Artificial intelligence is already reshaping how workers learn, work is organised, how tasks are allocated and how risks are distributed across occupations. Against this backdrop, Cedefop joined forces with Eurofound, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) and the European Training Foundation (ETF) to organise the Tripartite Exchange Seminar (TES) 2026, hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee, and held from 10 to 12 June in Brussels.
The residential seminar brought together social partners and government representatives from EU Member States and selected candidate countries. Over three intensive days, participants engaged in structured debate, shared learning and cooperative exchange on digitalisation, AI and the role of social dialogue in guiding Europe's transition in the world of work.
From job quality to occupational safety: three days of structured exchange
The opening day set a substantive tone, with participants exploring how digitalisation and AI are transforming working conditions and work organisation across Europe. Discussions centred on human-centred approaches to AI, ensuring that technological change remains anchored to workers' needs, rights and well-being, rather than driven by efficiency gains alone.
Day two focused attention on some of the most pressing dimensions of the AI transition. Five thematic tracks structured the day's work:
- AI and occupational health and safety
- human-centred risk management
- skills and training for AI
- skills governance supporting AI
- shaping inclusive skills systems
Each track reflected a core conviction running through TES 2026: managing AI at work is fundamentally a governance challenge, one that requires transparent processes, worker participation and strong institutional frameworks.
Work organisation is a choice, not a given
A keynote from Professor Lisa Herzog of the University of Groningen brought a philosophical perspective to the discussions. She challenged participants to treat work organisation as a matter of deliberate choice rather than technological inevitability, pointing to the social integration risks of poorly managed AI deployment and growing evidence that unaddressed remote working arrangements can erode mental health and human connection. How work is designed, she argued, matters as much as what tools are used.
Skills governance at the heart of a fair transition
For Cedefop, TES 2026 reinforced the case for skills governance as central to an effective response to the AI transition. Workers need access to quality training, qualifications must remain relevant and learning systems must be inclusive. Without these foundations, a transition that is both competitive and fair remains out of reach. Social dialogue is essential to making it happen.
From discussion to action
TES 2026 was always intended to go beyond Brussels. Participants left with a concrete agenda to translate three days of dialogue into lasting results.
Five action groups will work on the following priority areas:
- reviewing existing guidelines on AI use and adapting them to new workplace settings
- developing innovative solutions for social dialogue and collective bargaining in the age of AI
- assessing capacity needs and building shared expertise through surveys and expert networks
- scaling up the TES capacity-building approach at national, regional and sectoral level
- reaching beyond large organisations to engage SMEs, micro-enterprises and the self-employed.This includes segments of the workforce where the AI transition is advancing with the least institutional support.
A follow-up online seminar in December 2026 will take stock of progress. Together, the four EU agencies are committed to ensuring social dialogue shapes Europe's digital future from the outset.