PRESS RELEASE - Turin roundtable launches new ETF–EIB partnership on skills, inclusion and investment
Agreement signed at the event ‘Empowering Competitiveness: Investing in Skills Ecosystems and Strategic Partnerships for Prosperity’
Turin, 26 November 2025 – One in four companies in the European Union struggles to find employees with the right skills and 77% report that even new recruits lack key competences, while job vacancy rates for clean tech manufacturing doubled between 2019 and 2023. In response to this challenge in strategic sectors, senior representatives of the European Union, international financial institutions and partner countries met today in Turin to discuss the role of skills in strengthening competitiveness. On this occasion, the European Training Foundation (ETF) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) launched a partnership under which the ETF will contribute to the 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 (Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) and Southern Neighbourhood partners (Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia).
Hosted by the ETF under the patronage of the City of Turin, the high-level roundtable ‘Empowering Competitiveness: Investing in Skills Ecosystems and Strategic Partnerships for Prosperity’ represented the second stage of the European dialogue on skills and competitiveness and the first strategic partnership between the ETF and the EIB. The event also saw the launch of the publication ‘Skills investments for competitiveness and sustainability’, which highlights how investment in human capital can support green and digital transitions and long-term competitiveness.
Pilvi Torsti, Director of the European Training Foundation, said: “Building a future-proof workforce is about embedding skills into every investment, every strategy, every product. And it is about ensuring that every euro invested in competitiveness also invests in people. Together, we can create a coherent system where investments in infrastructure are matched with investments in people, and where green and digital transitions are genuinely just.”
Michela Favaro, Vice Mayor of Turin, said: “Human capital and skills are essential drivers of innovation and prosperity. Turin is proud to host the European Training Foundation, which for more than 30 years has helped shape policies on education, training and labour. This blend of legacy, talent and innovation makes Turin an ideal place to host a conversation on skills and competitiveness across the EU neighbourhood and enlargement regions.”
Mario Nava, Director-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion at the European Commission and Chair of the ETF Governing Board, said: “Skills are a horizontal enabler of competitiveness in Europe, for social market economy, yet there is an unprecedented skills challenge. This is why we have put forward a Union of Skills – a strategy for a radical step up in ambition and action. Skills are an investment, not a cost. Vocational education and training is a strategic choice for future competitiveness, for inclusion and for the dignity of work.”
Lionel Rapaille, EIB Global Director – Enlargement and Neighbourhood, said: “Leveraging talent, strengthening engagement and inclusion is one of the EIB’s priority to achieve inclusive prosperity and our ambitions as the Climate bank. There is an increasing focus on skills development at the EIB and a recognised need for investment in human capital. Thanks to the agreement we are signing with ETF today, we will create more value and impact through our investments in terms of gender equality and social inclusion by upgrading skills and employability of young people, women, and vulnerable groups in the Neighbourhood region”.
The GESI Facility: linking investment, skills and inclusion
Under the new ETF-EIB partnership, the ETF will implement EUR 1 million within the EUR 6.4 million GESI Facility to support 5/7 pilot projects that embed skills development, gender equality and social inclusion into EIB-backed investments in the EU enlargement and neighbourhood region. The GESI Facility is financed by the European Commission (EUR 5.8 million) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (EUR 0.6 million).
Over the next three years, the GESI Facility will help EIB promoters design and implement training and skills components that promote inclusion, gender equality and social impact, ensuring that investments generate tangible benefits for women, young people and vulnerable groups. The ETF will contribute its expertise on skills, education and employment systems in partner countries, helping to strengthen human capital and support more inclusive labour markets around key sectors such as energy, transport, agriculture and the green transition.
The initiative is financed through the Eastern Partnership Technical Assistance Trust Fund (EPTATF) and the FEMIP Trust Fund and will support projects under the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) – Investment Window 1. It will operate in the EU neighbourhood, including Eastern Partnership countries such as Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, and Southern Neighbourhood partners such as Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.
Partners looking to the future
The discussions in Turin took place against the backdrop of the Union of Skills – the emerging European agenda on competitiveness, industrial transition and human capital – and recent calls, including in the Draghi Report, to build more resilient and inclusive skills ecosystems. Participants underlined that investment in people must accompany investment in technology, infrastructure and clean industries if competitiveness and a just transition are to be secured in the European Union and in the enlargement and neighbourhood region.
The Turin dialogue brought together European, national and local partners, international financial institutions, social partners and businesses from the EU neighbourhood. The outcomes will inform the next stages of the European dialogue on skills and competitiveness and guide the selection and design of pilot projects under the GESI Facility.
About the European Training Foundation
The European Training Foundation (ETF) is the European Union agency that supports EU neighbouring countries in reforming education, training and labour market systems. The ETF works with nearly 30 countries – from Ukraine to the Western Balkans, from the Southern Mediterranean to Central Asia and the African Union– to strengthen the security and prosperity of Europe and its neighbours. The ETF Governing Board, chaired by Mario Nava, European Commission’s Director-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, brings together representatives from all 27 EU Member States. The ETF is based in Italy.
Media relations
Daria Santucci, +39 366 9639638, mediarelations@etf.europa.eu