Est. 3min 17-05-2011 (updated: 05-11-2012 ) Jobs__198__isp.png Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Languages: Français | DeutschPrint Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Europe risks being left behind by its global competitors as a shortage of engineers and scientists feed into lower productivity and a loss of domestic and international trade, delegates at this year's European Business Summit will hear. The research will be published in the opening session of the summit – themed: "Europe in the world: leading or lagging?"– to 2,000 business leaders meeting tomorrow and Thursday (18 and 19 May) at Tour & Taxis, Brussels. Nine European commissioners – including Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Council President Herman Van Rompuy – along with EU ambassadors from the US, India and Turkey and the prime ministers of Belgium, Hungary and Qatar will attend. The research, compiled by European employers' organisation BusinessEurope, claims that the inflow of graduates in science and technology is falling across the continent in relative terms compared with other sectors, even in countries which are rallying following the financial crisis. Strong economies lacking skills In Germany in 2008 – before the crisis bit – there was a shortage of 114,000 skilled labour in the market, which fell during the recession. Following the country's strong comeback 117,000 skilled workers are now missing from the market as of February, the report says. Similarly in Austria – another strong performer since the crisis – 77% of companies reported shortages of skilled labour last year, it claims. More is needed to raise the profile of science by encouraging professionals to visit schools and teachers to do secondments in relevant companies, and to develop stronger partnerships between business and research institutions, the report urges. The report calls on member states to improve the quality, attractiveness and resources of science teaching, and says there is more scope for the Commission to increase the mobility of researchers between member states. The findings will be backed up at the summit by a survey of 300 senior European managers conducted by Accenture for the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium, which will also examine the skills deficit. Summit to debate Europe's global position Taking place against a backdrop of sluggish growth, the sovereign debt crisis and a worsening aging demographic across the continent – the summit will debate the future of Europe's relations with Asia, Brazil, the Middle East, North America, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. There will also be themed sessions – including debates on social media and SMEs – and two plenary sessions dealing with 'Europe in the World' and opportunities for growth. Philippe de Buck, BusinessEurope's director-general, said: "The ninth European Business Summit will focus on Europe's place in the global economy […] The challenge ahead of us is immense. The position of Europe in today's world economy is under pressure. Emerging economies are pushing hard." Jeremy Fleming Read more with Euractiv Germans reject Commission's audit proposals Key German decision-makers last week (5 May) rejected the scope and content of a planned radical overhaul of corporate governance rules affecting auditors, due to be launched by the European Commission later this year. Subscribe now to our newsletter EU Elections Decoded Email Address * Politics Newsletters Positions "The 9th European Business Summit will focus on Europe's place in the global economy. How can Europe move from lagging to leading and what are the business opportunities where it can regain the lead?" said Philippe de Buck, BusinessEurope's director-general. He said: "The challenge ahead of us is immense. The position of Europe in today's world economy is under pressure. Emerging economies are pushing hard. Global challenges such as climate change, scarce natural resources, challenges of globalisation and demographic change put Europe further to the test." "Our message is clear: reform to perform. Europe must react to avoid economic decline. Europe – still the world's largest exporter – has 'leading' opportunities. The current recovery must pave the way for sustainable growth towards and beyond 2020. This growth must be based on knowledge and innovation and anchor a competitive, high-employment and green economy that can compete on the global stage," de Buck concluded. "The lack of STEM-skilled labour will be one of the main obstacles to economic growth in the coming years," said Jürgen Thumann, BusinessEurope's president, adding: "A stronger commitment and more joint efforts are needed from a broad range of stakeholders including governments and education providers at all levels." According to Thumann: "The action list for national governments includes re-orientating resources to STEM education, raising the attractiveness of such education by improving their quality and relevance, setting the right conditions for collaboration between business and education providers and attracting STEM-skilled workers from abroad. Moreover, the potential for EU-level co-operation could be better exploited, through intelligent use of programmes and instruments." "The strategies of governments in BRIC countries, the USA and South-East Asia demonstrate a determination to take part in the race towards a technological lead," Thumann said, concluding: "The question therefore arises – what makes the EU so sure it does not have to step up its efforts as well?" "European policymakers have so far been tardy to recognise the STEM skills shortage and its consequences, as well as to act on it. It seems there is a rather complacent belief that Europe performs well enough. As is shown in the paper, this is not the case. Instead it is high time to move out of the comfort zone and to explore new ways to improve the supply of STEM-skilled labour," he concluded. "The growing shortage of skilled labour is a problem that has been highlighted by AmCham EU member companies frequently in the past few years, most recently in a major study we launched in February on Europe's competitiveness in the global marketplace," said Susan Danger, managing director of AmCham EU. Danger added: "An improved skills base encourages innovation, better jobs and economic growth across Europe. Some of our senior business executives will again be raising this critical issue at the two-day European Business Summit." "The issue of skills is amongst the subjects of a survey of 300 managers we will be unveiling at the conference," according to Rudi Thomaes, CEO of the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium (FEB). He added: "Our survey also highlights the need for simplification of regulations for SMEs. We hope that there will be a good response at the summit to these chronic diseases that are affecting the continent. We also urgently need bridges to be built between the EU and emerging economies and it's time Catherine Ashton and her team at the External Action Service got their act together on this." Background Europe is facing an acute lack of highly educated and qualified workers in the fields of science, technology and engineering, which threatens to undermine the future economic competitiveness of the EU. The European Commission has identified 'green jobs' in areas related to clean and energy-efficient technologies, as well as 'white jobs' in the fields of health and social care, among the most promising sources of new jobs for the future. The 'Europe 2020' strategy, signed off by EU leaders in 2010, includes a target to increase the employment rate across all member states from its current level of around 69% to 75% by 2020. Achieving this target, which applies for both women and men between 20 and 64 years of age, will mean reducing the number of unemployed people in the EU from around 23 million (9.5% of the workforce) at the start of 2011 to less than 12 million (5% of the workforce) in 2020. 'An Agenda for New Skills and Jobs' is the name of a plan which sets out a series of 13 actions that the European Commission said it will take in order to support the efforts of member states to reduce unemployment (see EURACTIV LinksDossier 'New skills and jobs - Mind the gap'). Timeline 18 & 19 May: European Business Summit will convene at Tour & Taxis, Brussels Further ReadingIndustry federations and trade unions European Business SummitSummit web site AmCham EUReport: Europe 2020 - Competitive or Complacent? Press articles EURACTIV Hungary:A képzett munkások hiányán múlik Európa versenyképessége
