Commission launches plan to bridge the skills gap

Today, the European Commission has officially launched the Union of Skills, a key component of the Pact for European Social Dialogue. This initiative, unveiled at the EU Social Forum 2025 by Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs, and Preparedness, aims to enhance skills development, workforce mobility, and job quality across the European Union.

The Union of Skills is the result of a consultation process that incorporated feedback from previous forums and stakeholder discussions. Vice-President Mînzatu emphasised that this initiative is a “living product” continuously evolving based on real-world needs and new labour market challenges.

At the heart of the Union of Skills is the commitment to “Skilling Europe”—ensuring that European workers are equipped with the necessary competencies to navigate a rapidly changing labour landscape. The initiative is structured around four key pillars:

1. Enhancing Basic Skills: Recognizing the urgent need to address foundational skills gaps, the Commission is expanding the Basic Skills Package with the Basic Skills Action Plan and a STEM Education Strategic Plan. A pilot support scheme will be launched to help young people and adults improve their basic skills over the medium to long term, in collaboration with Member States and education providers.
2. Reskilling and Upskilling for Disruptions: With rapid technological and industrial shifts, Europe must ensure that its workforce can quickly adapt. This pillar focuses on developing responsive training programs tailored to the needs of businesses and workers, supporting mid-career transitions and lifelong learning.
3. Facilitating Labor Market Mobility: The Union of Skills aims to make it easier for workers to move across the EU by streamlining the recognition of qualifications from one EU country to another. The upcoming Skills Portability Initiative, set to launch in 2026, will address the bureaucratic challenges related to cross-border diploma and skill recognition. The Commission will also work towards a potential European VET diploma for vocational education and training.
4. Attracting and Retaining Global Talent: As Europe faces demographic shifts and sectoral job deficits, the Union of Skills includes measures to attract highly skilled workers from outside the EU. The EU Talent Pool will help match job seekers from third countries with employment opportunities within the Union, complemented by targeted efforts to support underrepresented groups, including women and Roma communities. The initiative includes pilot scholarships for researchers from non-EU countries, making it easier for top global talent to contribute to Europe’s economy. The Commission will also launch “Choose Europe”, a pilot program with a €22.5 million budget aimed at offering job prospects and study and employment conditions for non-EU nationals.

A robust governance structure underpins the Union of Skills, ensuring that policies remain dynamic and responsive. The newly established European Skills High-Level Board will engage industry leaders, educational institutions, and policymakers in shaping the future of workforce development. Additionally, the creation of an EU Skills Intelligence Observatory, administered by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), will provide real-time data to anticipate skills shortages and inform policy decisions. 

Commissioner Mînzatu highlighted that “the success of every person in learning, at work and in life, is essential for competitiveness and for a stable and resilient Union,” and announced that the Commission intends to introduce a new recommendation on education and skills to provide guidance to Member States and address the problem of fragmented funding for the sector.

The Union of Skills was a much-awaited initiative from the stakeholders in the education and training community and has received different reactions as it expected to chart the EU strategy on education and training up until 2030. However, it is only in an inception phase, which will be followed with extensive consultations with stakeholders on how to achieve this vision. We, at BRIGHTskills, will be closely following its next steps and get involved in its development.

Read the official press release here: A Union of Skills to equip people for a competitive Europe.

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Image copyright: EC Executive Vice-President, Roxana Mînzatu, source: EC Audiovisual Services (2025)