A program to invest in employees' skills and secure their career paths
The Minister of Labor, Employment and Social and Solidarity Economy, Nicolas Schmit, and the Secretary of State for the Economy, Francine Closener, accompanied by Isabelle Schlesser, Director of ADEM, present program Digital Skills Bridge, which aims to support companies and their employees.
Their activity will be deeply affected by a major technological change towards a new organization and jobs transformed by this digital change. Companies interested in participating in the Luxembourg Digital Skills Bridge pilot project will find all the relevant information related to the program as well as an application file (deadline 25 May 2018) to download on the initiative's website: www.skillsbridge.lu.
The digital and technological transformations affect all companies and all trades, with varying degrees of impact: automation of production lines in the industry, introduction of blockchain technologies for the management of remittances in the banking sector, bank detail … – the examples are numerous. The organization of work is weakly, moderately or completely modified.
Invest in the skills and trades of tomorrow
The Luxembourg Digital Skills Bridge program is launched today by the Ministry of Labor, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy. This is a pilot project for employees whose jobs are being transformed or at risk of disappearing. It aims to anticipate the impact of these technological developments on skills and employment. The program offers these employees the opportunity to invest in new skills, both digital and transversal, through new generations of training. They will be accompanied individually throughout the process by specialized advisers. This preventative approach anticipating changes allows both the company and the employees to adapt. Training offered by the professional chambers in these areas may contribute to this.
"This pilot project will be implemented in close collaboration with ADEM. It fits in perfectly with the various initiatives that have been put in place for the training of jobseekers. The novelty is that it is here to fight against unemployment in a preventive way by allowing employees to acquire the new skills they need to be able to respond to the transformation of the labor market!"
A program open to all companies
The pilot project is part of the existing legislative framework. It is aimed at all companies, regardless of the sector of activity or their size. Small and medium-sized businesses will benefit from the same tools and methodologies as larger companies. These will be adapted to their specific needs – which will facilitate their transformation.
At the heart of the digital revolution is the development of skills. Each employee will have to access it with the objective of securing jobs and career paths.
The benefits for all involved
Luxembourg Digital Skills Bridge represents a major innovation in qualifying and certifying continuing education.
The employee benefits from a skills report. An individual advisor accompanies him throughout the process, from the identification of a new position through accelerated continuous training, tailor-made (and certifying) until integration into the new function. His career is secure whether he stays in the company or takes up a new job outside of it. The mechanisms provided for by the Social Dialogue Act as well as those provided for the Retention Plan will apply and will thus ensure the involvement of employees and social partners in the requalification process implemented with a view to technological transformation.
The development of specialized training courses and meeting the specific needs of each company will allow it to have, at least in part, the skills required among its own employees. Each company also benefits from technical assistance to plan its forecast management of jobs and skills as closely as possible.
"The Luxembourg Digital Skills Bridge strengthens the social dimension of the digitalisation of our economy while being complementary to the efforts and programs of the Ministry of the Economy to support companies in the digital transition."
