Facing the skills challenge in Europe – Lessons drawn by BusinessEurope from the Deloitte study

Background and objectives

Securing access to a qualified workforce is essential for Europe’s economic strength, requiring frameworks that foster professional development while meeting companies' recruitment needs. This study was developed under BusinessEurope’s "Employers Studies" pilot project to fill a significant gap in data-driven research from an employer’s perspective. By building this evidence base, the project aims to correct the imbalance in facts available at the EU level and support a well-informed tripartite and bipartite social dialogue.

Driven by demographic shifts and the digital and green transitions, the demand for modern competencies has expanded rapidly. While the goals of the European Skills Agenda are widely supported, companies face severe practical hurdles in upskilling workers and finding staff. These difficulties have been heavily aggravated by structural disruptions following the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, leading to acute skills mismatches that threaten European competitiveness, growth, and employment.

Today, employers must navigate highly fragmented national environments marked by slow curriculum updates, diverse qualification recognition, and uncoordinated shortage occupation lists. This complex landscape leaves European businesses at a disadvantage compared to global competitors. Whether expanding adult apprenticeships, adapting training modules, or running labour market tests to recruit from third countries, companies face cumulative hurdles that this project analysed by bringing together key sectoral organisations spanning construction, commerce, hospitality, and manufacturing.

Against this background, this study provides an evidence-based assessment of the skills access landscape from an employer’s perspective. Building on Cedefop data and up to 100 interviews conducted by Deloitte, the research examines changing needs under the Net Zero Industry Act and the 60% adult training target by 2030. It evaluates swifter curriculum updating with DG REFORM's support and maps out better qualification recognition, distinguishing between common frameworks for regulated professions and national coordination for non-regulated sectors, to support informed debate on modernising the labour market.