Tackling skills and labour shortages in the EU.
Date: 2024-07-09
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
Subjects: EU employment policy, LGBTIQ persons, action programme, community resilience, economic recovery, fight against unemployment, labour shortage, learning, professional qualifications, sick leave, teleworking, vocational training, working conditions

TACKLING SKILLS 
AND LABOUR 
SHORTAGES  
IN THE EU

March 2024 
#SocialRights #EuropeanYearOfSkills

ACTION PLAN

As a follow-up to the Val Duchesse Social Partners Summit and its Declaration, we 
propose joint efforts at EU, national, regional and social-partner level in 5 areas:

Supporting the activation of 
underrepresented people in the 
labour market

Providing support for skills, 
training and education

Improving working 
conditions in certain 
sectors

Improving fair intra-EU 
mobility for workers and 
learners

Attracting talent 
from outside the EU

CONCRETE ACTIONS

The European Commission will:

Finance new projects to achieve zero long-term unemployment and to activate and upskill 
young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) under new ESF+ funding

Promote setting up new skills partnerships under the Pact for Skills and boost the work of 
Skills Academies in net-zero industries

Analyse sick leave policies to identify best practices for workers and businesses, and evaluate 
opportunities for flexible retirement and for combining pension income with a salary

Follow up the European Parliament’s resolution on telework and the right to disconnect

We call on Member States to:

Revise education and training curricula to better meet the labour market needs

Pursue benefit reforms that address inactivity and provide sufficient support for those who 
can work to gradually return to the labour market

Further support the digitalisation of social security coordination to facilitate fair 
labour mobility

We welcome social partners’ intention to work together, 
including through joint commitments, to:

Cooperate on a European framework to improve working conditions for professional 
drivers from outside the EU

Train long-term care workers on more person-centred care and digitalisation

Contribute with their expertise to the establishment of the EU Talent Pool to attract 
talent from third countries

These key actions are part of the EU’s strategy to boost its competitiveness and enhance its 
economic and social resilience:  

By 2030

3.5

million

Only
75%
of women 

Nearly

2/3

(63%)  
of SMES

new jobs are expected to 
be created in renewable 
energy sectors.

are active on the labour 
market - compared to 
85% of men. 

cannot find the 
talent they need.

42

occupations 
experiencing shortages  
EU wide.

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EU budget: providing €65 billion for Member States to tackle labour and 
skills shortages
Learning target: 60% of all adults should participate in training every year by 2030

Pact for Skills: sectoral and regional public-private partnerships, with concrete 
training commitments

Poland is creating more than 100 000 new childcare 
places for children under the age of 3, using EU funds. This 
will help more people with care responsibilities, notably 
women, to access the labour market.  

Upskilling measures financed by EU funds in Greece  
are training half a million people in green and digital skills.

© European Union, 2024
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