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DRAFT REPORT (2026/2070(INI))

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

EMPL-PR-789915

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

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This is a draft report by the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs on boosting skills in the Union through vocational education and training (VET). It argues that VET is undervalued compared with academic education and calls for better promotion, investment, quality, mobility and recognition of VET qualifications. It asks the Commission to address VET curricula quality in the upcoming VET strategy, to repeal the EU-level target for higher education attainment, and to increase Erasmus+ funding for VET. It calls on Member States and EU institutions to involve VET students and graduates in policymaking, to offer VET traineeships, and to ensure fair pay and decent conditions for apprenticeships and internships. It urges the Commission to support Member States' investment in VET through country-specific recommendations and EU funding, and to link VET providers to regional industrial and technological clusters. It stresses the need for better recognition of diplomas and skills to ensure freedom of movement for VET students and workers, and calls for the Skills Portability Initiative to deliver a coherent EU ecosystem for skills recognition.

Committee position. The rapporteur proposes that Parliament adopt a resolution calling for VET to be valued equally to academic education, for increased investment and Erasmus+ funding for VET, for better skills recognition and mobility, and for fair conditions in apprenticeships.

Key points

  1. Highlights VET's importance for EU economic prosperity and competitiveness, and calls on the Commission to ensure the upcoming VET strategy addresses curriculum quality and relevance and promotes VET programmes to learners, employers and the public.
  2. Stresses that VET should support personal development and address labour market shortages, and that VET qualifications should be valued equally to academic education for social cohesion and inclusion.
  3. Calls for more respectful terminology for educational pathways, moving away from terms such as 'higher' and 'lower' education, and for the Commission to repeal the EU-level target for higher education attainment.
  4. Calls for Member States and EU institutions to involve VET students and graduates at all levels of policymaking and to offer VET traineeships.
  5. Recognises WorldSkills and EuroSkills for promoting VET excellence and encourages closer cooperation between the Commission, Member States and VET skills competition organisations.
  6. Insists that Erasmus+ funding for VET be increased, noting that VET receives a smaller share than academic education, and to support the 'Europe on the Move' target of 12 % learning mobility for VET learners by 2030.
  7. Calls on the Commission to support Member States in investing in VET through country-specific recommendations in the European Semester and earmarking of EU funding, following the example of the Just Transition Fund.
  8. Supports EU- and national-level partnerships between employers and VET providers to improve curricula relevance and quality, and calls for linking VET providers to regional industrial and technological clusters.
  9. Calls for broader inclusion of VET in EU policies and programmes, better integration of VET bodies in innovation policies, and support for skills investment in strategic sectors under the proposed European Competitiveness Fund.
  10. Stresses that AI and automation increase the need for reskilling and emphasises the importance of accessible training for all workers for their current or alternative careers.
  11. Calls on the Commission, Member States and employers to ensure fair remuneration and decent working conditions for apprenticeships and internships in VET.
  12. Stresses the importance of diplomas and skills recognition for freedom of movement, calls for the Skills Portability Initiative to deliver a coherent EU ecosystem for skills recognition and mobility, and regrets limited uptake of Common Training Frameworks under Directive 2005/36/EC.

Who is affected

  • VET students and graduates: calls for their qualifications to be valued equally to academic education and for their involvement in policymaking.
  • Member States: urged to invest in VET, promote respectful terminology, and involve VET students in policymaking.
  • The Commission: asked to address VET quality in the upcoming VET strategy, repeal the higher education attainment target, and increase Erasmus+ funding for VET.
  • Employers: called on to ensure fair remuneration and decent working conditions for apprenticeships and internships in VET.
  • VET professionals: affected by calls to improve recognition procedures and facilitate labour mobility.

Figures and deadlines

  • 34.7 % of Europeans have obtained a vocational education and training (VET) diploma.
  • 49 % of all students in the EU are enrolled in a VET programme.
  • By 2035, 60 % of all job openings will require up to medium-level qualifications.
  • 'Europe on the Move' target of 12 % learning mobility for VET learners by 2030.