“The Union of Skills is our strategy to help people stay ahead in a rapidly changing world and keep Europe competitive and fair. We, in Europe, put people first because the success of every person in learning, at work and in life is essential for competitiveness and for a stable and resilient Union.”
Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness
Europe is facing a skills crisis that threatens its competitiveness, innovation, and ability to adapt to global challenges. Nearly four in five SMEs struggle to find workers with the right skillsets, particularly in breakthrough technologies like AI and quantum computing. By 2030, Europe’s working-age population will shrink by 7 million, further straining an already tight labour market.
Education systems are not keeping pace with technological change and are failing to bridge the skills gap. Nearly half of young people lack basic digital skills, while performance in mathematics, reading, and science is declining. Meanwhile, despite 90% of jobs requiring them, only 40% of adults engage in education or training, far below the EU’s 60% target, and, like young people, almost half lack basic digital skills.
Beyond numbers, deeper structural challenges also exist, with gender imbalances in STEM, lack of attractiveness, and fragmented governance further exacerbating the issue.
These challenges have fuelled the European Commission’s “Union of Skills” initiative. Inspired by the European Competitive Compass, the Union of Skills is a comprehensive plan to elevate education, training, and lifelong learning, and is accompanied by an Action Plan on Basic Skills and a STEM Education Strategic Plan to improve skills in science, technology, engineering, and maths, promote STEM careers, attract more girls and women, and boost preparedness in the face of digital and green transitions.
EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative: Training the tech talent Europe needs
From 2026-2028, the EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative, together with other European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) projects will add considerable value to the Union of Skills and the STEM Education Action Plan through its catalogue of training programmes, network of training providers, and funding opportunities for course creation.
By empowering and equipping its workforce with cutting-edge skills to build a strong deep tech talent pool and fostering innovation, the EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative also helps ensure that European industries remain at the forefront of global innovation, solidifying the region’s role as a leader in deep tech and securing its future in an increasingly competitive technology-driven world.
Regular upskilling and reskilling
The Union of Skills Initiative believes that developing new skills should be a recurring and essential part of peoples’ professional lives, and will develop a Skills Guarantee pilot, which will offer workers involved in restructuring processes, or at risk of unemployment, the opportunity to develop further their careers in another company or another sector.
Course Catalogue
The EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative has assembled a catalogue of almost 200 courses and training programmes (as of April 2025), across 15 relevant deep tech fields, which offer a great opportunity for talents to improve their knowledge and expertise in their preferred areas of interest. Currently, the majority of courses are focused on professional training and academic (higher education) programmes.
Call for Training Proposals
The EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative’s various Calls for Training Proposals focus on the provision of deep tech skills training. Each successfully funded proposal is required to train an expected minimum number of talents to help mitigate the deep tech skills gap, foster creativity and innovation in curriculum design, and focus on empowering underrepresented groups.
Attracting, developing, and retaining talent
The Union of Skills will bolster the EU’s ability to attract, develop and retain key talents, from inside the EU and around the world. And, once adopted by the Parliament and Council, the Commission will set up an EU Talent Pool for recruitment from outside the EU at all skills levels, especially in occupations facing severe shortages.
The EIT Deep Tech Talent Community is the online platform for learners who want to benefit from the EIT Deep Tech Talent training in a personalised way. Helping adults in companies and on the job market, as well as higher education students, develop careers and gain expertise in deep tech, the community is continually growing and building a strong network of skilled individuals.
EU Teachers and Trainers Agenda
To help reverse the decline of basic skills in the EU, Union of Skills measures include implementing an EU Teachers and Trainers Agenda, to improve the working conditions, training and career prospects of educators.
Specifically designed to enhance the capabilities of educators in the fields of deep tech (DT) and Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E), to address the significant gap in the integration of DT and I&E content in higher education, the EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative’s Train the Trainer Programme aims to build a robust community of well-equipped educators who can foster a more dynamic and integrated approach to teaching DT and I&E.
European Skills High-Level Board
The EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative’s pool of over 600 Pledger organisations comprises organisations, universities, training providers, associations, and NGOs, along with EIT Knowledge and Innovation Community Partners (KICs) and other EIT Community Initiatives, all of whom can help provide comprehensive insights on skills to the EU policy makers.
Partners
