Curious about how the EU invests in skills? A new report on EU cohesion funds details how much is being invested, what activities are being funded, and who is expected to benefit from investments in education, training, and labour market skills.

Why is this important?

As Mario Draghi sets out in his report on The Future of European Competitiveness, there is a crucial need to keep investing in the skills of the people in Europe, both to help them prosper and to ensure the competitivity of the European economy on the global scale.

EU funding can play a key role in supporting investment in skills, and it is important to understand how this money is being spent, to ensure that it drives positive change. 

Launched in the context of the European Year of Skills, the report on EU cohesion funds addresses this crucial need, looking at the details of funding from the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and Just Transition Fund (JTF) for 2021-2027. 

How much is being invested?

Cohesion funds are investing EUR 44.2 billion towards skills. The vast majority of this comes from the ESF+ (EUR 40.4 billion), followed by JTF and ERDF. 

In combination with national co-financing across all Member States, the total investment in skills under EU cohesion funds is estimated at EUR 67.7 billion. These investments come in addition to EU support through other funding streams.

How will people benefit from this funding?

In all Member States, funds will mainly support skills counselling activities to help people know which skills to develop and training courses to help them do so. 

Some countries have also chosen more targeted approaches. For example:

• Belgium offers counselling for job seekers, especially those facing barriers, starting with individual assessments to tailor support.
• Germany enhances vocational education and training (VET) with innovative, sustainable projects, part-time models, and inter-company apprenticeships to improve quality and appeal. 
• Sweden focuses on skills for industrial transformation, entrepreneurship, and the use of digitalisation, automation, and AI.
• Greece emphasises education and training promotion for disadvantaged groups.
• Lithuania and Latvia focus on building the capacity of public sector staff, Public Employment Services (PES), and NGOs.

Who will benefit from these funds?

Between 21 and 39 million people are expected to take part in cohesion-funded activities dedicated to skills. 

Skills activities mainly target the working-age population, including young people over 15 who are neither in employment, nor in education or training (NEETs). 

Most investments focus on employed individuals, while the unemployed and inactive are less often reached. Specific groups, like young workers, NEETs, migrants, marginalised groups, and persons with disabilities, are targeted across all Member States.

Read the full report

For more details on investments from cohesion funds in skills, read the full report.