Union of Skills to strengthen Europe's competitiveness
The Union of Skills comprises initiatives and objectives in four strands:
- Building solid foundations through education and training
- Establish regular upskilling and reskilling as the new norm
- Support the free movement of skilled labour
- Make the EU a magnet for talent
Targets have been defined for some initiatives up to 2030 in order to improve education and employability in Europe. The focus of the Union of Skills is primarily on improving the coordination and monitoring of existing and, in some cases, newly planned initiatives, for example through the introduction of a European Skills Observatory and an agile European Skills High Level Board. Public and private funds are to be better coordinated, and incentives created for private investment, particularly from flagship initiatives such as the European University Alliances. The communication on the Union of Skills was accompanied by the publication of two initiatives, the Action Plan for Basic Skills and the Strategic Plan for STEM Education.
The Commission is planning concrete initiatives under each strand – some specifically for higher education and research, others for other education sectors or for education and training in general:
The aim is to achieve a higher level of basic and advanced skills in reading and writing, mathematics, science, digital literacy as well as citizenship.
Initiatives in the field of Higher Education
| Initiative | Goals | Launch time |
| European competence framework for academic staff in higher education | Increase the attractiveness of a career in teaching and higher education | 2026 |
| Initiative to increase accessibility of higher education to a wider range of learners and age groups | Meeting the increasing demand for graduates in the labour market and promoting support services | 2027 |
Further initiatives in the field of education and training
| Initiative | Goals | Launch time | Targets |
| Action Plan on Basic Skills | Boost basic skills until the end of compulsory education | Q1 2025 | |
| STEM Education Strategic Plan | Foster excellence in STEM education and training | Q1 2025 | By 2030:
At least 45% of trainees in initial vocational training are enrolled in STEM subjects; at least 1 in 4 students is female. At least 32% of university students are enrolled in STEM subjects; two out of five students are female. At least 5% of students are enrolled in ICT doctoral programmes; at least one in three students is female. |
| 2030 roadmap on the future of digital education and skills | Promote equal access to digital education for all | Q4 2025
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| Intergenerational fairness strategy | Test intergenerational approaches | Q1 2026
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| Basic Skills Support Scheme pilot | Boost basic skills until the end of compulsory education | 2026 | By 2030
Share of underachievement in reading and writing, mathematics, science and digital skills is below 15%. The share of top performance in the areas of reading and writing, mathematics and science is at least 15%. |
| EU VET Strategy | Make Vocational Education and Training (VET) more attractive, innovative, and inclusive | 2026 | |
| Teachers and Trainers Agenda | Tackle shortages, improve conditions, and boost careers for educators | 2026 | |
| Initiative on the topic of AI in education and training | Create a framework for AI skills and support the integration of AI | 2026 |
The aim is to give people the opportunity to regularly update their skills and learn new ones, thus creating an agile workforce that masters digital and clean change.
Initiatives in the field of Higher Education and Research
| Initiative | Goals | Launch time | |
| University-business partnerships
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Train people for sectors with skills gaps | 2026 | |
| Launch of the Cyber Security Skills Academy Industry-Science Network and Cyber Campus to promote cyber security skills in different Member States and regions (Link) | Strengthening links between industry and science | Q2 2025
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Further initiatives in the field of education and training
| Initiative | Goals | Launch time | Benchmarks |
| Reinforced Pact for Skills (Link) | Upskill and reskill more workers in strategic sectors | tbd | Pact members should commit to upskilling at least 50 million workers by 2030 (previous target: 25 million) |
| Review, streamline and expand the EU Skills Academies and roll out the most successful Skills Academies | Focus on strategic sectors such as defence, automotive, circular economy, wind power, grids, food, digital areas such as AI, quantum physics, virtual worlds and semiconductors | 2026 | The European Institute of Innovation and
Technology (EIT) will equip 1 million learners by 2028 with the skills needed in strategic sectors, Balanced participation of women and men is important |
| Pilot a Skills Guarantee for workers | Employees who are affected by restructuring processes or threatened by unemployment can develop their careers in another company/sector | 2025 | |
| Additional measures as part of the start-up and scale-up strategy (Link). | Attract and retain talent | Q2 2025 | |
| Expansion of the European Alliance for Apprenticeships (Link). | Strengthening the quality, supply and overall image of apprenticeships, Promoting the mobility of apprentices | tbd |
The aim is to make it easier for companies to recruit employees across Europe.
Initiatives in the field of Higher Education and Research
| Initiative | Goals | Launch time |
| Launch of innovative joint European study programmes with a European degree/label | Improve the free movement of learners and workers | 2026 |
| A legal status for European Universities alliances | Ensure sustainable cooperation and funding, pool resources and strengthen partnerships with businesses and research departments within their innovation ecosystem | 2027 |
Other initiatives in the field of education and training
| Initiative | Goals | Launch time |
| Strengthening Erasmus+ | Make Erasmus+ more inclusive and accessible | tbd |
| Skills Portability Initiative | Simplify recognition of skills and qualifications across the EU | 2026 |
| Common European framework for the automatic recognition of study qualifications and learning periods abroad in school, VET and higher education | Creating a level playing field for all learners, regardless of their education and training sector and country of origin, by improving the recognition of qualifications and learning outcomes | 2027 |
| Piloting a European VET diploma | Facilitate the mobility of VET learners and workers | 2025-2026
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| Pilot European School Alliances | Enhance pupil and teacher’ mobility across schools | 2026
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The aim is to attract, develop and retain top talents in Europe.
Initiatives in Higher Education and Research
| Initiative | Goals | Launch Time | Targets |
| Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions ” Choose Europe” pilot
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Attracting top talent worldwide through excellent and competitive working and employment conditions and career prospects for young scientists | Q4 2025 | By 2030: the annual number of learners from outside the EU coming to study and obtain a degree at tertiary level in the EU should be at least 350 000 |
| Pilot virtual study fairs, specifically on STEM and other strategic disciplines, Organise physical promotion activities under the ‘Study in Europe’ banner | Attract students from third countries to study in Europe, especially in key disciplines | tbd
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Other initiatives in the field of education and training
| Initiative | Goals | Launch time |
| Visa Strategy | Further promote the arrival of top students, skilled workers and researchers | Q4 2025 |
| EU Talent Pool (after approval by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament) | Facilitate targeted recruitment of non-EU skilled professionals to address critical shortages | tbd |
| EU Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion | Explore ways of better supporting integration and family reunification measures, in particular for skilled workers and researchers | tbd |
In order to finance, implement, coordinate and monitor the Union of Skills, the Commission proposes:
The Communication refers to a total of over €150 billion of investment in education and skills within the current seven-year EU budget (2021-2027) through programmes such as Erasmus+, the ESF+, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the ERDF, as well as InvestEU.
Given the scale of the challenges to Europe’s competitiveness, prosperity and resilience, it is crucial to leverage financing and initiatives beyond EU funds in both the public and private sector. The Union of Skills calls for improved coordination of funding with European policy priorities.
Initiatives
| Initiative | Goals | Launch time |
| Development of the ‘EU Invest in Talent’ platform in cooperation with the European Investment Bank Group | Fostering investments at all levels of education in Europe, combined with increased funding and impact;
Coordinating private sector initiatives; Flagship initiatives such as the European University Alliances incentivise private sector investment in the development of future-oriented skills |
tbd |
| Learning lab for investment in high-quality education and training | Evaluate the quality and relevance of investments in education and training | tbd
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The Union of Skills will be aligned with the new steering mechanism outlined in the Competitiveness Compass presented by the European Commission on 29 January 2025 (Link). This should allow to integrate swiftly and effectively issues pertaining to skills, including in the concrete sectors identified as critical to European competitiveness.
Initiatives
| Initiative | Goals | Launch time |
| Evaluation report of the European Education Area
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Assess the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and EU added value of the EEA; derive necessary adjustments for the period 2026-2030 | Q2 2025
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| European Skills Intelligence Observatory | Enable timely data reporting to have early warning alerts regarding skills shortages in critical or strategic sectors for the EU | tbd
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| A European Skills High Level Board (agile, dynamic, and created ad hoc) | Bring together key stakeholders, such as businesses, education/ training providers and social partners to provide EU policy makers with comprehensive, cross-sectoral insights and guidance on skills | tbd
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| EU 27 Recommendation on human capital: education and skills in the European Semester | Contribute to setting the agenda for the EU, to relevant policy debates in the Council and to informing the Tripartite Social Summit | tbd
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