Exploring National Skills Strategies in Times of Transition
At the VETNET-Europe Crossing Boundaries Conference 2025 in Palma de Mallorca, Daniel Unterweger represented 3s and presented findings from the Skills2Capabilities project, coordinated by 3s under the Horizon Europe framework. The presentation, titled “Skillful Enough? Examining National Skills Strategies in Times of Transition,” explored how countries design and implement strategic approaches to strengthen their skills systems.
Qualifications and skills are central to addressing today’s major societal challenges — from improving economic performance to supporting the twin digital and green transitions. In the past two decades, an increasing number of countries have adopted national skills strategies to guide policy development in this area. However, despite their growing importance, systematic comparative research on these strategies has been limited.
The Skills2Capabilities analysis builds on in-depth case studies from Austria, Bulgaria, England, Germany, and Norway. By applying a most different system research design, the study identified the main benefits, challenges, and success factors of national skills strategies.
Findings show that broad stakeholder involvement, adaptability to changing circumstances, and internal consistency are key features of effective skills strategies. Such approaches help countries overcome barriers to implementation and strengthen coordination across policy areas.
The analysis concludes that well-designed skills strategies can foster gradual, incremental institutional change by improving policy coherence and coordination. However, their capacity to drive disruptive institutional transformation remains limited.
The full paper is available in the conference proceedings: VETNET-Europe Conference Proceedings.
image by 3s
Contact: Daniel Unterweger
Client: Horizon Europe
