Synthesis of Recommendations

1. Accessibility and Inclusivity of Education

• Inclusivity framework underlying the Union of Skills in synergy with the EEA
• Establish strong interlinkages with the planned Anti-Poverty Strategy, the Affordable Housing Plan, the Action Plan on the Implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, and initiatives regarding Gender Equality, the LGBTIQ equality, and anti-racism strategy
• Implement a Council Recommendation and investment pathway for Student Support Services to support student service providers in expanding their efforts
• Incentivize member states to support students financially, regarding (mental) health, housing, and transport, including through the MFF and European Semester

2. Student Participation, Democratic Values, and Active Citizenship Education

• Involve democratically elected student representatives in the policy design of current and new EU initiatives; include this as a criterion criterion for the funding of the European University Alliances and as a criterion for the European Degree label
• Promote competencies in democratic and civic values, active citizenship, and critical thinking, on par with other skills; including through the STE(A)M Education Strategic Plan, EU Teachers Agenda, VET-related initiatives and the European Degree (Label); as well as through skills recognition through microcredentials and traditional degrees
• Promote an initiative for service-learning in HE to expand cooperation between higher education and non-formal learning sectors and competencies-based curriculum development

3. Twin Transition, Digitalisation, and Development of Future Skills

• Break silos between STE(A)M and humanities through interdisciplinary learning, guided by ethics, policy, and social impact
• Promote the development of these transversal skills through the STE(A)M Education Strategic Plan and the EU Teachers Agenda and a Digital Education Action Plan for Higher Education

4. Recognition of Qualifications and Prior Learning, Quality of Education, and VET

• Support automatic recognition of qualifications based on learning outcomes
• Strengthen the existing model of independent quality assurance agencies, peer reviews, and student involvement
• Update and fully implement the 2012 Council Recommendation on the Validation of Non-formal and Informal Learning (make RPL a reality)
• Develop common standards between sectors for a microcredentials connected to the Skills Portability Initiative to ensure credibility, trust, and a common understanding and language
• Promote, in line with the EU Talent Pool Initiative, mutual recognition frameworks for third-country nationals, including refugees, at system levels

5. Academic Freedom, Institutional Autonomy, and Traditional Degrees

• Uphold higher education’s broader mission beyond workforce training and recognize the value of traditional degrees due to their holistic approach to learning and teaching
• Embed the Union of Skills in a framework that upholds academic freedom

6. Student Mobility, Combating Brain Drain, and Attracting/Retaining Talent

• Strengthen Erasmus+ within the Union of Skills framework; adjust grants
• Integrate language exposure and skills development as criteria for the European Degree (label)
• Ensure automatic recognition of qualifications earned via mobility
• Develop an initiative to counter brain-drain and talent retention
• Establish EU study and research-stay visas for third-country nationals, including the prospect of long-term stays in connection to Choose Europe

7. Governance, Policy Coherence and Financing

• Prioritize full implementation of existing policies rather than establishing new ones
• Fully implement Bologna Tools and Key Commitments
• Avoid creating a two-speed education system, support for small and rural HEIs
• Strengthen European University Alliances through non-project-based funding

• Strengthen coordination between DGs through a common education agenda under guidance of DG EAC
• Establish a high-level coordination body to oversee and integrate initiatives across EU structures working on education policy
• Ensure social dialogue with democratic representative stakeholder organisations from the academic community

• Ensure the Union of Skills is backed by fresh funding.
• Develop an EU Investment Framework for (Higher) Education to leverage and coordinate investments through Cohesion Funds and other programmes; fivefold increase Erasmus+
• Systematically monitor and assess education investments and reforms, excluding them from deficit rules (Golden Rule).
• Leverage the European Semester and MFF to encourage member states to better coordinate sectors nationally, including through national lifelong learning advisory structures
• Strengthen systematic stakeholder involvement on European and national levels regarding financial instruments

Introduction

With the Commission’s priorities for 2024-2029, the idea of a Union of Skills to ensure sustainable prosperity through skills development in training and education has become a vital component of the new Strategic Agenda. A key element to reach the goals set out for the upcoming years is the higher education sector – not to be limited only to competitiveness but also directly connected to ensuring the protection of democracy and European values, strengthening the social model and support of young people, sustaining our quality of life, strengthening security and ensuring preparedness for the future.

         Higher education institutions drive innovation, equip learners with critical skills, and foster collaboration with civil society and industry, being ultimately the space where high-level specialised skills are acquired, which Europe lacks in its labour force. Additionally, equal access to and transnational mobility in higher education reduce inequalities, which is vital for social cohesion and economic stability, supporting efforts of combating poverty and protecting democracy.

Education is foundational to the Union of Skills, requiring reinforcement of existing EU initiatives rather than creating redundant structures. A student-centred, lifelong learning approach must connect sectors through shared frameworks, ensuring skills development supports democracy, social cohesion, and economic resilience beyond narrow labour market goals. Skills and competencies development is a means in itself, grounded in a broader context of competences connected to issues such as education for democracy, intercultural understanding and active citizenship education, which are pivotal to ensure that Europe’s learners and workers advance Europe’s competitiveness and sustainable prosperity by supporting people, strengthening our societies, sustaining our quality of life, protecting our democracy and upholding our values.

Key Policy Priorities

1. Accessibility and Inclusivity of Education

The Union of Skills must prioritise accessibility and inclusivity to serve all learners across Europe. As it harmonises skills development, it must prevent reinforcing inequalities and ensure equal access to quality education. Especially financial barriers like tuition fees, high living costs, and lack of support disproportionately impact disadvantaged, vulnerable and underrepresented students and hinder intergenerational fairness. In synergy with the European Education Area, an inclusivity framework could be beneficial.

The Union of Skills must integrate social measures directly and incentivise member states and relevant national stakeholders to incorporate measures to support students financially in regard to (mental) health, housing and transport. To this end, ESU advocates for strong interlinkages with the planned Anti-Poverty Strategy, the Affordable Housing Plan, the Action Plan on the Implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, the upcoming initiatives regarding Gender Equality and the LGBTIQ equality and anti-racism strategy. We furthermore propose a Council Recommendation and investment pathway for Student Support Services as a tailor-made program to support student service providers to expand and strengthen their efforts.

2. Student Participation, Democratic Values and Active Citizenship Education

The Union of Skills should reflect the values that underpin the European Union, especially in terms of stakeholder involvement. Within the Union of Skills, democratically elected student representatives should be involved in the policy design of current and new EU initiatives. Within any initiative, the same principle of student participation in decision-making should be ingrained in the design of initiatives, especially regarding the governance of European University Alliances. For this, we propose a strong integration of the criterion for the funding of the European University Alliances and as a criterion for the European Degree label.

         Building further up on this, the fostering of competencies (i.e. skills) on democratic and civic values, active citizenship and critical thinking should be put on the same level of importance as the development of other skills, as they build the foundational stone for learners and workers to execute their work in a human-centred way that benefits society at large – which is especially important regarding the challenges that digital technologies and the twin transition may pose if not executed in a cautious and people-centred way. The fostering of these competencies should be integrated into the STE(A)M Education Strategic Plan, the EU Teachers Agenda, VET-related initiatives, the design of curricula regarding learning outcomes and as criterion within the European Degree (Label) and connects to skills recognition, including through the microcredential framework. Additionally, an initiative that promotes service-learning in higher education would be beneficial to expand the cooperation between higher education and informal and non-formal learning sectors in providing skills and competencies-based curriculum components.

3. Twin Transition, Digitalisation and Development of Future Skills

The Union of Skills must provide the foundations needed to tackle the twin transition, digitalisation and development of future skills and interlink these issues in regard to energy-efficient tech, circular economy principles, and responsible AI into education. Breaking silos between STE(A)M and humanities through interdisciplinary learning is key, where science is guided by ethics, policy, and social impact. Skills development should ensure both employability and adaptability, emphasising critical thinking, creativity, and civic engagement alongside technical expertise. Higher education must cultivate these transversal skills, linking knowledge with social responsibility. Focussing on STE(A)M should not neglect the importance of humanities.

Future skills development must balance societal needs with long-term education, avoiding a narrow focus on immediate labour demands. Digital literacy, AI, and problem-solving are vital, but curricula must also emphasise critical thinking, creativity, and ethics. A Digital Education Action Plan for Higher Education should be developed. Policies should promote adaptability, lifelong learning, and broad competencies, ensuring graduates shape the future responsibly. This is especially relevant for the STE(A)M Education Strategic Plan and the EU Teachers Agenda.

4. Recognition of Qualifications, Prior Learning, Quality of Education and VET

Building on Bologna Tools, the Union of Skills should support advances regarding the automatic recognition of qualifications based on learning outcomes, fostering more trust between higher education systems and institutions through strong quality assurance mechanisms to uphold high academic standards. Strengthening the existing model of independent quality assurance agencies, peer reviews, and student involvement in conjunction with the European Approach for QA of Joint Programmes is equally important.

Recognition of prior learning from non-formal education is equally important. Many gain skills through work, volunteering, or self-study, yet these remain unrecognised. Skills acquired through VET are usually not, or only to a low extent, recognisable within higher education diplomas. Strengthening RPL requires clear guidelines, quality assurance, and collaboration between higher education institutions, civil society organisations, employers, and policymakers. The 2012 Council Recommendation on the Validation of Non-formal and Informal Learning should be updated and fully implemented. Additionally, the microcredentials framework offers the possibility to integrate learning from different sectors in an effort towards RPL and the integration of VET and higher education. For this, common standards need to be developed to ensure credibility and trust, as well as a common understanding and language (e.g. ECTS), which should be considered for the Skills Portability Initiative.

The Union of Skills should moreover ensure the recognition of qualifications for third-country nationals, including refugees, to remove bureaucratic barriers to education and employment. Many migrants arrive with valuable expertise but struggle to validate their credentials, limiting their contributions. The Union of Skills should promote mutual recognition frameworks, recognition at system-levels rather than institutional, standardised assessments, and bridge programs to help individuals update their qualifications. Inclusive recognition policies will allow Europe to harness skilled talent, fostering both social cohesion and economic growth in line with the EU Talent Pool initiative.

5. Academic Freedom, Institutional Autonomy and Traditional Degrees

Microcredentials bear potential regarding flexibility, employability, and accessibility, especially regarding lifelong learning, but must not replace traditional degrees. Traditional degrees provide deep, research-based learning in a holistic way that includes critical thinking and interdisciplinary knowledge that short-term courses cannot replicate. The Union of Skills must uphold higher education’s broader mission beyond workforce training and recognise the value of traditional degrees.

Academic freedom and institutional autonomy are key for HEIs to deliver high-quality education that addresses both market needs and societal challenges. HEIs are responsible for curriculum design, ensuring programs are grounded in the scientific method, integrity and ethics, and holistic knowledge development. While industry collaboration is vital for skills alignment, it shouldn’t compromise academic freedom. The Union of Skills must operate within a framework of upholding academic freedom, bringing policymakers, HEIs and stakeholders together to incentivise the higher education sector to support innovative models without imposing rigid frameworks that undermine academic freedom.

6. Student Mobility, Combating Brain Drain and Attracting/Retaining Talent

Student mobility is a proven method of upskilling, fostering intercultural competencies, and enhancing the language skills of learners. To reach the mobility targets of the EU as set out in Europe on the Move, Erasmus+ needs to be strengthened within the framework of the Union of Skills, and it needs to be ensured that new mobility schemes for VET and schools do not come at the expense of the higher education sector. Moreover, within the European Degree label, aspects such as language exposure and the development of skills and competencies should be integrated as a criterion. Recognition of qualifications earned via mobility needs to be automatic, and the Erasmus+ grants must be adjusted to ensure more learners can benefit from mobility schemes.

At the same time, the Union of Skills must address the brain drain by ensuring mobility policies don’t cause talent to flow only to economically dominant regions and countries. While mobility is vital for skills development, it shouldn’t weaken local innovation ecosystems. An anti-brain-drain initiative should be developed aiming at the creation of attractive conditions for talent retention, such as improved research funding, career opportunities, and working conditions in socio-economically disadvantaged and rural areas. Incentives like scholarships, return grants, and stronger HEI-industry links, as well as embeddedness in the local/regional civil society markup, can help retain talent. Circular migration models, where individuals return after gaining experience abroad, should also be encouraged.

Additionally, aligning with the EU Talent Pool initiative, EU study and research-stay visas should be established that allow third-country nationals to stay for the whole duration of their education pathway and offer possibilities for long-term stay, as currently, Europe’s competitiveness is suffering from the constant loss of foreign talents due to unfavourable visa and residency rules. Conditions need to be created that incentivise third-country nationals and domestic students to Choose Europe.

Governance, Policy Coherence and Financing

1. Policy Coherence

Rather than introducing new policy initiatives, the full implementation of existing policies to close gaps in skills development and recognition should be prioritised. Strengthening synergies with external stakeholders (such as the European Higher Education Area and the Council of Europe) is equally important, especially in higher education, given the autonomy of the sector. Full implementation of Bologna Tools and Key Commitments is essential for equipping students with relevant skills, and existing frameworks from external stakeholders should be leveraged to prevent duplication of already existing solutions.

The skills agenda must avoid creating a two-speed education system. Small and rural HEIs should receive tailored support, not just European University Alliances. At the same time, the financing of the Alliances should not be based on project funding as this prevents the implementation of actually useful long-term initiatives at the expense of short-term project-logic-driven deliverables. Beyond vocational and secondary education, a lifelong learning approach is crucial, as higher education plays a key role in ensuring that people acquire the necessary skills and competencies.

2. Governance Structures and Social Dialogue

Stronger coordination between DG EAC, DG EMPL and other DGs through a common education agenda is needed to prevent policy duplication, with DG EAC guiding DG EMPL and other DGs on education policy given their expertise on education policy. At the same time, better interlinkages within and across units would enhance alignment. A structured, inter-DG working structure could enhance collaboration, ensuring policy alignment and synergies. A high-level coordination body should oversee and integrate initiatives across EU structures working on education policy, many of which currently operate without consulting DG EAC or DG EMPL.

Additionally, social dialogue with democratic representative stakeholder organisations from the academic community should be at the basis of any working structure and initiative, involving them throughout the entire policy-circle and building upon their expertise.

As for the possible ideas such as a Skills Observatory and graduate-tracking, the integration with the European Higher Education Sector Observatory (EHESO) should be considered, as yet another platform makes it not only less transparent and accessible where to find information, but also would lack the possibility of directly connecting the data on higher education and skills development.

3. Financing the Union of Skills and (Higher) Education

It is necessary to realise that the Union of Skills must be backed by fresh funding. Moreover, an EU Investment Framework for (Higher) Education must be developed in order to systematically leverage investments through Cohesion Funds and other programmes and to allow for tailor-made impactful initiatives across DGs, with DG EAC serving as an expertise provider across EU institutions. Increase the Erasmus+ budget fivefold, establishing education as the 5th freedom of the EU. Education investments and reforms must be systematically monitored and assessed and should be excluded from deficit rules (Golden Rule), as education and training are pivotal to reaching the goals of the EU competitiveness and growth agenda in connection to the UoS. The European Semester and MFF should be leveraged to incentivise member states to better coordinate lifelong learning between sectors on national levels, e.g. through national lifelong learning advisory structures.

         As a learning from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, with regards to budget allocation and initiative selection of EU financial instruments at large, systematic stakeholder involvement on European and national levels should be strengthened, as investments in education were higher and more strategic in countries where stakeholders were actually systematically involved in the consultation process regarding the RRF.

Further Reads

• ESU’s Internationalisation and Mobility Policy Paper (2023)
• Fundamental Values and Solidarity Policy Paper (2024)
• Policy Paper on Social Dimension (2024)
• Policy Paper on Quality of Higher Education (2021)
• ESU’s Priorities for a Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034 and European Semester that future-proof education (2025)
• ESU’s position on the European Degree (label) (2024)
• ESU’s position on the Council Recommendation on Quality Assurance and Recognition (2024)
• ESU’s position on sustainable and attractive academic careers (2024)
• Resolution on the improvement of the processes related to the Recognition of Prior Learning in Europe (2024)
• ESU’s Contribution to the Digital Education Action Plan (2024)
• ESUs position on the European Universities Initiative (2024)
• ESU resolution on European Parliament Elections (2024)
• Statement on Forcibly Displaced and Refugee Students (2024)
• Resolution on Fundamental Values, Education for  Democracy and Citizenship Education (2024)
• ESU’s opinion on the mid-term review of the European Education Area (2024)
• ESU’s Student Manifesto – 24 proposals for the 2024 European Elections (2022)