Qualification against unemployment

The current crisis has heavily affected tourism, leisure activities or transport, with consequences that will probably last for several years. At the same time, some sectors, or particular digitalized and automated companies, are strongly bouncing back and are now facing recruitment bottlenecks. Job reallocations will therefore play a decisive role for growth in the coming years. The crisis has also magnified the effects of deep structural trends. First of all, the adoption of new technologies is accelerating. digitalization and automation of tasks are largely benefiting the most qualified people who master digital tools and already holding jobs with a high intellectual and creative content. Low-skilled workers have suffered the most during the crisis and are also the most at risk of seeing their jobs profoundly transformed by machines in the coming years. At the same time, the development of service jobs will continue, with the corollary that non-cognitive skills will be more highly valued. Finally, the necessary greening of our economies will profoundly transform certain sectors, with the challenge of mastering green technologies. All these transformations are changing the skill needs of companies and will put education and lifelong learning systems under pressure.
How can we improve access to lifelong learning and the quality of training? How can we attract new talent in sectors that are little known or unattractive? How to teach innovation and creativity? Should we reinforce the learning of non-cognitive skills from an early age?