10/03/2026
The Council of the European Union adopted the Council Recommendation on Human Capital on 9 March 2026, marking an important step in strengthening Europe’s capacity to address labour and skills shortages.
The recommendation encourages Member States to invest more strategically in education, training and lifelong learning systems while improving the way skills needs are monitored and anticipated.
One of the key priorities highlighted in the initiative is the development of stronger skills intelligence systems, including the use of data, analytics and forecasting tools to better understand labour market trends.
Across Europe, policymakers face growing challenges in anticipating the skills required for the green and digital transitions, technological change and demographic shifts.
To address this, the recommendation encourages countries to strengthen their ability to collect and analyse labour market data and use digital tools — including artificial intelligence — to improve skills forecasting and career guidance.
These objectives closely align with the work of the TRAILS project, which focuses on developing data-driven approaches to understand skills needs and labour market developments.
By improving the availability and use of skills data, policymakers and education providers can better design training programmes, support workforce transitions, and reduce mismatches between labour supply and demand.
The recommendation is also linked to the European Semester, the EU’s annual cycle for coordinating economic, employment and social policies.
Through this process, Member States will report on developments related to human capital, skills systems and workforce preparedness. The European Commission will assess progress and may issue country-specific recommendations guiding national reforms.
Reliable data and robust analytical tools will therefore play an increasingly important role in supporting evidence-based policymaking.
As the demand for timely labour market intelligence grows, initiatives such as TRAILS contribute to strengthening the analytical foundations needed to design effective skills policies.
By developing innovative methods to collect, analyse and interpret labour market data, the project supports policymakers, researchers and education providers in building more responsive and future-proof skills systems across Europe.
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101132673
