Putting the human in ‘human capital’? A lifelong learning vision that responds to people’s needs

On 25 November, the usual Autumn package of documents for the European Semester, brought a new addition: the European Commission’s recommendation for a Council Recommendation on Human Capital. The Recommendation, announced in the Union of Skills Communication, is intended to motivate Member States to effectively combine public and private funding for targeted reforms. LLLPlatform welcomes the ambition to boost financial commitments in education and training. This is overdue for the heavily pressured education and training systems. The recent economic, social and environmental changes are increasing the pressure on education and training while funding is either decreasing or stagnating. However, the LLLPlatform questions the added value of such a proposal and its framing. We are concerned with a number of aspects that are addressed in this reaction, which are all underpinned by our Renewed Lifelong Learning Manifesto. It is clear that key and transversal competences are what learners all over the EU need, which require cross-sectoral cooperation models in lifelong learning (involving formal, non-formal and informal learning). However, the Commission seems to be stuck in traditional ways of viewing learning. As this Recommendation is approved with a fast-track procedure, we provide this Reaction as a blueprint for the next iteration of the Recommendation, as every year, a different angle on Human Capital will be considered under the European Semester.

Read the full statement here