Page 22 - Learning-while-working-Success-stories-on-workplace-learning-in-Europe

Learning while working
16 Success stories on workplace learning in Europe

Practical pathways and strategies for flexicurity, including skill development,
need to adjust to national contexts, in particular to industrial relations systems,
so a one-size-fits-all approach could not be appropriate. Flexicurity, as an
integrated strategy that combines different policy measures, balances the
needs of workers – to update their skills, remain in employment or return to
employment – and the demand of companies for a better trained workforce
capable of coping with changes in the workplace.

‘A high degree of flexibility and adaptability is in the interest of both employers and employees.
Workers also need flexibility to be able to combine work and private responsibilities. Companies
need flexibility to anticipate and respond to changing market demands and circumstances.
At the same time, security, in a dynamic perspective, is not just a matter of protecting the
worker against losing his or her job. It is about building and preserving people’s ability to
enter, remain and progress in employment throughout the life cycle. It is about security for
companies to preserve and improve their market position, the loyalty of their workforce and
their productivity and job creation potential within an increasingly competitive environment’
(Expert Group on Flexicurity, 2007, p. 13).

Ensuring both a flexible labour market and high levels of security will only
be effective if workers are given the means to adapt to structural changes, to
stay in the labour market and to make progress in their working life, through
active labour market policies, lifelong learning and equal opportunities (Council
of the European Union, 2007). As stated in the 2009 Joint employment report,
whether the expected economic recovery will result in substantial creation
of new jobs or ‘jobless growth’ will largely depend on successful strategies
to equip individuals and companies to meet structural challenges (Council
of the European Union, 2010). Being able to adapt to market demands and
being innovative are prerequisites for companies to survive in competitive
and rapidly evolving environments, for which they need to have the right skills
available. This calls for greater synergies between innovation, enterprise
development and training policies, and for bringing to the fore continuing
training and learning opportunities in the workplace.

1.3. Skill development and workplace learning:
transversal policy priorities

Major European and international policy initiatives on lifelong learning,
such as the European Commission’s Communication on lifelong learning
(European Commission, 2001) and UNESCO declarations on adult learning