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REPORT (2026/2070(INI))

On boosting skills in the Union – opportunities for vocational education and training in times of transition

A-10-2026-0259

Committee on Employment and Social Affairs · Rapporteur: Brigitte van den Berg

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Parliament's resolution calls for vocational education and training (VET) to be treated as an equally valued pathway to academic education, and asks the Commission and member states to act on that. It asks for an ambitious European VET strategy, more and fairer funding for VET learners, and better recognition of VET qualifications across borders. It calls for stronger Erasmus+ support for VET mobility, including for apprentices and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and for Centres of Vocational Excellence. It asks for inclusion measures for women, people with disabilities, NEETs (young people not in employment, education or training) and learners in disadvantaged regions, and for fair pay and conditions in vocational jobs.

Committee position. The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs proposes a resolution calling for VET to be valued equally with academic education, backed by an ambitious European VET strategy, fairer funding, stronger mobility and recognition, and inclusion measures.

Key points

  1. Welcomes renewed political attention to VET and calls on the Commission to make the upcoming VET strategy address curriculum quality and better promotion of VET programmes.
  2. Says formal vocational providers and established qualifications should remain the basis of VET, with modular and digital learning playing a complementary, quality-assured role.
  3. Calls on the Commission and member states to counter negative perceptions of VET through career guidance, engagement with parents, paid apprenticeships, campaigns and regional skills investment.
  4. Asks member states to make VET inclusive, close the gender gap in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) pathways and improve VET opportunities for persons with disabilities.
  5. Calls for financial support for VET learners to match support for academic learners, using existing support systems rather than separate ones, and for inclusive eligibility rules.
  6. Stresses that VET qualifications should allow progression to further and tertiary study, and calls for micro-credentials and modular learning to support upskilling and reskilling.
  7. Calls for respectful terminology based on European Qualifications Framework (EQF) levels, and for the EU tertiary attainment target to recognise tertiary-level VET and be complemented by a target for initial VET.
  8. Calls for VET students, apprentices, teachers, employers, trade unions and chambers of commerce to be involved in policymaking, and for the Commission to assess discrimination based on education pathway.
  9. Stresses that VET must lead to quality jobs, and calls on member states and social partners to promote fair wages, stable employment and good working conditions in vocational occupations.
  10. Calls for more Erasmus+ funding for VET, the 12 % VET mobility target by 2030, earmarking for inclusive scholarships and apprentice mobility, and simpler procedures for SMEs hosting or sending apprentices.
  11. Calls for automatic recognition of diplomas and learning outcomes from mobility periods abroad, grants based on actual living costs, and tailored support pathways for NEETs.
  12. Calls for an ambitious European VET strategy building on the Copenhagen Process and the Herning Declaration, with gender equality as an objective and social partners and VET providers involved early.

Who is affected

  • VET learners and apprentices: fairer financial support, mobility, recognition of qualifications and progression routes.
  • VET teachers and trainers: better working conditions, pay and professional development, addressed in the EU Teachers and Trainers Agenda.
  • Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): simplified procedures and support to host and send apprentices abroad.
  • Member states: asked to invest in VET, close gender gaps, extend learner support and improve recognition systems.
  • Women and girls in vocational pathways, particularly STEM: measures to widen access and retention.

Figures and deadlines

  • 34.7 % of Europeans hold a VET diploma; 49 % of all EU students are enrolled in a VET programme.
  • 80 % of SMEs report difficulties finding workers with the required skills.
  • 22 % of employed tertiary-educated persons are overqualified; 22.0 % for women and 20.5 % for men.
  • 11.0 % of young people aged 15 to 29 were NEET in 2025.
  • Cedefop projects that by 2035, 60 % of all job openings will require up to medium-level qualifications.
  • Only 18 % of VET teachers believe their profession is valued; VET teachers earn on average 11 % less than other tertiary-educated professionals.
  • Women were 15 % of graduates of mid-level VET in STEM fields in 2023.
  • Target of at least 60 % of adults participating in training every year by 2030; target of 12 % learning mobility for VET learners by 2030.