Education & lifelong learning

Sixty-six million people aged 25-64 in the EU have not gone beyond lower secondary education and do not even possess the minimum level of literacy and numeracy skills. Besides, only 1 in 10 of all 25 to 64 year olds in the EU-28 participated in education or training. At the same time, due to digitalisation and technological evolutions, work is becoming more and more complex and is requiring new (clusters of) skills that change continuously.

In this context, the European economy is confronted with important mismatches between the workforce qualifications and the skills needed by companies. As skill mismatches are the most prevalent cause of shortages, a permanent focus on training is crucial. It already starts with initial education and participation of students in apprenticeships and traineeships as this can ease the transition from education and training to work.

To meet these challenges, we advise policy makers and stakeholders on diverse actions to equip people with the right skills so they can find quality jobs.