Cedefop European Skills and Jobs Survey (ESJS) is a regular survey that gathers information on job skills requirements, digitalisation, skills mismatches and workplace learning among representative samples of European adult workers.
The first wave (ESJS1) was implemented in 2014 in response to the global financial crisis of 2008 and examined the incidence and causes of skills mismatches in EU labour markets. The second wave (ESJS2), which took place in 2021 in all EU Member States, Iceland and Norway, extends this approach with a particular focus on digitalisation, technological change and their impact on the future of work and skills, also taking into account the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It does so by collecting harmonised international data using a common methodological approach that allows cross-country comparisons across economic sectors, occupations and other key socio-economic and demographic variables.
Why is it a source of digital skills?
The ESJS provides reliable data on key labour market indicators, including:
- socio-demographic characteristics;
- the characteristics of the post;
- job skills requirements (literacy, numeracy, digital, analytical, manual and interpersonal skills);
- skills mismatches (vertical; horizontal, specific skills mismatches, skills gaps and shortages, transitions due to skills mismatches);
- participation in initial and continuing vocational education and training;
- labour market outcomes (wages, job insecurity, job satisfaction).
The ESJS2 is closely linked to the ambitions of the European Skills Agenda and the European Digital Strategy for growth, sustainability and resilience and is a key tool for evidence-based policy-making in VET, skills and employment. The flexible survey concept allows updates in each wave to address emerging policy priorities. For example, ESJS2 examines how technological changes affect job skills requirements and how workers adapt through retraining and vocational training.
Methodology
The second wave of Cedefop’s European Skills and Jobs Survey (ESJS2) was conducted in 2018-2022 in all EU-27 Member States, Iceland and Norway. The survey was carried out by Cedefop’s in-house experts with the support of an expert working group.
A cognitive testing phase was conducted in six countries in 2020, followed by a pilot survey in early 2021 to validate the questionnaire and methodology. The main fieldwork was carried out from May to August 2021 and focused on adults aged 25-64 employed on a wage or salary basis. A total of 46,213 interviews were conducted. Survey data were evaluated using Eurostat’s Labour Force Survey (2019) to be consistent with key demographic and occupational distributions. The final distribution ensured that larger countries had a proportionally greater impact on overall European estimates, while maintaining statistical accuracy across survey regions. More information is available in the ESJS2 sampling methodology report.