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A forecast of Europeans' skills until 2020

The forecast shows a declining number of people with low qualifications in almost all EU countries and a steady rise in medium (mostly vocational) and high qualifications, both among the labour force and among the general population.

Cedefop is an agency of the European Union based in Thessaloniki, Greece, and it supports European policy-making in the field of vocational education and training. This skills supply forecast complements Cedefop's forecast of the demand for skills in the medium term, published in 2008. Providing cumulative data for all Member States except Romania, Bulgaria and Malta (and with the addition of Norway), the forecast also gives results for each country separately.

As a next step it is planned to bring together the separate forecasts for demand and supply and to identify mismatches between those skills people have and those that are in demand on the labour market. The merged macroeconomic forecasts will be updated every two years, allowing policy-makers in the EU and in the Member States to take these projections into account when formulating education and employment policies.

The results of the skills supply forecast will be debated at a Cedefop conference, Matching skills and jobs: anticipating skill needs in challenging times, held at its premises in Thessaloniki, Greece on 11-12 June.

To know more

• Full text of the study "Future Skill Supply in Europe, Medium-Term Forecast up to 2020, Synthesis Report"
• Cedefop: Skills needs
• European Commission: New skills for new jobs: better matching and anticipating labour market needs, December 2008
• European Commission: Employment: New Skills for New Jobs