Europe's competitiveness depends as much on developing people's skills as on creating workplaces where those skills can be fully used and continue to grow. That was the central message emerging from a Cedefop conference held in Thessaloniki on 29–30 June 2026, where researchers, policymakers, employers, trade unions and practitioners explored new evidence on how workplace practices shape skills development, productivity and job quality.
Drawing on findings from Cedefop's new European Training and Learning Survey (ETLS) alongside evidence from its European Skills and Jobs Survey, participants examined what helps workers develop their skills throughout their careers and what prevents organisations from making the most of the talent they already have.
Beyond a skills-supply challenge — a skills-use challenge
Europe's challenge is not simply to produce more skills. It is also to make better use of the skills that already exist. Earlier Cedefop analysis, based on the European Skills and Jobs Survey, estimated that the skills currently available in the EU workforce fall around one fifth short of what would be needed for workers to perform at their highest productivity level. At the same time, around 40% of European workers report that they are unable to fully use their skills in their current jobs.
The evidence suggests that raising productivity requires:
investing in education and training
building workplaces that enable people to apply, develop and expand their capabilities.
Learning happens every day but workplaces determine how much
The instinctive response to skills shortages is often to invest in more training. While training remains essential, new evidence from Cedefop's European Training and Learning Survey shows that it is only part of the picture.
The survey, covering more than 44.000 workers across the EU Member States, Iceland and Norway, found that:
- around half of European workers receive no employer-organised training
- many workers develop their skills through self-directed learning, including observing colleagues, experimenting, solving problems and reflecting on experience
- workers who participate in formal training are also more likely to engage in informal learning
Most importantly, the survey finds that the strongest drivers of skills development are the conditions in which people work. Employees are significantly more likely to develop their skills when they have:
- autonomy to make decisions in their daily work
- are motivated to learn, either for personal interest or through workplace norms and incentives
- clear developmental needs
Conversely, workplace cultures built around constant competition between individuals appear to discourage learning and skills development.
Job quality and competitiveness go hand in hand
These findings challenge the idea that skills, productivity and job quality are separate policy issues. If learning depends on job design, management practices and workplace culture, then job quality is a condition that allows skills to develop in the first place. This has direct implications for the implementation of the Union of Skills, the Industry 5.0 agenda and forthcoming initiatives on quality jobs, all of which seek to place people at the centre of Europe's economic transformation.
The challenge is considerable. Evidence from the European Company Survey shows that only around one in five European establishments has the organisational conditions needed to build competitive advantage around workers' skills. The same challenge is emerging in relation to artificial intelligence. While Cedefop's AI Skills Survey shows that 42% of workers believe they need to develop AI-related skills, only 15% report participating in AI-related training. Bridging this gap will require more than expanding training provision. Organisations must also create workplaces that enable workers to learn continuously as new technologies are introduced.
For small and medium-sized enterprises, which often have limited capacity to redesign jobs or introduce new technologies on their own, cooperation with training providers, business networks and social partners will be essential.
From evidence to action
Improving Europe's competitiveness will depend on both investing in people's skills and creating workplaces where those skills can be fully used, continuously developed and translated into better productivity, innovation and quality jobs. To do so, skills policy, workplace innovation and technology adoption need to unite.
