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European Year of Skills
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EU social partners call for better access to training for temporary agency workers

Through commitments and recommendations on skilling and training, trade unions and employer associations call for better access to training for temporary agency workers. They also announced a new project on social innovation.

WEC Europe

Access to training is critical in the temporary employment sector: qualification levels vary significantly across countries and workers are mostly young. To help address rising labour shortages and fostering labour market resilience in Europe, the World Employment Confederation-Europe (WEC-Europe) and UNI-Europa have agreed on a set of commitments and recommendations related to skilling and training. Additionally, they will launch, between 2023-24, a joint capacity-building project focusing on supporting social dialogue and national social partners.  

“UNI-Europa and WEC-Europa adopting joint recommendations as part of their EU-funded project in 2018” 

What are the recommendations to EU policymakers and national governments? 

Social partners in the temporary agency work sector call for: 

  • Expanding learning and employability opportunities: Strengthening non-formal and informal learning and the recognition of prior learning.  

  • Supporting training and counselling in temporary work: Valuing the role of training funds in the temporary agency work industry by offering training, learning opportunities, counselling services and financial support 

  • Connecting people with jobs: Promoting labour market matching and information on skills and labour market developments 

  • Implementing effective policies: Ensuring appropriate regulation of temporary agency work and tailored labour market policies, in line with the 2021 European Commission Effective Active Support to Employment (EASE) 

Strengthening training and skills policies 

Increasing training opportunities in the sector was already a priority of WEC-Europe and UNI-Europa in their joint project on Social innovation and temporary agency work. Strengthening training and skills policies remains their main goal in the 2021-2023 work programme, with a focus on apprenticeships and dual learning, as well as skills for the green and digital transition. Through these joint commitments and recommendations, the sectoral social partners for temporary agency work show their support for the European Year of Skills. 

Background  

The joint commitments and recommendations have been negotiated and adopted as part of the European Sectoral Social Dialogue on temporary agency work. The joint project on “Social Innovation in the temporary agency work industry” was co-funded by the EU under the Call “Support for social dialogue”.  

The next project - “Capacity Building in the Temporary Agency Work sector” - will last two years from September 2023. It is co-funded through the call “support for social dialogue”.