New SkiLMeeT Policy Brief: Europe must adapt skills policies as digitalisation transforms existing jobs

Leiden, Netherlands, 9 November 2026 – Digital technologies are reshaping the tasks people perform and the skills they use at work, with most of these changes occurring within existing occupations. A new policy brief from the SkiLMeeT project calls for better labour market monitoring and more targeted training, particularly for workers in lower- and middle-skilled occupations who face the greatest pressure to adapt.

Drawing on research conducted within the SkiLMeeT project, the brief, Digital transition and skill use at work in Europe, by Piotr Lewandowski and Karol Madoń from the Institute of Structural Research (IBS), finds that around 70–80% of changes in workplace tasks and skill use occur within occupations, rather than resulting from shifts in employment between occupations.

“Tracking which occupations grow or decline gives us only part of the picture. We also need to understand how tasks are changing within occupations, so that training can respond to the skills workers need,” says Piotr Lewandowski, co-author of the brief.

The biggest shift in European jobs between the early 2010s and early 2020s was the growing importance of social skills, including coordination and negotiation. Work also became more exposed to artificial intelligence and less reliant on routine tasks.

These shifts were most pronounced in lower-skilled occupations, particularly among craft and trades workers, machine operators and workers in elementary occupations. Clerical, sales and service workers also experienced substantial changes, while managers and professionals saw much smaller shifts. As a result, differences in tasks and skill use between lower- and higher-skilled occupations have narrowed, placing greater demands on workers in less-skilled jobs to adapt.

“Workers in lower- and middle-skilled occupations face strong pressure to adapt, yet often have less access to employer-funded training. Expanding their opportunities to learn can help them develop the digital, social and other non-routine skills that changing jobs require,” says Karol Madoń, co-author of the brief.

The policy brief identifies three priorities for policymakers.

1. Modernise labour market information systems. Monitoring which occupations are expanding or declining is not enough. Policymakers also need to track changes in tasks and skill requirements within occupations to identify emerging training needs.
2. Prioritise lifelong learning for workers in rapidly changing occupations. Education and training programmes should respond to the growing importance of non-routine tasks and social skills, with particular attention to lower- and middle-skilled workers, who often have limited access to employer-sponsored training.
3. Make digital literacy a basic skill across the workforce. As digital technologies affect a wide range of jobs, training policies should ensure that workers in all occupations can develop transferable digital skills, rather than focusing primarily on highly skilled or or technology-intensive jobs.

Policy Brief No.3 Piotr Lewandowski and Karol Madoń (2026), Digital transition and skill use at work in Europe, Deliverable D4.2