European Year of Skills

The European Year of Skills (EYS) was launched by the President of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, in October 2022. In her 2022 State of the Union Address, she called for greater investment in education and training, better use of the potential of Europe’s workforce, sustainable growth of the European Union’s (EU) market economy, increased competitiveness, and the creation of quality jobs.

This was followed by a negotiation process which concluded on 10 May 2023 with the adoption of Decision (EU) 2023/936 of the European Parliament and the Council on the EYS. The Decision entered into force upon its publication in the Official Journal of the EU on 11 May 2023 and is available in all EU languages here.

The European Year of Skills lasted from 9 May 2023 to 8 May 2024. During this period, numerous activities were carried out at both EU and Member State levels. During the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the national coordinators of the EYS submitted to the European Commission a statement on the EYS with the title Beyond the European Year of Skills: Maintaining the Momentum, in which we advocated for a holistic approach to the issue.

The successful implementation of the EYS made a significant contribution to the Union of Skills initiative, which the Commission published as a Communication on 5 March 2025.

The Commission published the final report on the EYS on 2 October 2025: Report on the implementation, results and overall assessment of the European Year of Skills (COM(2025) 583 final).

Activities of the EYS have been supported by the Slovenian EYS website where you can find more detailed information on European and Slovenian EYS activities.

Links to videorecordings of the most prominent Slovenian EYS events are posted below.

First EAAL Forum 2024: Skills for All (16 April 2024)

27th Adult Education Colloquium – the opening event of the European Year of Skills for Slovenia, June 1, 2023