Towards an improved adult learning monitoring framework. Revisiting the available data and indicators

Adult education is recognised as an essential driver of economic growth and social development within the European Union and has been a political priority for nearly two decades. It is deemed to play a pivotal role to create better jobs in Europe, improve quality of life and promote individual development, personal fulfillment and active citizenship. A number of Commission initiatives in the recent past have underscored the importance of adult learning. In particular, the European Pillar of Social Rights, proclaimed and signed by the Council of the EU, the European Parliament and the Commission during the Gothenburg Social Summit for fair jobs and growth announced the right to quality and inclusive education, training, and life-long learning as its very first principle. In addition, as part of the Education and Training 2020 (ET2020) strategy, EU Member States have agreed on a common target to increase participation in adult learning in the EU. Fostering adult learning is now more important than ever because of three concurrent factors: technological change, population ageing and global migration flows. Technological change, and in particular automation and digitisation, affecting the world of work by altering or erasing certain tasks, often the most repetitive and standardised, and creating new ones. Adult and learning is essential to ensure that workers, and especially older ones, are equipped with the necessary skills throughout their lifetime, so that they can thrive in a constantly changing labour market. Similarly, in the context of population ageing, adult learning and continuing education become crucial as they can provide older people with the capabilities they need to stay in work well into their sixties and seventies. Finally, adult learning has a central role to play in a context of international migration, since it can be a tool to support the linguistic, social and cultural integration of immigrants. . The "Education and Training 2020" (ET 2020) strategic framework is a crucial tool to monitor participation in adult learning; it set the average participation rate in adult learning at 15% of the population aged 25-64 by 2020. Yet, so far, only a few Member States have reached the benchmark. Furthermore, to underpin the adult learning target and support its monitoring within the European Semester, in 2018 Member States approved a comprehensive framework, developed by the Commission, for benchmarking adult skills and adult learning systems in the EU,. This report aims to reflect on the performance of the existing ET 2020 benchmark on adult participation in learning, by comparing cross-country patterns of participation using different sources of data. In particular, this report provides empirical evidence on participation in adult learning, with a specific focus on different subgroups, such as older people or others belonging to groups that are traditionally excluded from learning, which are identified as a priority by the European Council’s “Renewed European Agenda for Adult Learning” (EEAL). The report also discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the current data source used to create the indicators, i.e. the EU Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) and extended coverage of adult learning in the EU-LFS as of 2022, enabling improved indicators, and further introduces the possibility to create other indicators based on different, complementary data sources, such as the Adult Education Survey (AES), the Continuing Vocational Training Survey (CVTS), the OECD Survey on Adult Skills (PIAAC), and others.JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen

ICT-Enabled Social Innovation - Evidence & Prospective

This report presents the results of the JRC-led research on ‘ICT-enabled Social Innovation to support the implementation of the Social Investment Package’ (IESI) conducted in partnership with the Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. The IESI research is set out to help policymakers and practitioners use ICT-enabled social innovation to modernise welfare systems, provide better and more efficient social services, and ultimately increase the wellbeing and quality of life of citizens. The original research design, its theoretical framework and empirical findings contribute to the growing scientific interest on ICT-enabled social innovation in the field of social policy reforms, within the scope of the implementation of the social investment approach. Based on the analysis of evidence gathered through a documented collection of initiatives across the EU, the research also advances a proposal for developing a methodological framework to assess the social and economic impact of ICT enabled social innovation. The approach proposed is expected to support policymakers and relevant stakeholders in designing, monitoring and evaluating ICT-enabled social innovation initiatives, which could be transferred, scaled-up and replicated across Europe. Insights from the research contribute to the policy debate on the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the future of the Welfare State in the EU.JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen

The COVID confinement measures and EU labour markets

This paper assesses the potential impact of the early 2020 COVID confinement measures on EU labour markets, on the basis of an analysis of the restrictions on economic activity imposed in three EU Member States (Italy, Spain and Germany). Following the legislative measures adopted, we classify all economic sectors into different categories according to the likely impact of the COVID crisis, and compare the share of employment that is likely to be strongly affected in each country. Once this is done, we apply these categories of sectors to recent data on EU employment and estimate the groups of workers that would be more or less affected by the economic lockdown measures. Finally, we use all this information to speculate about possible mid-term developments and broader socio-economic implications of the COVID crisis in Europe.JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen

Platform Workers in Europe Evidence from the COLLEEM Survey

The recent surge of digital labour platforms has led to new forms of work organisation and tasks distribution across the workforce. This has raised several questions about the functioning and the benefits deriving from the reorganisation of work that those platforms entail and the associated risks. The European Commission assessed online platforms in a May 2016 communication, focusing on both their innovation opportunities and regulatory challenges. In June 2016 the Commission also adopted its European Agenda for the Collaborative Economy, which clarified the concept and provided some guidance on the employment status of platform workers and the EU definition of worker. The European Pillar of Social Rights aims to address some of the policy challenges associated to new forms of employment, including platform work. As accompanying initiatives, the Commission presented in December 2017 a proposal for a new Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions, and in March 2018 a proposal for a Council Recommendation on access to social protection for workers and the self-employed. A crucial issue in designing the policy response to the emergence of digital labour platforms is the lack of reliable evidence. In 2017, the JRC conducted the COLLEEM pilot survey , an initial attempt to provide quantitative evidence on platform work, responding to calls by the European Council and the European Parliament. The survey provides a basis for an initial estimation of platform work in 14 Member States . How many platform workers are there in Europe? The COLLEEM survey contains a direct measure of service provision via platforms by the respondents in 14 EU Member States. It asks whether the respondent has ever gained income from different online sources, among which there are two corresponding to labour service platforms: "providing services via online platforms, where you and the client are matched digitally, payment is conducted digitally via the platform and the work is location-independent, web-based" and "providing services via online platforms, where you and the client are matched digitally, and the payment is conducted digitally via the platform, but work is performed on-location". Estimates indicate that on average 10% of the adult population has ever used online platforms for the provision of some type of labour services. However, less than 8% do this kind of work with some frequency, and less than 6% spend a significant amount of time on it (at least 10 hours per week) or earn a significant amount of income (at least 25% of the total). Main platform workers are defined as those who earn 50% or more of their income via platforms and/or work via platforms more than 20 hours a week. They account for about 2% of the adult population on average. There are significant differences across countries: the UK has the highest incidence of platform work. Other countries with high relative values are Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Italy. By contrast, Finland, Sweden, France, Hungary and Slovakia show very low values compared to the rest. Who are the platform workers? The typical European platform worker is a young male, educated to a degree level. The proportion of women decreases as the intensity of platform work increases. There is, however, substantial heterogeneity across countries. The fact that most platform workers are highly educated is not surprising given that to be able to provide services via platform one needs to be a savvy internet user, and internet use tends to be correlated with higher education. Despite conventional wisdom, a typical platform worker is likely to have a family and kids. Furthermore, regardless of age, platform workers tend to have fewer years of labour market experience than the average worker. Employment status of platform workers The employment status of platform workers is a controversial issue and one of the most relevant from a policy perspective. Estimates from the COLLEEM survey reveal that when asked about their current employment situation, 75.7 % of the platform workers claimed to be an employee (68.1%) or self-employed (7.6%). A first possibility is that platform workers also have a regular job as employees or self-employed (in a more traditional sense) and are therefore covered by standard employment legislation. A second possibility is that platform workers are not really sure of their employment status and may see themselves as employees, only because they provide a certain type of service with regularity through the same platform. This is surprising because in most cases the providers of labour services via platforms are formally independent contractors rather than employees, but it also reflects the uncertainty surrounding this issue in policy and even legal debates around Europe. In short, the labour market status of platform workers remains unclear, even to themselves. Interviewed platform workers declared themselves to be self-employed (as main or side job) in 54% of the cases, while a large minority (38 %) claim to be an employee. What types of services are provided and coordinated via labour platforms? Labour services provided by digital labour platforms can be broadly distinguished as services performed digitally (i.e. micro tasks, clerical and data entry, etc.) or services performed on-location (i.e. transport, delivery, housekeeping, etc.). On average half of the overall platform workers perform both digital and on-location services. According to the level of skills required by different services we can distinguish between: i) professional services (high skills); ii) non-professionals services (medium skills) and iii) on-location services (low skills). The majority of platform workers provide more than one type of services, and are active on two or more platforms, often combining high- and low skilled activities, suggesting that some platform workers may be reducing income risk (and possibly increasing variety in work). The most common labour service provided is 'online clerical and data entry'. However, the largest proportion of platform workers provides professional services. Gender also influences the type of services provided: 'software development' and 'transport' are the most male dominated services. By contrast, 'translation' and 'on-location services' are the mostly female dominated ones. The market for digital services is global and this may lead to some specialisation on services provided for some countries. The majority of the services do not show much variety across countries; however some country patterns could be identified. Slovakia and Croatia appear to specialise in services that require a low-medium level of education. Romania is amongst the top countries for the provision of non-professionals services The Netherlands mostly provides services that require high digital skills such as software and interactive. One third of platform workers have a mismatch between the lower-skilled tasks they perform and their high level of education/skills. What are the motivations and conditions of platform work? Flexibility and autonomy are frequently mentioned motivations for platform work, but these results should be interpreted cautiously: the lack of alternatives is also mentioned as an important motive for working on platforms. The conditions of platform work are more polarised than those of regular workers. Working conditions for platform workers appear to be flexible, but also intense. Platform work can be arduous and, for some workers, involving long hours. Key policy implications The implications of digital labour platforms for work and employment are ambivalent. On the one hand, they can lower the entry barriers to the labour market, facilitate work participation through better matching procedures and ease the working conditions of specific groups (i.e. workers with strong family responsibilities, people with disabilities or health conditions, youth, people not in education, employment or training – NEETs -, older workers, long-term unemployed, people with a migrant background). On the other hand, digital labour platforms typically rely on a workforce of independent contractors whose conditions of employment, representation and social protection are at best unclear, at worst clearly unfavourable. The status of platform workers is probably the most complex policy issue at stake. The actual nature of the employment relationship is nebulous in most cases. This is particularly problematic because employment status is key for access to social security, training entitlements and coverage by legislation on working conditions. Therefore the need for a clarification of the employment status of platform workers appears obvious. The findings presented in this report suggest an emerging phenomenon of increasing importance but still modest in size. If platform work remains significant but small in the future, a two-pronged policy response is likely to suffice, focusing on (i) fully grasping its job creation and innovation opportunities and (ii) adjusting existing labour market institutions and welfare systems to the new reality and mitigating its potentially negative consequences for working careers and working conditions. Examples of this are the proposal for a directive on transparent and predictable working conditions, and the proposal for a Council Recommendation on access to social protection for workers and the self-employed in the social fairness package adopted by the Commission on 13 March 2018 as well as the targeted legislative measures adopted by some countries. However, if platform work continues to grow in size and importance to become a more significant reality in our labour markets, or if some of the key features of platform work spread across other forms of employment as already seem to be happening in some cases, policy interventions may need to be of a more ambitious nature. Indeed, a scenario of general "platformisation" of labour markets and working conditions would require a profound rethinking of labour market institutions and welfare systems. Furthermore, a scenario in which there would be a significant increase in the provision of digitally performed platform work - people providing professional and non-professional labour services from their own places of origin - might lead to more opportunities for people to provide professional and non-professional labour services from their own places of origin – on-location services excluded - through a digital single market. A serious challenge in this scenario is the increased exposure of workers to global competition. From the regulatory point of view, the categories catering for the specificities of platform workers might be in need for a review. In a labour market with more unstable working careers, a wider use of schemes based on personal accounts for workers' entitlements might be required. From the social protection point of view, progress towards insurance models not based on employment status could be necessary.JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen

Digital Transformation in Transport, Construction, Energy, Government and Public Administration

This report provides an analysis of digital transformation (DT) in a selection of policy areas covering transport, construction, energy, and digital government and public administration. DT refers in the report to the profound changes that are taking place in all sectors of the economy and society as a result of the uptake and integration of digital technologies in every aspect of human life. Digital technologies are having increasing impacts on the way of living, of working, on communication, and on social interaction of a growing share of the population. DT is expected to be a strategic policy area for a number of years to come and there is an urgent need to be able to identify and address current and future challenges for the economy and society, evaluating impact and identifying areas requiring policy intervention. Because of the very wide range of interrelated domains to be considered when analysing DT, a multidisciplinary approach was adopted to produce this report, involving experts from different domains. For each of the four sectors that are covered, the report presents an overview of DT, DT enablers and barriers, its economic and social impacts, and concludes with the way forward for policy and future research.JRC.B.6-Digital Econom

New evidence on platform workers in Europe: Results from the second COLLEEM survey

Digital labour platforms are a new form of coordinating the provision of labour services enabled by the latest technological revolution. Many authors claim that digital labour platforms have the potential to disrupt the world of work, both positively by boosting participation in the labour market through better matching procedures, and negatively by circumventing regulation and lowering the quality of employment. To assess the impact of digital labour platforms on employment and on working conditions, we need precise estimates of the number of people doing platform work; in addition we need information on what type of services they provide, how frequently these services are provided, how much money is earned as a result of this provision and so on. At the same time, when we talk about the impact of digital labour platforms on working conditions, it is imperative to understand whether platform work is just a side gig as it is often claimed, or whether it represents a major source of income and for whom. Thus, we need to ascertain the regularity, time allocated and income generated from platform work, as well as the employment status of platform workers, since this will provide information as to whether they have other forms of social protection from other jobs. In 2017, the JRC conducted the COLLEEM pilot survey, an initial attempt to provide quantitative evidence on platform work. This report builds on previous findings and contributes by describing the results of the second wave of COLLEEM (2018).JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen

Digital Labour Platforms in Europe: Numbers, Profiles, and Employment Status of Platform Workers

This report explores three issues related to the growing phenomenon of Digital Labour Platforms: firstly, how to measure platform work as a form of employment incorporating elements such as regularity of provision, time allocated and income generated; on this basis, and drawing on a new dedicated survey (COLLEEM), the article quantifies and categorises platform work into sporadic, secondary and main. Secondly, it provides an empirical investigation of the association between individual characteristics, such as gender, age, family composition, education and motivation, and the probability of carrying out particular types of platform work, such as microtasking, creative services, software development, transportation and so on. The analysis highlights substantial heterogeneity in the attributes and motivations of the workers performing different tasks. Finally, it discusses the employment status of platform workers and provides some descriptive statistics suggesting that a large share of platform workers perceive themselves as employees, even though they are in most cases legally considered self-employed.JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen

The changing nature of work and skills in the digital age

This report aims to shed light on some of the key drivers which are worth taking into account when assessing the effect of new technologies on the future of work and skills. It combines a synthesis of the most recent and robust scientific evidence available with original JRC research on issues which have been often overlooked by existing studies. In particular, the report provides new insights on the interplay between automation and work organisation, the extent and nature of platform work, and the patterns of occupational changes across EU regions. The first chapter discusses the impact of technology on employment. It overviews the most recent estimates on technology-induced job creation and destruction, and provides new insights on the role of workplace organisation in shaping the effect of new technologies on labour markets. The second chapter discusses how skills needs are shifting towards digital and non-cognitive skills, showing evidence of an increasing shortage of these skills in the EU, which education systems are not fully tackling yet. The third chapter reviews the opportunities and challenges related to the recent upwards trend in new forms of employment in the EU, focusing on the results of the second wave of the COLLEEM survey on platform work in the EU. The final chapter presents results from a new JRC-Eurofound study on the patterns of occupational change in EU regions in the last 15 years which shows that low-wage jobs have increasingly concentrated in peripheral regions while higher-wage jobs are becoming more and more concentrated in capital regions, leading to increasing territorial disparities, both across and within EU Member States.JRC.B.7-Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growt