Final Conference of Skills2Capabilities: Turning Evidence Into Action

What makes skills systems future-proof? Experts and policymakers met in Maastricht to discuss how VET can better respond to labour-market needs and support skills transitions across Europe.

On 13–14 November 2025, the Skills2Capabilities con­sor­ti­um gathered for its Final Conference hosted at the Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht. Around 80 participants—including con­sor­ti­um partners, advisory board members, policy experts, inter­na­tio­nal rese­ar­chers, and repre­sen­ta­ti­ves from mini­stries, trade unions, education aut­ho­ri­ties, and pro­fes­sio­nal associations—came together to review three years of research and discuss what a respon­si­ve, proactive, and resilient skills system should look like in the future.

The event opened with a welcome address by Didier Fouarge (ROA), followed by Terence Hogarth (IER), who reaf­firm­ed the original ambition of Skills2Capabilities: to test theories and generate inno­va­ti­ve concepts on skills deve­lo­p­ment that help education and training systems encourage learning throug­hout the life course. The over­ar­ching question he posed set the tone for the dis­cus­sions that followed: How can skills supply better meet demand, and how can VET and adult learning systems respond effec­tively to evolving labour markets?

Keynote Insight: Sandra McNally on the Future of Skilled Workforces

The first keynote was delivered by Sandra McNally (LSE & University of Surrey) on “Developing a skilled workforce for the future: the role of voca­tio­nal education.” She examined how tech­no­lo­gi­cal change—especially arti­fi­ci­al intelligence—reshapes skills demands and poten­ti­al­ly widens ine­qua­li­ty. She also high­ligh­ted the potential and limi­ta­ti­ons of incor­po­ra­ting high-quality voca­tio­nal options into secondary education systems (e.g. UTCs in the UK), stressing the importance of offering VET pathways without rest­ric­ting future edu­ca­tio­nal opportunities.

Policy Pitches: Key Findings from Skills2Capabilities

A series of research pitches chaired by Triin Roosalu (TLU) showcased the project’s core findings across different work packages:

• national stra­te­gies for skills deve­lo­p­ment and VET reforms (Daniel Unterweger, 3s);
• com­pa­ra­ti­ve analyses of gover­nan­ce and cur­ri­cu­lum respon­si­ve­ness (Torgeir Nyen, FAFO);
• machine-learning use (espe­ci­al­ly LLMs) to analyse vacancy data and VET skills demand (Katarina Weßling, ROA/BIBB);
• new per­spec­ti­ves on skills mismatch focusing on human capa­bi­li­ties rather than employa­bi­li­ty alone (Joanna Kitsnik, TLU);
• VET system responses to changing labour-market requi­re­ments (Didier Fouarge, ROA);
• the roles of policy, labour-market services and stake­hol­ders in VET gover­nan­ce (Jaana Kettunen, JYU);
• and the evolution of VET funding mecha­nisms  (Emily Erickson, IER).

These short, high-density pre­sen­ta­ti­ons offered a cross-sectional view of the changing rela­ti­on­ship between skills supply, skills demand, and the insti­tu­ti­ons that mediate between them.

Poster Session and High-Level Panel: Reconciling Supply-Led and Demand-Led Approaches

Following the poster session with deeper insights into the work package results, Didier Fouarge (ROA) moderated a panel debate with Hubert Ertl (BIBB), Glenda Quintini (OECD), Kirak Ryu (KRIVET), Inga Balnanosienė (Lithuanian PES & EU PES Network) and Emilio Dogliani (EfVET).

Discussions addressed the per­si­stent mismatch between employment growth and skills uti­li­sa­ti­on, the shift from supply-led to demand-led approa­ches over the past 15 years, and how both must now be combined.

Second Keynote: Occupations as the Missing Link?

The first day ended with a keynote by Stephanie Matseleng Allais (University of the Witwatersrand) on “Occupations as the link between education and work: how well does this idea travel?” She que­stio­ned whether occu­pa­tio­nal frame­works translate well across diverse economic contexts, espe­ci­al­ly in low- and middle-income countries, and dif­fe­ren­tia­ted between normative and ana­ly­ti­cal approa­ches in VET reform. The day concluded with closing remarks by Daniel Unterweger (3s).

Day Two: Evidence from Skills2Capabilities and Sister Projects

The second day, chaired by Joanna Kitsnik (TLU) and Petya Ilieva-Trichkova (IPS), showcased sci­en­ti­fic pre­sen­ta­ti­ons from Skills2Capabilities and its sister projects. Highlights included:

• Italy’s skill system adap­t­ati­on (Clementina Croce, dSEA)
• Insights from sister project MEGASKILLS (Katsiaryna Palishchuk)
• Multilevel analyses of skill mismatch and well-being (Petya Ilieva-Trichkova, IPS)
• How occu­pa­tio­nal curricula react to changing work fields in England, Germany, Norway (Torgeir Nyen & Johan Røed Steen, FAFO)

• informal learning and turnover among new hires (Didier Fouarge, ROA)
• Insights from sister project iRead4Skills on streng­thening reading skills through inno­va­ti­on (Raquel Amaro)
• the evolution of VET funding in England over 25 years (Terence Hogarth, IER)

Closing Reflections: Do Our Skills Systems Serve the Future We Want?

In the final remarks, con­sor­ti­ums lead Jörg Markowitsch (3s) reflected on deve­lo­p­ments from the Maastricht Study (2005) and the Lisbon Goals onward, asking not only how VET can respond to the labour market—but also what kind of labour market and economy we aspire to build. He stressed VET’s role not only in employa­bi­li­ty, but in inno­va­ti­on, social par­ti­ci­pa­ti­on, work inte­gra­ti­on, and indi­vi­du­al well-being.