2011 Position on an 'Agenda for new skills and jobs'

The Commission launched the flagship initiative by setting out 13 key actions aimed at reforming labour markets, upgrading skills and matching them with market demand. Ceemet welcomes the target to achieve by 2020 an employment rate for women and men of 75 % for the 20-64 years age group and agrees that the fact that the New Skills and Jobs Agenda reiterates the importance of strengthening flexicurity policies, recognises their positive effects during the crisis and proposes reinforcing its four components.

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Ceemet key messages

  • Ceemet is in particular very pleased that the European Commission has decided to explore and promote “enabling conditions for job creation” and will also look at the regulatory environment.
  • The European Commission rightly underlines the necessity to address administrative and legal obstacles to hiring and firing and to creating new businesses, as well as to look at ways to reduce non-wage labour costs and to move from undeclared work to regular employment.
  • MET employers would recommend that when looking at enabling conditions for job creation, the impact of labour law and components of labour-cost are included and carefully analysed in view of identifying positive and negative combinations.
  • Furthermore, Ceemet fully supports initiatives aimed at fostering entrepreneurship in society and in particular in education.
  • It is essential that employers are involved in developing these guiding principles. Ceemet would very much welcome the opportunity to partake in this work as well as in the Tripartite Social Forum to clarify how the European Social Partners can contribute to the growth, employment and competitiveness of Europe in the long run.

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