eSkills conference discusses skills shortage 

The eSkills Summit gathers all relevant EU Actors in the field of e-skills. Research estimates that in 2003 the EU needs to add an extra 1,5 million people with an education in ICT to its workforce. To work on this the eSkills summit in Copenhagen proposes a common declaration on eSkills which will be put on the agenda of the coming meetings in the European Council. If adopted, this declaration will give a common European platform for the development of national strategies on eSkills. The agreement will emphasise the need for certain criteria to be met if skills issues are to be addressed.

The summit calls for Member States to close the gap between academia and industry and shorten the time to market of new ideas developed at research institutes. It also calls on the industry and social partners to take responsibility in promoting lifelong learning and making IT and e-business careers attractive to everyone.