The European Commission and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) have launched the European Advanced Materials Academy to train 200,000 people by 2029 to future-proof Europe’s workforce.
The new Academy will support the preparation of the Advanced Materials Act, which is going to be presented by the European Commission next year. The rough timeline was confirmed during the Academy’s Brussels launch on 15 October.
Through its various programmes, EIT has already trained 1.3 million people. Now, the newly launched academy will focus on skills relevant to Europe’s high-tech sectors such as energy, mobility, electronics, and construction.
EIT’s skills academies have been designed as practical, industry-led partnerships to address workforce skills gaps by providing training programmes and experimenting with upskilling and reskilling the workforce.
Labour market mismatch persists
Participants agreed that Europe is facing a skills gap that is hindering its innovation and production of advanced materials. Advanced materials are key for strengthening Europe’s productivity, hence its competitiveness, but also for strengthening the strategic autonomy of the EU.
Advanced materials, such as recyclable carbon reinforced plastics and sodium-ion batteries, are the invisible engine driving the digital, energy, and industrial transformations, said Bernd Schäfer, the CEO of EIT RawMaterials, which will lead the implementation of the Academy. Training is set to start in early 2026.
Key parts of the discussions during the EIT Education and Skills Days revolved around the importance of developing the right kind of talent in Europe. Several panellists stressed that having the right talent trumps access to funding and technology when fostering competitive environments.
Yet, one in four companies claim they aren’t able to hire people with the skills they need. On top of that, the ones that do hire often say that even if they find good people, they do not necessarily have the training that we need them to have to be immediately operational.
However, the CEO of ECQA, which provides unified certification systems, Michael Reiner warned that many companies he meets hesitate to certify their employees as they then become more valuable to other companies. On the other hand, other speakers stressed the importance of having the learning credentials of employees be recognised throughout Europe.
While the EU acknowledges that its skills gap is hindering innovation, including in its advanced materials sector, boosting innovation in the EU will require a lot more than just imparting scientific knowledge according to the Chairperson of EIT’s governing board, Stefan Dobrev, innovation depends on a lot more than just scientific knowledge.
“Innovation depends on the ability of translating that knowledge into a fertile ground of products, services, and ideas,” Dobrev said.
Renewed focus on women in science
The second day of the EIT Education and Skills Days focused on university–industry partnerships, including the EIT Higher Education Initiative’s Call for Proposals 2025 featuring up to €70 million in funding. The EIT’s work to continue pushing for greater representation of women in STEM was also highlighted, while the scope of one of its flagship programmes was also broadened in scope and renamed to Girls Go STEM.
Attendees also heard from Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva, who highlighted the importance of supporting European startups and scale-ups and the talent they need to thrive, noting their role in strengthening Europe’s capabilities in key sectors and technologies.
The event’s main conclusion is that Europe needs to adapt its innovation potential; the persistent mismatch between the skills Europe teaches and the skills its labour markets demand needs to be tackled.
(BM)
