Eurostat data show that, in 2024, only 28.1% of adults aged 25 to 64 in the European Union participated in education and training in the last 12 months, up 3.1 percentage points compared to 2022, Ziarul Financiar reported.

Romania is in the group of states where all regions are below the EU average, along with Bulgaria, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Germany, and Latvia. A separate survey shows why this is: the Romanian companies earmarked only 0.1% of their personnel expenditures for vocational training in 2020, compared to 0.7% EU-wide average and rates of over 1% in developed countries such as France, Germany, or the Northern countries.

At the opposite end, countries such as Denmark, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, or Slovenia have participation rates above the European average in all regions.

Sweden is an extreme case: every region reports a rate of over 55%, while in Bulgaria, Greece, and Croatia (excluding the capitals), the participation is below 11%.

The EU Strategy for Education and Training by 2030 sets an ambitious target: 60% of adults aged 25 to 64 should participate in learning programmes annually. 

iulian@romania-insider.com

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