German Trade Union Confederation Congress - right to continuing education for all

"Company-based training and professional continuing education are key to employees being able to develop professionally in the digital and socio-ecological transformation," says Elke Hannack, deputy president of the DGB.

In sectors where changes are occurring as a result of the digital transition and the necessary restructuring with respect to climate neutrality and where new qualifications are required, the challenge being faced, she explains, is to create routes into new employment and work activities. "The employees must not be left to face the new demands alone," says Hannack.

"Equal training opportunities are the essentially the basis for enabling cultural, economic, democratic and social participation for all – and this also applies to continuing education. We therefore need a right to continuing education – to achieve greater participation by women and by those who, so far, have been given little opportunity to access retraining and continuing education offers," underlines the DGB deputy president.

Currently only 46 percent of unskilled and semi-skilled workers benefit from continuing education and training while the figure for skilled workers is 65 percent and as high as 76 percent for managers.

Even now there is a gap emerging between the genders in the area of digital understanding and participation in digital change – and it's the women and children who are losing out. For many employees, if nothing else it's the financial costs often associated with continuing education that represent a significant hurdle.