Empowering Competitiveness

On 26 November 2025, the ETF launched the second stage of the European dialogue on skills and competitiveness, with a high-level roundtable held in Turin. Entitled “Empowering Competitiveness: Investing in Skills Ecosystems and Strategic Partnerships for Prosperity”, the event aimed to act as a catalyst for action, forging new connections that can empower competitiveness and prosperity for all. 

Partnerships for change

The choice of Turin as the venue was no accident: as Deputy Mayor Michela Favaro pointed out, it is a city which has embraced change and won the title of European Capital of Innovation in 2024. The roundtable brought together European, national and local partners, international financial institutions (IFIs), social partners and businesses from the European neighbourhood region to discuss how to make skills the driving force of inclusive and sustainable growth. It also saw the launch of a new partnership between the ETF and the European Investment Bank (EIB), under which the ETF will contribute to a new Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) Technical Assistance Facility, with EUR 1 million earmarked for projects that integrate skills development, gender equality and social inclusion in Eastern Partnership countries and Southern Neighbourhood partners. 

The Turin discussions also coincided with the launch of a new ETF publication – “Skills investments for competitiveness and sustainability” – which highlights how investments in human capital can support both the green and digital transitions and long-term competitiveness. Drafted in collaboration with the European Commission and major IFIs, it aims to position skills at the strategic core of competitiveness, contribute to aligning skills investments with ESG criteria, and illustrate the positive power of partnerships.

Investing in skills

Opening the roundtable in Turin, the ETF’s Lead of Skills Investments and Financing Donatella Di Vozzo described the event as a conversation about the most precious resource that exists: human capital.

“Competition is like a flame,” said Di Vozzo, “and people are the oxygen that keep it burning.”

Across panel discussions and high-level speeches, the conference explored long-term strategies and concrete examples to ensure that flame burns ever brighter.

As ETF Director Pilvi Torsti noted, the event takes place at a pivotal moment, when conflicts and economic transitions are redefining Europe’s competitiveness for decades to come.

“Competitiveness is never just about technology and capital,” said Torsti, “it’s also about people. Skills are where innovation starts. So investing in skills isn’t just socially important, it’s economically strategic too.” 

The ETF occupies a unique position at the crossroads of the EU’s internal and external action, helping to build skills ecosystems that align with EU priorities and enable partner countries to integrate EU value chains. “But public budgets alone can’t deliver the programmes we need for the future, and that’s where the role of IFIs is crucial,” she said. “The ETF is here to act as a bridge between policy and finance.”

Mario Nava – European Commission Director-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion – described the fundamental changes that have taken place in Europe’s labour market during the past 20 years. Excess labour supply has now given way to labour and skills shortages.

“We used to think that skills were a private commodity,” said Nava. “But when the labour market tightens, skills become a public commodity. The sooner we understand that, the sooner we’ll be able to construct a meaningful skills policy.”

And in a global world, the EU and its neighbourhood countries are facing similar problems. Erica Gerretsen – Director of Human Development, Migration, Governance and Peace at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships – outlined the programmes in place to boost skills development beyond the EU’s borders. Launched in 2021, the Global Gateway strategy encourages economic transition in partner countries, while ensuring that investments are aligned with European political, economic and social interests. In parallel, the Team Europe initiative invests in educational programmes outside the EU.

“The involvement of IFIs and the private sector is essential,” said Gerretsen. “Skills have both a public and a private dimension. Our policies aim to create environments that ensure the right skills are available in the right places.”

Ecosystem approach

Environments like that are founded on an ecosystem approach, connecting actors ranging from the training sector, local companies and industries to public authorities and international partners. This approach has now replaced the old model, in which education systems, employment ministries, companies, universities and investments all worked independently of one another.

“Ecosystems are about blurring boundaries,” explained Georgios Zisimos, Head of the ETF’s Human Capital Development Policy Advice Unit.

At the heart of this ecosystem approach are the Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs). CoVEs connect VET providers with employers, research actors and local authorities to foster regional development and inclusion. In the first panel discussion, Liudmila Stihi – State Secretary at Moldova’s Ministry of Education and Research – explained how the country’s 14 CoVEs act as effective focal points for the entire VET system: within them, dedicated business coordinators foster active partnerships with local companies. Angelo Cappetti, Director of the Unione Industriali Torino, described how a similar model of open innovation is becoming prominent in Italy too, where companies now rely on external players like universities, research centres and start-ups to update their skills profiles. Ola Kukkasniemi, from the Finnish company Wooden, noted how the influence of CoVEs raises the status of workers, transforming them into specialists.

Shaping competitiveness

The second panel discussion explored how Smart Specialisation policy can shape innovation and competitiveness. Pirita Vuorinen, the ETF’s Lead Expert on Engaging Enterprises in Skills Development, described how Smart Specialisation aims to build dedicated skills ecosystems around participating companies, which range from start-ups all the way up to Prime Minister’s offices. Montenegro, the first Western Balkan country to adopt Smart Specialisation, is currently working on a new chapter of the strategy that integrates an Entrepreneur Discovery Programme: Ivana Jankovic Mijanovic – Director-General at its Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation – said this approach aims to boost innovation by rooting it in skills development. In Egypt, public/private partnerships are accelerating innovation by fostering a demand-driven education system, said Shimaa Mahgoub from the country’s Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation. 

Skills for growth

To conclude the event, Pilvi Torsti and Lionel Rapaille – Director of the European Investment Bank’s Global Directorate for Enlargement and Neighbourhood – signed the new agreement between the two institutions. Under the partnership, the ETF will implement EUR 1 million within the EUR 6.4 million GESI facility to support five to seven pilot projects that embed skills development, gender equality and social inclusion into EIB-backed investments. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” commented Mathieu Bousquet, Director of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations.

“It marks a strategic turning point, the recognition that skills development is a true multiplier for economic growth.”

And there is more to come: the EIB’s Rapaille emphasized his institution’s intention to expand yesterday’s agreement into further collaborations in the future.

In her closing remarks, Pilvi Torsti observed that the event had focused on essential roles of skills, ecosystems, and long-term effort. But as Mario Nava added, it also highlighted the central role of the ETF as a facilitator and enabler. As the EU and its partner countries focus on boosting competitiveness by building more resilient and inclusive skills ecosystems, the ETF is opening an exciting new chapter in its rich 30-year history.