Briefing note – Big skills for small companies

European companies’ economic performance depends on effective utilisation of their employees’ skills. Employers are key players in fostering continuing vocational education and training (CVET). Nine out of 10 participants in job-related training received support from their employers, who either contributed to training costs or enabled training during paid working time.
However, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) train their employees less than larger companies do. This is one of the reasons why the European Commission has proclaimed 2023 the European Year of Skills: to ‘promote a mindset of lifelong learning, thereby promoting opportunities for personal development, boosting the resilience of European societies and the competitiveness of European companies, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises’.