Commissioners Breton and Schmit host Pact for Skills roundtable with Aerospace and Defence executives

This morning, Commissioners Breton and Schmit chaired a high-level roundtable on the Pact for Skills with the Aerospace and Defence manufacturing sector. This roundtable is the third in a series of sectorial roundtables. The Pact was announced under the European Skills Agenda adopted by the Commission on 1 July 2020. The objective of the Pact is to provide a framework to mobilise all relevant stakeholders – industrial, social, regional and education partners – to assist people in developing the right skill-set for a sustainable, social and resilient recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Partnerships established under the Pact will benefit from Commission support such as a partnership platform and advice on EU funding options. The Aerospace and Defence sector has been identified as an important industrial ecosystem to partner up with under the Pact due to the severe consequences of the pandemic, the strong engagement from the industrial players as well as its progress under the current Blueprint of Sectoral Cooperation on Skills initiative. Upskilling (improving existing skills) and reskilling (training in new skills) are important drivers for the recovery from the pandemic and for the long-term restructuring of the sector. The meeting showed a strong and positive commitment to work together to ensure the reskilling and upskilling of workers in the European Aerospace and Defence industry.