Beyond skills development: unleashing human potential - First findings from Cedefop’s European Training and Learning Survey

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jake

Beyond skills development: unleashing human potential presents the first findings from Cedefop’s European Training and Learning Survey (ETLS). The report examines how workplace settings and individual characteristics relate to training, learning, and expertise development in and at work across EU Member States and Norway and Iceland (2023–2024). It explores participation in employer-organised professional training and personal learning activities, linking human-centricity at work to skills needed for digitalising and greening transitions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages57

Reading Time2 h 24 min

AccessFree to download

Foreword

Acknowledgements

EN Beyond skills development: unleashing human potential First ﬁndings from Cedefop’s European Training and Learning Survey Beyond skills development: unleashing human potential First findings from Cedefop’s European Training and Learning Survey Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2026 Cedefop reference series; 129 Please cite this publication as: Cedefop (2026) . Beyond skills development: unleashing human potential. First findings from Cedefop's European Training and Learning Survey. Publications Office of the European Union. [http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/97041](http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/97041)11 A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server ([http://europa.eu](http://europa.eu)) . Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2026 © Cedefop, 2026 Unless otherwise noted, the reuse of this document is authorised under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4 .0) licence. This means that reuse is allowed provided appropriate credit is given and any changes made are indicated. For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that isnot owned by Cedefop, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders. PDF ISSN 2363-216X ISBN 978-92-896-3934-7 doi: 10.2801/9704111 TI-01-26-013-EN-N The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) is the European Union’s reference centre for vocational education and training, skills and qualifications. We provide information, research, analyses and evidence on vocational education and training, skills and qualifications for policy-making in the EU Member States. Cedefop was originally established in 1975 by Council Regulation (EEC) No 337/75 . This decision was repealed in 2019 by Regulation (EU) 2019/128 establishing Cedefopas a European Union Agency with a renewed mandate. Europe 123, Thessaloniki (Pylaia), Greece Postal address: Cedefop service post, 570 01 Thermi, Greece Tel. +30 2310490111, Fax +30 2310490020 Email: info@cedefop.europa.eu [www.cedefop.europa.eu](www.cedefop.europa.eu) Jürgen Siebel, Executive Director Tony Donohoe, Chair of the Management Board Foreword The EU’s Union of Skills strategy puts skills at the centre of the twin transitions. The aims of digitalising and greening the EU economy guide the simultaneous creation and deployment of the required skills. Technological innovation – when designed and deployed with employee empowerment – can amplify workers’ capabilities, increase job quality and unlock new sources of productivity grounded in uniquely human skills: judgement, creativity, adaptability and social intelligence. Social partners play an important role in coordinating the deployment of new technology, the learning that necessarily accompanies it and the activation of workers’ skills. Workers contribute to such coordination through participation and involvement in social dialogue. This report contributes towards better understanding human-centricity in the workplace, using new evidence from Cedefop’s first European Training and Learning Survey (ETLS) . It builds on the work jointly done by Cedefop and Eurofound based on the 2019 European Company Survey, which identified organisations as enablers and beneficiaries of the skills deployment of their workers. Evidence on Industry 5.0 – a strategy placing skills and human-centricity at the core of societal change – is emerging. Policymakers striving to realise its promise can find inspiration in project-based academic and applied work. These projects focus on workforce skills and lifelong learning and highlight the importance of organisational learning, continuous upskilling and workplace design as drivers of autonomy and meaningful work. The ETLS is a representative survey deployed from 2023 to 2024 in all EU Member States and Norway and Iceland that zooms in on tra

FAQs

What is the ETLS and what period does the survey cover?

The ETLS is a pan-European survey designed by Cedefop that systematically maps how people gain knowledge and build skills in the context of work. It was deployed from 2023 to 2024 across EU Member States and Norway and Iceland.

How does the report define training and learning in the workplace?

The ETLS distinguishes between participation in professional training organised and provided by employers and personal learning activities. The report uses this distinction to analyze learning in and at work.

What relationships does the report aim to uncover using the ETLS?

The report uncovers the relationship between workplace settings, individual characteristics, and learning in the workplace. It frames these findings to support policy efforts on skills, fairness, productivity, and resilience.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jake