The post-lisbon discourse on skill mismatches and competence upgrading

The aim of this chapter is to examine EU policy-making processes and agenda. In particular, part I focuses on the EU “regulatory ideal” for competence development that emerges from key policy documents, i.e., working papers, reports, communications, directives and resolutions, issued by the institutional triangle in settings for competence development in the wake of the Lisbon Strategy. My main argument is that the emerging EU “regulatory ideal” for competence development is grounded on a simplified account of the social problem it aims to address. This account does not pay due consideration, for instance, to possible mismatches between generic requirements for a perfect skills match and specific individual needs for learning and working opportunities. In order to support my argument, part II discusses key contextual factors that characterize the institutional shaping of European labour markets. The investigation, limited to older Members States, is undertaken in the light of existing empirical studies. These studies highlight, among other aspects, the existence of differences in ways in which skills and competences are being assessed and valued in national labour markets. As a result of the analysis, I claim that, by subjugating learning processes to strictly economic principles, the EU’s “regulatory ideal” for competence development may have unanticipated effects on societal wellbeing, which are not being given adequate attention from either a policy or from a research perspective. In the concluding section, the main results are summarised and their implications for comparative and international research discussed.