Skills mismatches, the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and the protection of workers’ health and safety are three major challenges reshaping Europe’s labor market, Greek Labor and Social Security Minister Niki Kerameus said during a meeting of European Union employment and social affairs ministers in Luxembourg.
Speaking at the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO), Kerameos outlined Greece’s position on the proposed Quality Jobs Act, which aims to strengthen the social dimension of Europe’s workplace. She called for closer links between vocational training and businesses’ actual needs, responsible use of new technologies and workplace safety standards that reflect changing employment conditions.
She stressed that labor market transformation must go hand in hand with meaningful opportunities for workers and safeguards that ensure their rights, dignity and well-being.
Closing Europe’s skills gap
Kerameos said Europe faces a growing mismatch between workers’ skills and employers’ needs, labor shortages and demographic pressures, challenges that are becoming more pronounced as artificial intelligence enters the workplace.
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“We must train better, earlier and based on evidence,” she said.
In Greece, she explained, a mechanism is used to identify labor market needs and develop targeted vocational training programs that respond to specific demand.
At the European level, she called for greater investment in the European Skills Observatory, better mapping of skills needs, improved interoperability between national systems that forecast workforce requirements, and closer alignment between vocational education and international labor market demands.
Harnessing AI while protecting workers
Kerameos said artificial intelligence offers significant opportunities to increase productivity, foster innovation and strengthen competitiveness.
The challenge, she argued, is to realize those benefits while ensuring that automation and AI do not come at the expense of workers’ rights.
“The Quality Jobs Act should develop legislation to promote transparency and human oversight across the wider labor market,” she said.
Her remarks emphasized the need to balance technological progress with protections for employees as new tools and forms of automation change how work is organized.
Updating workplace health and safety standards
The third priority is ensuring that European workplace health and safety standards keep pace with changing working conditions.
Kerameos said workers’ health and well-being must remain central as the nature of employment evolves. She also emphasized that employees should have opportunities to develop their skills, understand their rights and feel safe and respected at work.
The Quality Jobs Act, she said, should ensure these protections are delivered in practice rather than remaining commitments on paper.
“All workers should have the opportunity to develop their skills, know their rights and feel safe and respected at work,” she said, adding that this must become a reality for workers throughout Europe.