As digital technologies increasingly reshape how work is performed, workers are required to adapt to new software, new computerised machinery, and changing task requirements. In this context, understanding where technological change is most visible, where digital skill gaps are most acute, and whether workers receive sufficient training is central to labour-market resilience and inclusive economic transition.
The following analysis uses data from the second wave of the European Skills and Jobs Survey (ESJS2). The purpose is threefold: first, to identify where technological change is most prevalent; second, to assess the incidence of tech-underskilling, defined as a need to further improve digital skills to perform one’s job better; and third, to examine the extent to which workers receive training in response to technological change and digital skill needs.
The evidence suggests that technological change is widespread across Europe but unevenly distributed across sectors and countries. It also shows that digital skill deficits are especially common in sectors with high digital task intensity, and that training plays a key role in helping workers adapt. At the same time, the results highlight that training needs and digital transformation pressures are not uniform, making targeted policy responses particularly important.
This analysis is organised into three thematic blocks. The first focuses on technological change, showing where workers are most likely to report having recently learned to use new software or computerised machinery. The second focuses on tech-underskilling, capturing where workers are most likely to report that they need to further improve their digital skills in order to do their job better. The third focuses on training, examining whether workers are receiving job-related education or training in the last twelve months, especially in contexts where technological change has recently occurred.
The charts combine both sectoral and country-level perspectives. Sectoral results help identify where digital transformation pressures are most concentrated in the economy, while country-level results reveal broader geographical variation across Europe. Together, these figures provide an accessible overview of how technological change, skill needs, and training are connected.
Technological change is measured using ESJS2 responses indicating whether workers had learned to use new computer programs, software, or computerised machinery in the last twelve months, or since starting their current job if more recent.
Tech-underskilling refers to workers who reported that they need to further develop their computer or IT skills to do their main job better, to a moderate or great extent.
Training refers to participation in any job-related learning activity in the last twelve months, including courses, seminars, or on-the-job training.
These indicators are based on self-reported data and should therefore be interpreted as descriptive measures of perceived technological exposure, digital skill needs, and training participation.
The first part of the analysis examines how recent technological change is distributed across the European labour market. Across the full ESJS2 sample, 42 percent of respondents reported having experienced recent technological change at work. However, this average masks significant differences across sectors and countries.
At the sectoral level (Incidence of Technological Change by NACE Sector), technological change is more common in occupations and industries with strong digital content and knowledge-intensive work organisation. The Information and Communication sector reports the highest incidence, while lower rates are observed in more manual and less digitally intensive sectors, such as Accommodation and Food Services. This pattern suggests that digital transformation does not affect all parts of the economy equally.
At the country level (Incidence of Technological Change by EU-27+ Country), the highest incidences of technological change are found in Northern and Scandinavian countries, while lower incidences are observed in countries such as Latvia, Cyprus, France, and Germany. These differences likely reflect a combination of sectoral composition, digital infrastructure, technology adoption, and workplace organisation.
The second part of the analysis focuses on tech-underskilling. This concept captures workers who feel that their current digital skills are not fully sufficient and need to be improved in order to perform their main job better. Across the full sample, approximately 67 percent of respondents reported some degree of tech-underskilling.
The incidence of tech-underskilling is notably higher among workers who have experienced recent technological change. Among those who had not experienced technological change, around 60 percent reported a digital skills deficit. Among those who had experienced recent technological change, the corresponding figure rises to 77 percent. This suggests that the introduction of new technologies often creates new skill requirements that many workers feel only partially prepared to meet.
Sectorally (Incidence of Tech-Underskilling by NACE 1 Sector), the highest levels of tech-underskilling are found in areas such as Information and Communication, Professional and Technical Services, and Education. Lower rates are found in sectors such as Accommodation and Food Services, Transportation and Storage, and Water and Waste Management. Importantly, this does not mean that workers in less digitally intensive sectors are fully digitally prepared; rather, it indicates that digital skill needs are especially acute where digital task content is highest.
The positive relationship between technological change and tech-underskilling is illustrated clearly in the sectoral scatterplot (Scatterplot of Technological Change and Tech-Underskilling Incidence (NACE 1 Sector)). Sectors with higher reported technological change are also typically those with higher digital skill deficits, showing that technological adoption and digital upskilling needs tend to move together.
The third part of the analysis focuses on training. In the context of technological change, training is a key mechanism through which workers can adapt to new job requirements and reduce digital skill deficits. In the context of this analysis, training is defined as participation in any of three types of job-related learning in the last twelve months: courses, seminars, or on-the-job training.
The findings show that training is far more common among workers who have recently experienced technological change. In addition, within the group affected by technological change, workers who are tech-underskilled are more likely to have received training than those who are not tech-underskilled. This suggests that training is at least partly targeted towards workers facing the most immediate adaptation pressures.
At the sectoral level (Incidence of Training by NACE Sector (Technological Change Group)), training rates among workers affected by technological change are generally very high. All NACE sectors shown in the report record training rates above 75 percent. The Education sector displays the highest training incidence, while Wholesale and Retail Trade records the lowest among the sectors presented. This pattern suggests that in some parts of the economy, organisational training systems are more developed or more responsive to technological change than in others.
In addition to sectoral differences, a country-level (Incidence of Receiving Training in the Last 12 Months by Country) perspective on training can provide a complementary geographical overview of how European labour markets respond to technological change. A country map showing the incidence of receiving training in the last 12 months helps identify where training participation is relatively high or low across Europe.
This map can be interpreted as an indication of how strongly national labour markets, employers, and training systems respond to technological change. Higher values may reflect stronger employer provision, better institutional support for adult learning, or a labour-market structure in which adaptation to new technologies is more systematically accompanied by training.
Taken together, the results highlight a clear sequence. First, technological change is already widespread in the European labour market, especially in digitally intensive sectors and in several Northern European countries. Second, this transformation is associated with a high incidence of tech-underskilling, particularly in the same sectors where technological change is most prevalent. Third, training appears to play an important supporting role, with relatively high participation among technologically affected workers and especially among those who report digital skill deficits.
These findings underline the importance of targeted digital upskilling policy. The key challenge is not simply to expand training in general, but to ensure that training reaches the workers, sectors, and countries where technological change is creating the strongest skill adaptation pressures.
You may find additional information regarding the data and the methodology used in this report.