By Alain Goudey
The European Union has launched an unprecedented push for digital skills and inclusion, investing tens of billions through initiatives like ESF+, the Digital Europe Programme, and the EU Pact for Skills. While aiming to upskill citizens and strengthen resilience, questions remain about whether these efforts meet the scale of transformation.
Since 2020, the European Union has directed tens of billions of euros toward strengthening citizens’ digital skills and cultivating resilient human capital – an unprecedented effort to respond to the rapid and far-reaching transformations of the labour market, shaped in large part by Covid-19’s aftermath and the rise of AI.
Through initiatives such as ESF+, the Digital Europe Programme, and the ambitious EU Pact for Skills, this substantial commitment underscores a clear ambition: to deliver large-scale upskilling, promote inclusion, and align with the needs of an increasingly digital economy.
The open question, however, is whether this remarkable mobilisation of resources truly matches the scale of the challenge.
Driving the Digital Transition: Record Funding for Skills Development
During the 2021–2027 cycle, the EU has committed over €30 billion to strengthening digital skills. The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) leads the effort, dedicating more than €15 billion to adult learning and basic digital training.
The €7.5 billion Digital Europe Programme complements this by advancing expertise in AI, cybersecurity, and high-performance computing, while also supporting SMEs and strategic industries. These initiatives are reinforced by post-Covid recovery mechanisms such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and REACT-EU, alongside targeted projects like the European AI and quantum academies and the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition, which has already reached some 20 million people.
The strengths of this strategy are evident: broad coverage across age groups and learner profiles, coupled with a lifelong learning approach that prioritises women, older adults, people with disabilities, and rural communities. Coordination between Member States, private sector actors, NGOs, and universities is underway and gaining momentum.
Still, important challenges remain. A typical obstacle is the sheer number of programmes, which often complicates access, particularly for small businesses and vulnerable groups that lack clear information on the relevance and benefits of these opportunities.
The cross-border recognition of micro-credentials also falls behind, while teacher training, especially in primary and secondary education, remains underdeveloped, limiting its long-term impact. If Europe is to embed a genuine digital culture among younger generations, the education system must play a central role. This is not only vital for their professional futures but also for their development as engaged European citizens.
Impact on the labour market: progress – but not fast enough
The European Union has set ambitious goals for 2030: the aim is to equip at least 80% of adults with basic digital skills and employ 20 million information and communication technology (ICT) specialists across the EU. Now we are at the midpoint, how do things stand? As of 2024, only 56% of the adult population in the EU demonstrates basic digital literacy, a very slight uptick on 2023 (55.6%). The gaps between Member States are still very pronounced: the top rates are found in the Netherlands (83%) and Finland (82%), while a number of Central and Eastern European countries are stuck well below the average.
When it comes to jobs, the number of ICT specialists stood at around 10 million in 2023, equivalent to 5% of the EU workforce. This figure is still significantly short of the 2030 target of 20 million, and the disparities are glaring: in Sweden, Luxembourg and Finland, ICT specialists make up more than 8% of the workforce, while the share in Greece and Romania is only 2.4 to 2.6%.4 The proportion of women employed in these professions continues to lag behind at around 19% in 2024 Europe-wide.
Progress is currently too sluggish to meet the objectives of the digital decade; this highlights the need to intensify collaboration, invest more heavily in lifelong education and training, and target under-represented populations (women, seniors and rural areas). To support this endeavour, NEOMA Business School has rolled out a new platform – NEOMA Online – to give everybody the opportunity to learn about digital culture, generative AI, data management and digital transformation.
The concrete success stories of the EU plan include the Skills Pact, which has already upskilled 2 million workers, and the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition, credited with creating 39,000 jobs in the digital sector. The employability of young, trained people is showing signs of improvement, and successful career transitions – like those in Portugal’s metallurgy industry – are to be applauded. All in all, this is a good start.
And yet, the pace of change is too slow: at the current rate, just 60% of adults will be equipped with basic skills by 2030, well below the intended target. Women continue to be significantly under-represented in the digital sector – just one in six professionals is female – and regional disparities persist, especially in rural areas. Put simply, the shortage of digital competencies is a major hurdle to investment for 70% of companies, weakening their position on the international stage.
Supply and demand: a persistent disconnect
Despite record levels of investment in digital skills, the results remain underwhelming. Fragmentation across national education systems and inconsistent alignment with the DigComp framework have led to confusion. A further gap lies between the training offered by universities and professional bodies: with only a handful of exceptions, academic institutions struggle to integrate advanced competencies – such as AI, cybersecurity, and data analysis – into their curricula in ways that meet business needs.
Adding to the challenge is a broader deficit in digital soft skills: areas like algorithmic reasoning, critical thinking, and security awareness are still insufficiently embedded in learning pathways. Finally, the lack of a harmonised framework for recognising micro-credentials and digital badges continues to limit their acceptance and practical value across the Union.
Areas for improvement: building on existing strengths for greater impact
For the European Union, the challenge now is to translate its many initiatives into tangible outcomes through a sharper set of strategic tools. Streamlining governance is a first step: establishing national or sector-specific one-stop shops would greatly simplify access to funding and information.
At the same time, progress in skills recognition must be accelerated. The swift rollout of the European Digital Skills Certificate, together with harmonised micro-credential standards across Member States, would mark a decisive step forward. Another underused lever is investment in teacher training, particularly in primary and secondary education, where targeted upskilling could equip future generations with the foundations they need.
Equally, inclusion requires stronger momentum. Expanding incentives for women, rural populations, and older citizens, alongside tailored mentoring schemes, would help close persistent gaps. A broad strategy for democratising digital literacy is also missing. Here, EU media outlets such as Arte could play a pivotal role by producing content in formats aligned with today’s viewing habits, whether through web series, short-form clips, or social media campaigns.
Universities, too, must increase their agility, adapting curricula more rapidly in close collaboration with businesses. Finally, monitoring and evaluation need to be reinforced, with common impact indicators across the Union to enable real-time policy adjustment. In this ecosystem-driven approach, NEOMA, in partnership with Mistral AI, once again positions itself as an active contributor to shaping Europe’s digital future.
A solid concept in need of stronger execution
There is no doubt that European funding has catalysed and structured a ground breaking digital training offer, both in terms of its volume and diversity. At the same time, the complexity of the systems, the constant disconnect with market needs, and regional and gender inequalities are holding back the full impact in the European Union.
I feel that it would be beneficial to simplify governance, standardise skills recognition and enhance the training of the people who transmit this knowledge in order to organise the upskilling of future generations. Only through these efforts will the tens of billions invested be converted into meaningful digital and inclusive human capital capable of launching Europe into the digital future.
About the Author
Alain Goudey is Associate Dean for Digital and Full Professor at NEOMA Business School, where he specializes in disruptive technologies and sensory marketing. A recognized speaker, researcher, and entrepreneur, he is a member of the school’s Executive Committee and a driving force behind digital transformation in education. His expertise spans marketing, communication strategy, sonic branding, digital transformation, and emerging technologies such as VR, AR, MR, AI, and robotics.
