Professor Maria João Rodrigues with support from the European Commission. The methodology has been developed in order to perform comprehensive sectoral analyses and foresights on emerging skills and competences in the EU. It involves the following steps:
The 19 sectors covered represent together over 60 % of total private employment in the EU — see figure 2.3. Both traditional manufacturing sectors and services sectors were analysed. The largest sector by far, in terms of both added value and share of EU employment, is distribution and trade, followed by health and social work. Some sectors, such as hotels, restaurants and catering (Horeca), construction, and textiles, apparel and leather products, are far more important in terms of employment than added value, indicating their labour-intensive nature. Other, typically more knowledge-intensive sectors, such as financial services and chemicals, pharmaceuticals, rubber and plastics, are much more important in terms of added value than employment. Figure 2.3: Share of total EU employment by sector (%), 2006 
Source: Sector studies and Eurostat 2009. A transversal analysis of these sector studies was then carried out. While the sectoral studies focused on sector-specific developments and characteristics, this analysis aimed to identify common patterns of change across the different sectors and to group the sectors according to common historical and anticipated developments in jobs and skills. A brief extract of the transversal analysis is presented below. The full report is available for download on the Anticipedia website.51 Table 2.1: The 19 sectors analysed in the sectoral skills studies
3.3: EVOLUTION OF OCCUPATIONS IN THE EULooking at the general development in occupations within the European labour force from 2002 to 2008, there has been a clear tendency towards polarisation. The number of high-skilled jobs is clearly on the increase while the number of skilled manual jobs has fallen — see figure 2.4. The number of very low-skilled jobs (known as elementary occupations) has remained more or less the same, increasing just slightly. The decrease in the number of skilled manual jobs seems to be closely connected to developments within Europe’s traditional production sectors, which have normally relied on craft workers and other skilled workers. Many of these sectors are under heavy pressure due to fierce international competition and many production activities have been outsourced and offshored during the past 10-15 years. Overall, the higher the skills level of the employee, the greater the advantage for both the employee and the employer. Employees with high and transferable skills levels have a higher degree of employability and will find it easier to move between employers, and maybe even sectors, should that be required. For the employer, employees with higher skills levels will increase productivity and the quality of the goods and services offered. The studies grouped occupations into three categories according to the level of skills required to perform the job. High-skilled workers include, among others, managers and professionals, who are typically workers with relatively lengthy educational backgrounds and/or specialist knowledge within a certain field. A high share of high-skilled workers within a sector indicates a relatively high knowledge intensity. As shown by figure 2.4, the sectors with the highest share of high-skilled workers are: health and social work; computer, electronic and optical devices; financial services; printing and publishing; electricity, gas, water and waste; and chemicals, pharmaceuticals, rubber and plastics. The sectors with the lowest share of high-skilled workers are, not surprisingly, the labour-intensive but relatively low knowledge-intensive sectors such as: furniture; textiles, apparel and leather products; transport and logistics; and Horeca. Figure 2.4: Share of high-skilled workers1 in sectors, 2007 
* 2006 data. 1High skilled = 1. legislators & managers, 2. professionals and 3. technicians & associate professionals. For detailed description of the ISCO classifications see: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/stat/isco/isco88/major.htm Source: Eurostat LFS 2008 and sector studies. Comparable data not available for construction and defence. Figure 2.5: Changes in the share of occupations in the EU labour force, 2000-2008
Source: Eurostat 2009. It should be noted when viewing the above figure that the breakdown of employed persons by occupation is based on the classification ISCO 88-COM. High skilled = 1, legislators & managers = 2, professionals, technicians & associate professionals = 3, low skilled non manual = 4, clerks and service, shop & market sales workers = 5, skilled manual = 6, craft & related trade workers = 7, skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers and plant & machine operators = 8, and elementary occupations = 9.52
These scenarios are not forecasts of the future but are based on foresight analyses, which are experts’ opinions on possible futures for the sector. In the transversal analysis, these scenarios have been regrouped and summed up in a single graph, also taking into account the impact of the recent financial crisis. Sectors have been grouped into service, production and combined production/service sectors. As can be seen from the figure 2.6 below, it emerges from the analysis that employment within production in the EU will, in general, continue to decline while employment within services will, in general, continue to increase. Furthermore, the financial crisis seems to have speeded up ongoing developments, with continued job losses in the traditional production sectors. However, many of the production sector studies contain quite positive scenarios, including consolidation and/or job growth. Thus, post-crisis, the forecasts predict a consolidation within production employment in total and renewed employment growth within services. Figure 2.6: Grouped employment index (2001=100) for services, production and combined production/services sectors, developments 2001-2008 and forecasts 2009-2012 
Source: Eurostat 2009 for historical data; analyses and scenarios for forecasts. The graph above charts the actual development of employment from 2001 in services, production and combined production/services sectors. The years from 2008 to 2010 are characterised by the economic crisis, during which employment in production drops most sharply. In the post-economic crisis period, from 2010 to 2012, employment in production and combined production/services sectors is forecast to be relatively stable, whereas employment in services is predicted to increase.
Table 2.2: Main emerging competences across sectors
Main findings The analysis reveals the increasing polarisation of the labour market and skills needs. Skilled jobs (such as craft workers) are declining and high-skilled jobs (such as professionals and managers) are increasing rapidly, while the demand for very low-skilled elementary jobs continues to rise at a moderate pace. There is also a divide between services and production sectors. Whereas significant job growth has mainly occurred in services sectors and will continue to do so during the next 10-15 years, there have been quite significant job losses in production sectors during the past decade, especially within skilled jobs. However, in production, there seems to be a development towards ‘European excellence’, characterised by products with a higher added value, requiring more high-skilled jobs but also less medium-skilled jobs. Modern economies are experiencing a dissolution of traditional sector divisions, most often owing to new technologies, new customer demands and enlarged supply and value chains. As a result, new job profiles are appearing, which demand new combinations of skills and competences, and companies are increasingly demanding new types and mixes of employees and educational backgrounds in most sectors. Regardless of job losses and other structural developments, there is a clear tendency towards upskilling for all occupations, which goes in parallel with an increase in the educational attainment levels of workers in all sectors. Looking at emerging skills and competences, many sectors are experiencing new skills needs within areas that are closely connected to major world policy and economic trends, such as sustainability (environment, climate, health, etc.), ICT and the continued internationalisation of markets and supply chains. At the same time, many sectors will face serious recruitment and skills problems in the coming years if no actions are taken. The ageing workforce, poor working conditions and/or a negative sector image will for many sectors result in problems in finding sufficient labour and the right skills. This is particularly true for production sectors which are penalised by their ‘heavy industry’ image (such as shipbuilding or electromechanical engineering) but also for some service sectors, the records of which, in terms of working conditions and career opportunities, are perceived as low (such as Horeca). Many sectors will therefore need to improve their image and working conditions if young graduates, women and groups such as migrant workers are to be attracted to fill vacant positions. The next section of this chapter examines how the EU can help develop skills levels in individual sectors by setting up European sector councils on jobs and skills. 3.5. WORK AND LIFE QUALITY IN NEW AND GROWING JOBSAn ongoing FP7 research project on Work and Life Quality in New and Growing Jobs (WALQING53) explores the linkages between ‘new jobs’, their conditions of work and employment, and outcomes for employees’ quality of work and life. In a first instance, employment growth in various countries (EU Labour Force Surveys 2000 and 2007) was analysed on the basis of an original new methodology developed to construct a balanced list of growing sectors in the EU.54 While conventional concepts of employment growth choose between either a relative trend index (e.g. expressed in percentages) or an absolute trend index (expressed in numbers such as hours, workers or production output), the BART Index for structural growth (balanced absolute and relative trend index) integrates both into a single index, overcoming misinterpretations (over- or underestimating structural changes) and improving comparability across Europe. The BART index enables to zoom in on national particularities in growing sectors without being obscured by trends in larger countries. Figure 2.7: BRAT Index 
The BART Index data presented above measure employment growth between the GDP-growth peaks of 2000 and 2007 based on the European Labour Force Survey. Although Construction (2.45 %) takes the lead, the whiskers (indicating standard deviation) show that its average growth is dispersed over countries with a very high growth and countries where the sector might even be declining; this applies also (but to a lesser extent) to Health & Social Work. On the other hand, this is not the case for Business Activities (2.38 %) and the IT sector, which are growing steadily in most or all countries. The weignted Job Quality Index (using European Working Conditions 2005 Survey data) uses weights for 38 measures according to the unique percentage of variance that it explains in three aspects of employee well-being (physical well-being, psychological well-being, job satisfaction) The growing sectors (NACE Two-Digit) of the EU economy with higher than average levels of job quality are: Real Estate (Mean Job Quality = 60.2), Education and Health (M=60.4); Public Administration (M=62.3); and, Financial Intermediation (M=67.7). The results below show the top ten sub sectors with the highest growth and below average job quality. Two of the three most critical are quite ‘feminised’ sectors: 1) Retail (M=53.5); 2) Construction (M=52.1); 3) Hotels and Restaurants (M=48.8). Figure 2.8: Job Quality Index 
The WALQING researchers note that European employment growth has not exclusively been shaped by knowledge-intensity and skill-upgrading, and that employment growth does not automatically generate ‘better jobs’ with satisfactory wages, autonomy, learning opportunities, secure careers and participation in the workplace. A number of the growing sectors attend to fairly basic needs of consumers and companies (shelter, food, waste disposal, and care), all of high relevance for the quality of life, future productivity and sustainability of European societies. However, many segments of these important and expanding sectors are characterised by poor job quality. Low-skilled work, low wages, insecurity, health and safety risks, and little discretion and voice tend to accumulate and reinforce one another. Directory: pub -> ECD ECD -> Commission staff working document ECD -> Table of contents I instruments Error: Reference source not found ECD -> Table of annexes annex I: Glossary 4 ECD -> En commission of the european communities brussels, 12. 12. 2008 com(2008) 853 final annex annex II to VIII ECD -> Report from the commission to the european parliament and the council european community safa programme aggregated information report ECD -> Report from the commission european community safa programme ECD -> Commission of the european communities brussels, 24 2008 ECD -> Commission staff working document ECD -> Communication from the commission to the european parliament, the council, the european economic and social committee and the committee of the regions ECD -> Annex I iccat species Download 1.43 Mb. Share with your friends:
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