Human capital - defined as the knowledge, skills and other attributes that enable people to be productive - played a role in EU convergence in respect of national income over 2014–2021. Specifically, highly educated individuals have helped central and eastern EU Member States and regions to catch up with their western counterparts in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.
How to address this skills gap in Ireland was at the centre of a ‘Skills for Jobs’ seminar and panel discussion organised by the European Commission Representation in Ireland and Eurofound, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, which took place at Europe House in Dublin today.
First-generation migrants in the EU are significantly more likely to have attained tertiary qualifications than natives and second-generation migrants. However, first-generation migrant workers are also more likely to have primary education only, compared to the native population. This shows that educational attainment is more polarised.
Apprenticeships are long established in manufacturing and are attractive for both employers and young people because of the balance between theoretical and practical education that they offer. However, in several countries in Europe and beyond, apprenticeships are lagging behind changes in manufacturing.
In this blog piece, originally posted on Social Europe, Eurofound Research Manager Anna Ludwinek looks at new research that shows that younger Europeans are likely to have fewer opportunities for upward social mobility than preceding generations.
Younger Europeans are likely to have fewer opportunities for upward social mobility than preceding generations. Social mobility in Europe seems to have stagnated - at least in some countries - with opportunities for upward social mobility only increasing in a minority of EU countries for all age groups; in some Member States there is even evidence of decline in social mobility