​​​​​Technical support for skills policy reforms available for EU Member States

Technical Support Instrument  

The Technical Support Instrument (TSI) is an EU programme that provides EU Member States with tailored technical expertise to help them design and implement reforms. The support is demand-driven and does not require any co-financing from Member States. The TSI support can cover any phase in the reform process: from preparing and designing to developing and implementing the reforms. The instrument can be accessed by both national and regional/local authorities from the EU Member States. The requests must be submitted every year by 31 October. 

Flagship on Skills 

Considering the 2023 European Year of Skills and the TSI 2024 call, DG REFORM has proposed a Flagship on Skills: Fostering skills development systems better adapted to the labour market. A flagship project, as opposed to individual project requests, includes a set of predefined support measures that align EU and Member States priorities. The flagship aims to respond to the key challenges that the European Union is facing, such as persistent skills mismatches, labour shortages and insufficient skills of the workforce for the green and digital transition, and an ageing and shrinking workforce, particularly in certain European regions. 

The flagship identifies five work packages to be tailored to each Member States needs and particularities: 

1. Design and implement reforms to prepare Europeans for the green and digital economies and adapt the education and training systems to the needs of the labour market. 
2. Improve the inclusiveness and quality of education and training systems to ensure better educational outcomes for all learners.
3. Support the modernisation of tertiary education and improve its labour market relevance, with a focus on STEM. 
4. Develop and improve methods and tools to monitor labour and skills shortages and to better anticipate the skills and qualifications requirements of the labour market. 
5. Design policies to address labour and skills shortages and to harness talent in the regions. 

Support measures 

Depending on the needs and situation of the requesting Member State, the TSI can provide a wide range of support measures Examples include: 

• stakeholder mapping and consultations​;  

• analysis and mapping of the training and education needs of the workforce;​  

• design and support in the implementation of strategies, roadmaps, action plans and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms;  

• ​pilot testing for the implementation of strategies, action plans or tools.  

More information on the available support measures is available on the dedicated website.  

Next steps 

Member States interested in applying for the support under the TSI 2024 Flagship on Skills are invited to contact DG REFORM at REFORM-B4ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (REFORM-B4[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu).  

The coordinating authorities of Member States can submit requests for flagship technical support via the Commission’s IT portal. DG REFORM grants access to this portal. Both national coordinating authorities and beneficiary authorities can use it but only coordinating authorities can submit requests for technical support from the Commission. 

Background information & useful links  

DG REFORM website 

About the TSI 2024 call 

Flagship on Skills: Fostering skills development systems better adapted to the labour market