A look back at 2024: addressing the skills shortage in every way possible

A whole range of levers were activated in 2024 to tackle the skills shortage currently affecting a large number of countries, from strengthening vocational training to keeping older people in work for as long as possible, and from improving working conditions, particularly for women and disabled people, to attracting skilled foreign workers.

By Nathalie Tran. Published on 14 January 2025 à 11h37 - Update on 17 July 2025 à 17h32

While the causes are manifold and vary according to sector and occupation, the strong recovery in the labour market following the Covid-19 pandemic and the falling birth rate in the most advanced economies have only exacerbated the labour shortage in recent years. In the first quarter of 2024, the average job vacancy rate in the EU was close to 3%. Finding solutions to the shortage, but also to the mismatch in skills, has therefore remained a major concern almost everywhere in the world. The issue was on the agenda of the first informal meeting of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU,…

Nathalie Tran

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