Datasets

Understanding why young people choose - or do not choose - initial vocational education and training (IVET) is a persistent challenge for education and employment policy. Attractiveness is shaped by a complex mix of individual perceptions, family and peer influence, institutional factors, and broader societal, economic and labour market dynamics that existing analytical frameworks do not yet capture systematically. 

In preparation for the forthcoming EU VET Strategy, Cedefop has developed two complementary research resources that offer a well-rounded overview of the factors at play in IVET attractiveness. They map both the conceptual terrain of IVET attractiveness and the indicators available to understand what drives it from a demographic and labour market perspective.

The Cedefop Skills Forecast offers projections of future employment trends by sector, occupation, and education, using international data for cross-country comparisons up to 2035.

The Short-term anticipation of skills trends and VET demand data (STAS) produces short-term projections of employment by occupation in the EU up to two years ahead of from the last period of available data.

Key indicators on vocational education and training (VET) offer an updated, concise and internationally comparable statistical picture of VET in Europe, for individual countries and the EU overall. They provide a high-quality data framework covering strategic aspects of initial and continuing VET, adult learning, skill development and their context.

Provides detailed insights into future workforce challenges, including labour and skill shortages by occupation, skill level, and country, to support targeted workforce planning and policy development.

Cedefop’s European Skills Index (ESI) measures the performance of national skills systems using a composite indicator approach. ESI monitors countries’ performance over time and provides insights into possible improvement areas.

The European skills and jobs survey (ESJS) is Cedefop’s own periodic EU-wide survey aimed at collecting information on the skill requirements, skill mismatches and initial and continuing learning of adult workers in EU labour markets. The 2nd ESJS wave was designed to inform the policy debate on the impact of new digital technologies and technological change on the future of work and skills, also in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cedefop’s CrowdLearn survey is the first study to examine how EU workers in the online platform economy develop their skills, and how these platforms match skills supply with demand, with a view to drawing lessons for European skills and education policy.

Cedefop surveys on vocational education and training (VET) examining EU citizens’ awareness and opinion on Initial and Continuing VET and adult learning.

The European skills and jobs survey (ESJS) is Cedefop’s own periodic EU-wide survey aimed at collecting information on the skill requirements, skill mismatches and initial and continuing learning of adult workers in EU labour markets. The first ESJS wave, carried out in the context of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, collected comprehensive contextual information about the incidence and reasons underlying the emergence of skill mismatches in EU job markets.