Technological Change, Skill Gaps, and Workers' Careers in Europe: Why Updating Skills Matters
Policy Brief Grant Agreement No. 101132581
Evidence from the scientific literature and from Project SkiLMeeT shows that new technologies shift demand toward digital, social, and less routine skills; when training content is updated in time, workers benefit, while outdated skill profiles can leave workers behind. Regularly updating vocational education and training content is an effective way to reduce skill gaps between the skills employers demand and those supplied by training systems. Technological change does not widen skills gaps when curricula are revised often enough to keep pace. Technological change does, however, make outdated vocational training content more costly. The policy priority for Europe should be to strengthen institutions that update skills continuously and inclusively, ensuring that technological progress supports productivity and good career opportunities rather than widening divides between workers with current and obsolete skills.
SkiLMeeT Project