Upskilling and reskilling for EU DEL – training staff for new ways of working!

Michael Steffens, Fabien Schaeffer

EU Delegations are the main conduit for the European Union’s external policies. They are only as strong as their staff who need to be upskilled and reskilled. A comprehensive training offer that meets future expectations is essential for EU Delegations around the globe. Regionalisation and the Global Gateway strategy together with the streamlining of investment projects require an updated skillset. How can the Commission ensure a training offer that promotes a smooth transition towards the skills that will be needed?

Colleagues in EU Delegations have shown remarkable resilience to various challenging situations: evacuations, restructuring of services, regionalization of functions and introduction of new working methods (COVID crisis), and of new working tools (OPSYS!). Our profiles must be flexible as we are expected more and more to adapt to a rapidly changing environment: many geopolitical challenges exist today, and they will grow especially when a powerful new American administration takes up office and will definitely affect EU external policy and all our work. With the introduction of investment projects, and the Global Gateway Strategy in particular, a new and different skillset will be required of staff working in EU Delegations.

Two critical Joint communications have been issued; “The Global Gateway” [JOIN(2021)30 final] and “Building sustainable international partnerships as a Team Europe” [JOIN(2024) 25 final]. These will apply to different degrees in DG INTPA and DG NEAR. In conjunction, they respond to a deficit in global infrastructure investment of €13 trillion by 2040. They position the EU and its member states as major donors to close this investment gap and to leverage private sector investments in key areas both in physical infrastructure and investment in education, skills and access to sustainable financing as well as regulatory support for technology transfer and knowledge sharing. The Global Gateway Strategy promotes “a conducive regulatory and business environment”, while promoting high social, environmental, and financial standards” and upholding “democracy, the rule of law and human rights”. This is referred to as the 360-degree approach, which aims for lasting investments that deliver impact in a variety of sectors including health, education, skills and access to sustainable financing.

The new strategy will be rolled out in key partnership areas: the digital sector, climate and energy, transport, health, education and research. The aim is to support smart, clean and secure investments in quality infrastructure. It is about connecting goods, people and services around the world in a sustainable manner. While EU Delegations can already rely on several colleagues that work on these sectors, the way aid will be delivered has been changing dramatically. More and more funds are channelled through the EFSD+ to combine different forms of financial support and to particularly bring financial guarantees into play. New programmes will be directed at implementing the European Green Deal and at jobs and growth. They will encourage closer cooperation between EU Delegations and the European Investment Bank (EIB) together with other financial institutions. These changes and new realities require an adjustment of the skillset in EU Delegations. More jobs will become available in this line of work. It is important that those contextual and structural changes are recognised and accompanied by an accessible and quality training offer for all staff.

Where staff need to upskill and reskill, the institutional training offer will be key as will the quality of the training. DG HR has indicated that the entire training package has been updated and categorised into training paths. There is now a self-learning course on the “EFSD+ for Dummies” on the INTPA Academy website; another course on the “EIB Global from DG INTPA Perspective” can also be accessed. However, there is clearly a need for all to better understand the practicality of innovation, connectivity, digitalization and sustainability; and ideally, all staff should master the instruments rolled out to support investment projects. It is important that both online and in-person suitable trainings are available and that colleagues from different categories are allowed to follow them. Rather than cuts, adequate budget must be allocated to upskilling needs otherwise, existing members of staff will become less competitive and may have difficulties in their current and future jobs.

Courses on the “circular economy” and on “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene” already feature on the EU learn catalogue. However, not all sectors flagged for investment initiatives are covered by the training catalogue. There is clearly a need as well to better understand the concepts of connectivity, digitalization and sustainability, and colleagues should understand how to further infrastructure development. At the same time, we need to sharpen the definition of the 360° approach, while also attributing importance to crosscutting issues such as human rights, gender equality and climate change. Relevant training courses need to be rolled out progressively to suit all time-zones and enable access for all.  Regionalisation will require upskilling and reskilling for certain staff and they should be given priority for all relevant training. Regional trainings should be organised to enable in-person training at a reduced cost and to encourage regional networking.

Training should be multi-dimensional and focus also on the “cultural” context of our work. Colleagues need to be trained on the social, economic, cultural and political dynamics in partner countries/region, and where feasible, offered trainings in the host country(ies)’ language. The introduction of new IT tools and extended use of AI will also require further trainings. OPSYS is a lesson for all. It will mature over time and may even blossom into an indispensable tool but let’s do things the right way and ensure that staff are fully trained in the future before launching new approaches, new tools!

Training should be holistic and include a multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral approach.  Staff need a menu of options and online training for EU DEL staff cannot be the only offer. EU DEL staff also need the option of in-person trainings, which allow for better sharing of knowhow, greater cohesion among colleagues, and the development of inter-delegations/institutions networks which are a paramount for the efficiency and quality of our day-to-day work.