European net-zero industry academies
1. Based on an assessment, by the Commission, using existing data and reports, of skills shortages in net-zero technology industries key for the industrial transformation and decarbonisation, and fully respecting the competence of Member States in the field of education and training, the Commission shall support, including through the provision of seed-funding, the launch of European net-zero industry academies (the ‘Academies’), as organisations or consortia or projects of relevant stakeholders, which have the following objectives:
(a)
developing, for voluntary use by Member States and education and training providers on their territories, learning programmes, content and learning and training materials for training and education, such as on developing, producing, installing, commissioning, operating, maintaining, repairing, ecodesigning, re-using and recycling net-zero technologies, and on raw materials as well as relevant occupational health and safety aspects and transversal competences; this shall reflect the assessment of skills shortages and support the capacities of public authorities, in particular those competent to issue permits and authorisations referred to in Chapter II and contracting authorities and contracting entities referred to in Chapter IV of this Regulation;
(b)
promoting the voluntary use of the learning programmes, content and materials by education and training providers in the Member States;
(c)
offering support to the education and training providers that use the learning programmes, content and materials produced by the Academies to uphold the quality of the training offered and to develop mechanisms to ensure the quality of the training offered;
(d)
developing credentials, including, if appropriate, micro-credentials, for voluntary use by Member States and education and training providers on their territories, in order to facilitate the identification of skills and, where appropriate, the recognition of qualifications, to enhance the transferability between jobs and industries, to facilitate the cross-border mobility of the workforce, to promote matching with relevant quality jobs through tools such as the European network of employment services (EURES) and EURAXESS, and to ensure visibility of the fact that a learning programme or learning content was developed by an Academy.
2. The Academies shall involve relevant actors, such as net-zero technology industry, education and training providers and social partners from a range of Member States. The Academies shall develop action plans setting out, among others, milestones, targets including in terms of number of learners to be based on the assessment of skills shortages, as well as a financial plan aiming to achieve financial sustainability. Those action plans shall pay particular attention to regions in industrial transformation or with a high rate of unemployment, where relevant.
3. The Academies shall produce gender-balanced content, contribute to counter gender stereotypes and promote equal access to learning contents for all, paying particular attention to the need to activate more women and young people, in particular NEETs, older people, workers in professions which are at risk of disappearing or the content and tasks of which are being highly transformed by new technologies, people working in regions in transition and persons with disabilities. The Academies shall promote diversity and the inclusivity of people with disability, migrants and people in vulnerable situations.
4. Without prejudice to the respective powers of the budgetary authority, financial means shall be made available where appropriate at Union level to support the launch of the Academies with seed-funding as referred to in paragraph 1. In addition, Member States are encouraged to make use of relevant Union funds such as ESF+, to support the deployment of the learning content developed by the Academies.
Regulated professions in the net-zero technology industries and recognition of professional qualifications
1. Within nine months after the completion of the learning content and materials developed by an Academy and every two years thereafter, Member States shall strive to identify whether the learning programmes developed by that Academy are equivalent to the specific qualifications required by the host Member State to access regulated activities within the scope of a profession with particular interest for the net-zero technology industry in that Member State. Member States shall ensure that the results of the assessments are made public and easily accessible online. In the event that the learning programmes are deemed not to be equivalent to the qualifications required by the host Member State to access regulated activities, or where a Member State has not sought to identify equivalence, that Member State shall inform the Platform, providing relevant information on:
(a)
the reasoning for not completing the identification exercise; or
(b)
the differences between the learning programmes developed by the Academies and the specific qualifications required by that host Member State, and how to achieve equivalence.
2. If a Member State concludes that the learning programmes developed by an Academy are equivalent to the specific qualifications required by the host Member State to access regulated activities, it shall facilitate the recognition of credentials issued by education and training providers on the basis of the learning programmes developed by the Academy, under Title III, Chapter I of Directive 2005/36/EC, where a holder of such a credential requests access to a regulated profession within the meaning of Article 3(1), point (a), of Directive 2005/36/EC, and of particular importance for the net-zero technology industry, by treating the credential as sufficient evidence of formal qualifications, in accordance with Article 11 of Directive 2005/36/EC.
3. Where access to a profession of particular importance for the net-zero technology industry is regulated within the meaning of Article 3(1), point (a), of Directive 2005/36/EC, Member States shall work towards developing a common set of minimum knowledge, skills and competences necessary for the pursuit of that specific profession for the purpose of establishing a common training framework as referred to in Article 49a(1) of Directive 2005/36/EC to enable automatic recognition of qualifications. The Platform may also submit suggestions for common training frameworks, as referred to in Article 49a(3) of Directive 2005/36/EC.
Net-Zero Europe Platform and skills
The Platform shall support and supplement the action of Member States in the deployment of skills in net-zero technologies, while respecting their competence, by advising and assisting the Commission and Member States, including competent authorities, and contracting authorities and contracting entities, as referred to in Chapters II and IV, by means of the following:
(a)
assessing, continuously monitoring and forecasting the demand and supply of a workforce with the skill sets needed in net-zero technologies and the availability and uptake of corresponding education and training opportunities, for the purpose of informing the activities of the Academies, as appropriate;
(b)
monitoring the activity of the Academies, on the basis of the data and information on how many people have benefited from the learning programmes developed by the Academies, including disaggregated data by industrial sector, gender, age and level of education and qualification, fostering synergies with Union and national skills initiatives and projects, and strengthening and scaling up good practices, inter alia, to attract a diverse workforce and provide general oversight;
(c)
analysing the root causes of labour and skills shortages, on the basis of existing insights and data, including those related to the quality of the job offer, thus assessing whether additional measures are needed to attract more workers of all qualification levels in certain industries;
(d)
assisting the mobilisation of stakeholders including industry, undertakings including SMEs, social partners and education and training providers, such as universities, for the promotion, and, in line with national practices, their possible participation in the roll-out of learning programmes developed by the Academies;
(e)
assisting the uptake of learning credentials developed by the Academies in the Member States to promote the identification of skills and, where relevant, recognition of qualifications and the matching of skills and jobs, inter alia, by promoting the validity and acceptance of the credentials throughout the labour market of the Union;
(f)
monitoring the uptake and recognition of learning credentials and contributing to providing solutions where issues of non-recognition are detected;
(g)
facilitating, where appropriate, the development of European occupation profiles, for the voluntary use by Member States, consisting of a common set of knowledge, skills and competences for key professions in the net-zero technologies, drawing inter alia upon the learning programmes developed by the Academies, and, where appropriate, using the terminology provided by the European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations (ESCO) classification to facilitate transparency and mobility between jobs and across internal market borders;
(h)
promoting career prospects and quality working conditions, including adequate wages, in jobs in net-zero technology industries, integration in the labour market for net-zero technology industries of more women and young people, in particular NEETs, older people, workers in professions which are at risk of disappearing or the content and tasks of which are being highly transformed by new technologies, people working in regions in transition and persons with disabilities, and attracting skilled workers from third countries through instruments such as the European Blue Card and in accordance with national competences, law and practice, and thereby achieving a more diverse workforce;
(i)
encouraging and supporting labour mobility across the Union and promoting the publication of vacant positions related to net-zero technologies by EURES, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/589 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 58 ) ;
(j)
facilitating closer coordination and the exchange of best practices and knowhow between Member States and within the private sector to enhance the availability of skills in the net-zero technologies, including by contributing to Union and Member States policies to attract new talents from third countries and all educational levels, in accordance with national competences, law and practice and in coordination with the already existing structures of European cooperation in education and training;
(k)
looking for synergies with existing training or education programmes, with the aim, among others, of matching the learning programmes of the Academies with the needs of the Union’s industry.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
