Results for Learning in work

Lifelong guidance aims to provide career development support for individuals of all ages, at all career stages. It includes careers information, advice, counselling, assessment of skills and mentoring. Quality guidance services should be available to all individuals, regardless of their employment situation, socioeconomic status, ethnicity or gender. Cedefop’s lifelong guidance project develops research and knowledge exchange for the improvement of guidance and counselling across the European Union.

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.

Cedefop’s “AI futures of work” project analyses how fast advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies are affecting skill demands and fostering skill mismatches in EU labour markets. It also examines digitalisations’ implications for new forms of work and learning, such as platform, gig, remote or other types of hybrid work. The insights of the project aim to inform policy regarding the future of vocational education and training and how to achieve the EU digital transition ambitions.

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. ESI delivers evidence that supports the EU policy framework for VET and skills, in particular the European Pillar of Social Rights and the European  Skills Agenda.

The project provides a better understanding of the role microcredentials play in supporting labour market-related and employment-relevant education, training and learning. The first phase of the project (2020-23)   offered new knowledge about the characteristics of microcredentials, their added value for individual learners and employees, as well as their impact on existing qualifications and recognition systems. The current research phase (2025-27) is looking at microcredentials emerging outside formal education and training systems, focusing on specific labour market sectors and independent initiatives of companies and professional bodies.