The Commission Launches a Large-Scale Partnership for Skills in the Healthcare Sector

With the support of the Commission, healthcare sector stakeholders, including pharmaceutical companies and universities, have created a large-scale skills partnership. This partnership will enhance training in this sector, which is essential for the EU’s industrial and social well-being. The sector faces significant skills and workforce shortages, which are expected to intensify due to the increasing demand for health products and services caused by Europe’s aging population. This new partnership, which covers the production of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and personal protective equipment, complements the existing skills partnership in the health sector that covers medical services.
The partnership’s ambition is to develop a common model for cultivating skills, especially in the current context of green and digital transformation, by pooling knowledge, experiences, and resources. The goal is to facilitate upskilling and reskilling initiatives across the health sector, as well as to promote learning and training opportunities in the field. Specific skill needs will be taken into account, such as adapting to technological developments, regulatory compliance, quality assurance, as well as supply chain, inventory creation, and distribution management.
Additionally, the partnership will focus on enhancing the collection of information on skill needs in the sector and monitoring new training programs that align with identified needs. It will also contribute to the development of a skills agenda for the European health sector.
The Pact for Skills is one of the flagship initiatives of the European Skills Agenda. It aims to mobilize resources and provide incentives to all relevant partners to take concrete measures to improve skills and reskill the workforce in key industrial ecosystems. To date, the Pact has contributed to the training of over 2 million workers, with 15,500 updated or new training programs and 160 million euros invested by Pact members in training programs. It also contributes to the European Year of Skills and the EU’s primary goal that, by 2030, at least 60% of all adults should participate in training every year.
The large-scale skills partnership in the healthcare sector is the 19th large-scale partnership of the Pact for Skills and the third in the health ecosystem of the EU’s industrial strategy.