First findings from European Training and Learning Survey describe enabling conditions for successful learning and training on the job

First findings from European Training and Learning Survey describe enabling conditions for successful learning and training on the job

In April 2026, CEDEFOP published “Beyond skills development: unleashing human potential – First findings from Cedefop’s European Training and Learning Survey”.

This report makes a contribution towards better understanding human-centricity in the workplace. It reviews learning in an Industry 5.0 context and reports the first findings of the European Training and Learning Survey (ETLS).

Facts and findings:

• Skills development is strongly associated with the motivation to learn, the need for learning, the effort put into learning (the participation in learning activities).
• Motivation for learning is shaped jointly by personal drivers and workplace incentives, such as pay and workplace norms about learning. Learning need emerges as personal characteristics, but it is also affected by contextual variables like job redesign and the introduction of new technologies or work processes.
• Motivation to learn, job autonomy and managerial support are strongly associated with a higher participation in all learning activities, both employer-organised and self-initiated.
• Participation in employer-organised learning activities is higher when information about how to job one’s job well is readily available, when learning is linked to career progression, in case of job redesign, and when employees’ workload is manageable.
• Participation in self-initiated learning activities is more frequent in workplaces in which employees share information and engage in behaviours that help the smooth unfolding of operations.

Report “Beyond skills development: unleashing human potential – First findings from Cedefop’s European Training and Learning Survey” available here.