Skills: A Pathway to Employability and Prosperity. European Commission Policies (Published)
The contemporary societal characteristics, the rapid technological developments, the increase in age limits, the strong demographic changes, the high rates of unemployment have led to major changes in the workplace. There is a strong demand for national and international policies, which aim at the development of employability and prosperity of citizens. In a context of global co-operation and coalition, international organizations, such as the United Nations Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Union (EU) Institutions, are called upon to play an important role in the development of prosperity, social cohesion and the economy of the countries, given that they have both the appropriate experience and the extensive diplomatic networks. In such a context, a great number of significant official texts have been drafted. Texts which provide policy guidance to member states in order to achieve growth and prosperity. This study, through the qualitative analysis of the European Commission’s text “Communication: A new skills agenda for Europe”, tries to capture and investigate the way employability can be protected and maintained. The analysis shows that a basic dimension of employability concerns the improvement and development of a skillset which people need to obtain in order to get and keep employed. These skills are planned and supported by corresponding policies and they are also differentiated according to target populations.
Keywords: Employability, Prosperity, Skills, policies