On 5 June 2023, Ceemet, represented by Oliver Zander, member of Ceemet Board of Directors and Director General of Gesamtmetall, met the Commissioners for Internal Market Thierry Breton and for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit to discuss the social aspects of the twin transition in the automotive industry. The meeting, organized by the European Commission, was an excellent opportunity for Ceemet to convey its messages on up-skilling and re-skilling policies, job-to-job transition measures and to refer to the concrete needs of our companies.
In his intervention, Oliver Zander reminded both Commissioners that Ceemet is a founding partner of the Automotive Skills Alliance and is also actively contributing to the co-creation of the Transition pathway for the mobility ecosystem which covers the automotive, rail shipbuilding and bicycle industries. In the frame of these discussions, social partners have proposed to:
- invest in STEM disciplines and put in place awareness raising campaigns to attract women and young people to STEM studies;
- put in place proper systems of anticipation of skills in order to design education and training programmes that are adapted to labour market and employability opportunities;
- develop well-functioning vocational education and training systems, as an essential tool to deliver the right set of skills needed by companies;
- and finally, invest in effective and well-designed career guidance for young people but also for workers in the framework of upskilling and reskilling policies.
But, beyond the skills dimension, Ceemet also advocates for the implementation of effective measures that facilitate job-to-job transitions especially targeted to those workers most affected by the twin transition. Companies, notably micro, small and medium size companies should receive support.
For all these measures, sectoral social partners and social dialogue obviously play a key role.
In his conclusion, Oliver Zander emphasized that Ceemet will remain committed to working with the Automotive Skills Alliance and to finalizing the co-creation of the Transition Pathway with the Commission and with all stakeholders from the mobility ecosystem.