Europe’s digital transition is creating both opportunity and imbalance. While technology expands job possibilities and reshapes skill demand, it also risks deepening divides in access to employment. New Cedefop analysis from Human-centred digital transitions and skill mismatches in European workplaces highlights how firms’ hiring choices and evolving skill needs posing recruitment difficulties are redefining inclusion in the digital economy.
Hiring from the margins
Dynamic, digitally active firms – those adopting new technologies, reorganising production or expanding internationally – tend to recruit younger people entering the labour market or those shifting between jobs. Such firms often act as a conduit facilitating young people’s school-to-work transition and encouraging the reallocation and mobility of talent. Yet individuals with past unemployment spells or fragmented employment histories face greater barriers to being hired by these firms. In an increasingly technology-driven economy, such “hiring from the margins” patterns risk excluding the groups most in need of reintegration from firms with the greatest promise.
However, companies that invest in internal learning and upskilling practices are better equipped to tap into overlooked potential. Cedefop’s findings show that creating inclusive learning organisations enables underqualified workers to develop on the job, complementing formal credentials with additional signals of ability, such as experience, informal learning etc.
Emerging patterns of skill shortages
Around 3.5% of jobs in the EU face a high risk of potential skill shortages, meaning they may become difficult to fill due to the complexity and depth of competences required. These shortages are concentrated in ICT, science and engineering, business administration and teaching, but also extend across managerial and technical roles in multiple sectors. Such shortages linked to the intrinsic complexity of jobs are likely to persist, as they are also associated with job creation and high replacement needs, as highlighted by Cedefop’s TalentGap Index announced in 2025.
Demand for AI-related skills has almost doubled in the past five years, extending beyond IT occupations. AI is reshaping the work of engineers, analysts, educators and creatives alike, increasing demand for hybrid skill sets that combine technical expertise with business understanding and socio-emotional competences such as collaboration, adaptability and problem-solving.
Building learning ecosystems
To prevent skill shortages from becoming structural, Cedefop’s analysis identifies several priority areas for action:
- Interdisciplinary curricula that combine STEM knowledge with socio-emotional and competences.
- Reintegration and targeted training for long-term unemployed and workers at risk of exclusion.
- Human-centred HR strategies that widen recruitment pools and recognise non-formal and experiential learning outcomes.
Training systems should also promote pedagogical integration – ensuring that digital tools and methods are used not only for technical upskilling, but to strengthen participation, engagement and equity in learning. Firms and education providers can jointly build learning ecosystems that link work-based learning, guidance and digital innovation.
Rethinking talent and opportunity
Employers likewise need to rethink how they assess potential, complementing the value of initial qualifications with approaches that fully value experience, adaptability and continuous learning capacity. In the long term, supporting the “Learning organisation” that fosters ongoing development will help Europe meet its talent needs while promoting fairness and cohesion.
As Europe advances towards its Union of Skills vision, closing the digital skills gap will require labour markets that are more inclusive and responsive to change. Encouraging employers to look beyond traditional hiring pools, value diverse learning pathways and invest in lifelong development can help ease skill shortages while strengthening resilience and supporting a more balanced digital transition.
