Skills between reality and misconceptions: what they can (and cannot) solve

Cinzia Alcidi and Laura Nurski

Chapter 8 in Technology, Globalisation and Migration, 2025, pp 141-154 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: There is a need to better understand the potential and the misconceptions surrounding upskilling, reskilling, and broader skill development. While skills have taken centre stage in the EU policy debate, misunderstandings about their role persist. First, skills are fundamentally about people, and as such, they play a crucial role in fostering innovation-driven competitiveness. Innovation is not just about capital; it is also shaped by people and the places in which they work. Second, skills have the potential to support social mobility and reduce labour market inequalities. However, while skilling can improve access to opportunities, it alone cannot resolve deeper structural inequalities. Finally, skills should not be seen as fixed assets but as dynamic capabilities that evolve over time. Education and training are important, but skills are primarily shaped through work environments. This has important implications for the design of skill policies and their intended purpose.

Keywords: Skills; Competitiveness; Innovation; Inequality; Workplace (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035373642
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781035373659.00016 (application/pdf)
Our link check indicates that this URL is bad, the error code is: 403 Forbidden

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:24995_8

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.e-elgar.com

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Jack Sweeney ().