Future Skills & Work-life

Future Skills & Work-life

We firmly believe in the right to continuing professional development for everyone. This ensures a workforce that can acquire and maintain the skills they need to stay on the job market. 

A healthy work-life balance is as crucial as competencies. It helps keep the workforce motivated and productive, laying the foundation for sustainable success.  

The role of engineers and STEM professionals

The green and digital transition in the Nordic region hinges on upskilling our existing workforce. With the number of engineers already in employment far exceeding the output of new students, investing in the reskilling of the existing workforce will have an immediate and significant impact.  

Engineers and STEM professionals can now work practically anywhere and at any time. This increased flexibility creates new opportunities for work-life balance, but it also poses challenges and risks to the well-being and health of employees, that require actions from employers, unions, and legislators. 

ANE’s approach  

We are actively engaged in policy influencing at both the Nordic and EU levels. Our future-focused priorities include:  

  • Establishing a Nordic Forum to identify and address the STEM skills gap and promote cross-border collaboration.  
  • Enhancing the education system to produce more specialists in STEM fields. 
  • Boosting STEM education in primary and secondary schools to make it more appealing to younger generations.  
  • Supporting and incentivizing lifelong learning opportunities. We advocate for the removal of legislative barriers that hinder the development of flexible and agile lifelong learning offerings. 
  • Mitigating the risks associated with limitless work by shifting the responsibility from employees to employers, unions and legislators.  
Any work that ANE undertakes will always consider the impact on equality, diversity, and sustainability. We have a special focus on creating better conditions for women and young people to succeed in STEM careers.