As Europe navigates economic transformation and demographic shifts, workplace learning has emerged as an untapped driver of competitiveness and social cohesion. With over 70% of EU adults aged 20–64 in employment — and labour market participation on the rise — employers sit at the centre of a massive, yet underutilised, opportunity to upskill Europe’s workforce.
Embedding continuous learning into daily working life is no longer optional. It’s a strategic imperative — one recognised in the European Pillar of Social Rights and reinforced in the new Union of Skills agenda. But ambition still outpaces reality.
Untapped potential
Despite the EU’s strong employment rates, workplace learning remains the exception rather than the norm. In 2020, just 42.4% of employees received employer-sponsored training — a figure that drops to 27.5% in SMEs. Overall, employer spending on training accounts for a mere 0.7% of labour costs.
More striking still, fewer than half of adult workers report being able to fully apply their skills on the job, and less than 50% of workplaces offer substantial on-the-job learning opportunities. This mismatch between skills development and application is a systemic inefficiency Europe can no longer afford.
Beyond classrooms: reframing skills policy
Debates continue to prioritise institutional and certified training — often disconnected from workplace realities. Yet a growing chorus, including the Letta report on the Single Market and Mario Draghi’s competitiveness review, is calling for a fundamental shift.
Mario Draghi warns: “Without ambitious yet pragmatic skills policies, the EU will not be able to achieve its objectives in an effective and equitable way.”
Cedefop’s latest policy brief, Towards Organisations as Learning Workplaces, makes a compelling case: workplaces must evolve into dynamic, lifelong learning environments. That means going beyond formal training to embrace digital tools, informal learning, and self-directed development — all integrated into the flow of work.
Learning by sector: three models to watch
The brief spotlights three sector-based approaches that offer blueprints for embedding continuous learning in fast-moving labour markets:
- Finland – Technology Industries Strategy (2021–30): An employer-led approach positioning companies as learning ecosystems, where skills are developed in tandem with innovation — often before formal education can catch up.
- Spain – Construction Labour Foundation (FLC): A bipartite model built on collective agreements, integrating a national network of providers to deliver formal and non-formal training tailored to sectoral needs.
- Ireland – Green Skills for Construction: A public-sector-led initiative aligned with climate goals. It leverages a decentralised training infrastructure — including NZEB Centres of Excellence — to deliver modular, accessible green skills training.
A new skills compact for Europe
To future-proof the EU’s labour market, Cedefop calls for integrated skills ecosystems that blend sectoral coordination with cross-sector learning. Employers must move from training facilitators to co-creators of skills development, embedding learning as a core organisational function.
This represents a paradigm shift in EU vocational education and training (VET) — one that does not replace institutional learning, but complements it with real-time, real-world development. The prize? A more innovative, resilient, and inclusive European economy.
