More than half of all adult workers in Europe need to develop their digital skills to do their job better, while 2 in 3 workers affected by technological have a digital skills gap. But while investing in skills is crucial, skills policy is not only about supplying more skills. People across the EU face major challenges in finding jobs matching their skills and aspirations. Knowledge and skills underutilisation at work is a major, but often less emphasised side of mismatch. With half of adult European employed adults not able to use their full skills potential, there are substantial untapped opportunities to expand it. This is particularly pressing for young people, who are often well-skilled but find themselves trapped in less secure and lower-quality jobs.
Alongside investing in skills, we need to upgrade jobs by designing jobs in smarter ways, by improving work organisation and by giving more people opportunities to use and expand their skills. Better skills utilization in companies critically depends on job design and on managerial attitudes towards leveraging human capital as a source of competitive advantage. It complements supply side policies aimed at improving the skills base in the workforce. Managers need support to expand their ability to design jobs so that they are interesting and challenging, rich in learning opportunities and problem solving, and grant employee autonomy.
Key Cedefop publications
- Cedefop (2022). Setting Europe on course for a human digital transition: new evidence from Cedefop’s second European skills and jobs survey. Cedefop reference series No 123.
- Cedefop (2023). Ready, steady, go! Briefing note.
- Cedefop (2023). The future of work is learning: Cedefop in 2022.
- Cedefop (2021). Shifting our perspectives on learning. Briefing note.
- Cedefop and Eurofound (2020). European Company Survey 2019: workplace practices unlocking employee potential.
- Cedefop and Eurofound (2023). Fostering skills use for sustained business performance: evidence from the European Company Survey.
- Cedefop (2022) Challenging digital myths: first findings from Cedefop’s second European skills and jobs survey. Policy brief.