Cities can guide #SmartSkills investment

Skills have become the global currency of the 21st century and cities have a crucial role to play in equipping people with the right skills. Mayors, city politicians, EU policy makers and representatives from stakeholder organizations meet in Rotterdam today to debate the role of cities in skills development. 

Johanna Rolland, mayor of Nantes and president of EUROCITIES, said:  “This isn’t simply about investing in skills, it’s about investing in the right skills. As cities, we know where the gaps are and how to fill them, and by working with our national governments and the EU institutions we can ensure that policies to address skills shortages and unemployment really work. Proper involvement of cities in the New Skills Agenda for Europe is key to making this happen.”

In 2015, EUROCITIES politicians presented our Declaration on Work, setting out political commitment to addressing unemployment. We call for partnership between cities, national governments and the EU institutions to better address challenges associated with unemployment. Cities know the local labor markets and their populations best, and can help design policies that have a real impact for citizens.

Hosting the event, Ahmed Aboutaleb, mayor of Rotterdam, said:  “The future is demanding large transformations in our local economies that will have profound effects on our societies. Both these developments require new skills from our labor force. Therefore, we should not only pay attention to developing the right skills to respond to the current needs of the labour market, but also focus our efforts on the 21st century skills. A large role is being played by cities and urban regions, but we need a strong partnership in Europe to be more inclusive and competitive in today’s and tomorrow’s global economy.”

Investing in skills and addressing unemployment requires a tailored approach that responds to local labour market needs and reaches the people that need support the most. Cities are well-placed to develop policies and programmes that can achieve this. Skills development is a continual challenge as labour market needs evolve and the transition to a knowledge-based society requires new skills.

The Urban Agenda for the EU and the New Skills Agenda for the EU, both launched in earlier this year, offer an ideal framework for cooperation between cities, member states and the EU institutions. Local politicians at the event stated that they were ready to start an urban partnership on jobs and skills and called for a close involvement of cities in the implementation of the New Skills agenda as the best way to work on addressing this major challenge.

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