On 31 January 2025, we hosted a dynamic Pledgers’ Share & Connect Event at the PariSanté Campus in Paris, where Pledgers and external stakeholders came together to talk about ideas and ongoing activities. This gathering was organised as part of a series leading up to the highly anticipated AI Action Summit, which took place on 10 and 11 February 2025, uniting almost 100 countries and over a thousand global leaders from the private sector and civil society. The Share & Connect event highlighted the pivotal role of AI skilling and upskilling in shaping the future of work, focusing on challenges and new opportunities for talent development.
One of the key insights was the importance of upskilling and reskilling, particularly in industries like healthcare and manufacturing to keep pace with the rapidly evolving job market. Participants highlighted the challenges educators face in updating training materials and curricula to align with the fast-paced advancements in AI technologies. Collaboration between universities and industries emerged as crucial for accelerating AI adoption.
GenAI will impact all workers
Caroline Mol, Advisory Board Member for the EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative, emphasised the importance of fostering innovation, education, and entrepreneurship across the European Union, noting the ever-growing demand for AI-related skills across sectors and industries. She highlighted Deloitte’s Insights Report, published October 2024, which found that consumers and employees were using generative AI (GenAI) for personal tasks (47%) and work tasks (23%), while Coursera’s ‘Job Skills Report 2025’ that revealed that GenAI is the fastest-growing skill for 2025.
Given these evolving skill demands, the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) ‘Future of Jobs Report 2025’ reveals that the scale of workforce upskilling and reskilling expected to be needed remains significant with 59% of the workforce needing training by 2030. Within this number, employers foresee that 29% could be upskilled in their current roles, 19% upskilled and redeployed elsewhere within the organisation, while 11% would be unlikely to receive the necessary training, leaving their employment prospects at risk. Additionally, 63% of employers consider skills gaps as the biggest barrier to business transformation, over the 2025-2030 period. However, 85% of employers surveyed plan to prioritise upskilling their workforce, with 70% of employers expecting to hire staff with new skills, 40% planning to reduce staff as their skills become less relevant, and 50% planning to transition staff from declining to growing roles.
Caroline outlined the work of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body established to accelerate innovation across Europe and its various Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) focus on societal challenges, including climate, digitalization, energy, health, and manufacturing, with a growing emphasis on the role AI plays in solving these challenges.
To accelerate innovation, it is important to educate workers to use the tools effectively, efficiently, and responsibly, provide them with access to data and the latest tools, and educate teachers how to use GenAI to personalise teaching and equip students with critical thinking skills.
AI integration into workspaces
Ana Catarina De Alencar, Legal Counsel at EIT Manufacturing, discussed the importance of embracing AI now, especially as trends for 2025 indicate a significant shift in how professionals will interact with AI in the workplace.
While AI adoption in workplaces is accelerating, professionals continue to grapple with its complexities and uncertainties. There’s a broad spectrum of reactions from employees and businesses, from enthusiastic adoption to deep scepticism, often stemming from concerns about how AI might reshape traditional work structures and whether the technology could render many existing roles obsolete.
On a societal level, the question of whether AI will replace jobs or simply transform them remains open. As Ana notes, much of this depends on how we manage the adoption process, by focusing on gradual upskilling and reskilling of workers, and considers the ethical implications of automation.
One of the most exciting trends in 2025 is the rise of AI operators or AI agents, which promise to take automation to a new level. Unlike earlier AI systems, such as ChatGPT or virtual assistants, AI operators are designed to perform end-to-end workflows. For instance, rather than simply providing a response to a query, e.g., “What is the weather today?”, an AI operator can access external systems, plan and execute tasks, such as booking a trip, scheduling appointments, or handling customer service issues, entirely autonomously.
This shift represents a significant leap forward in AI’s ability to integrate into business operations. The potential for AI operators to automate routine tasks like data entry, customer service, and scheduling is enormous. But it also raises the stakes when it comes to workforce management and skill development. As more tasks become automated, there will be a shift in demand for skills, moving from traditional roles to ones that require proficiency in digital tools, creativity, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence.
However, the rapid evolution of AI in business processes also brings potential risks. As AI systems increasingly perform tasks traditionally handled by humans, the workforce will be required to adapt. New roles, such as AI workflow designers and automation specialists, will emerge, but there is concern that this could lead to job polarisation and deeper divides between those with access to advanced training and technology and those without.
Ana emphasised that while technology has the potential to enhance productivity, it also raises questions about equity, fairness, and the future of work. This is particularly true in Europe, where regulatory frameworks for AI are being shaped and refined.
For professionals in all sectors, embracing this mindset and equipping themselves with the tools and knowledge to leverage AI effectively will be crucial for ensuring continued relevance in the workforce.
“And while the road ahead may be uncertain, one thing is clear: AI has the potential to empower us to work smarter, not harder, if we approach it with responsibility and an eye toward inclusive progress.”
AI’s Growing Role in Healthcare and Workforce Development
One of the standout discussions focused on AI’s potential in the healthcare sector, and was led by Jérôme Fabiano, Deputy Director of EIT Health France, who emphasised the importance of incorporating AI into medical technologies and healthcare systems to improve patient outcomes. He also introduced the Skills Partnership for the European Health Industry, coordinated by EIT Health, and the BRIGHTskills initiative.
Skills Partnership
The Skills Partnership is dedicated to bringing together stakeholders from the European health ecosystem to create a skilled and adaptable workforce that drives industry growth, fosters innovation, and ensures a sustainable talent pipeline for the European health industry. This includes sectors such as pharmaceuticals, biomanufacturing, medical devices, and digital health.
Its mission is to bridge the skills gap, enhance collaboration between the health industry and academia, facilitate cross-border mobility and the recognition of qualifications, strengthen public-private partnerships, and pool available funding opportunities.
As of November 2024, with over 45 members, the Skills Partnership is ideal for both education providers and industry representatives. By joining, members gain access to valuable collaboration opportunities, have the chance to help shape policy, and can access funding, find students and talent, and boost their competitiveness.
BRIGHTskills Project
Led by EIT Health, the four-year, collaborative, BRIGHTskills project, is co-funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ programme (Alliances for Innovation – Lot 2: Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills). Its objective is solidifying the ambitions of the Large-Scale Skills Partnership for the European Health Industry under the Pact for Skills to develop a Health Industry Skills Strategy for workforce development. The actionable strategy will set a clear roadmap for the extensive implementation of talent development efforts, driving the transformation of regional, national and European health industry ecosystems.
This Blueprint Alliance will enable the continuous development, innovation and competitiveness of three health industry subsectors (MedTech, PPE, BioTech and Digital Health) by creating a dedicated skills observatory, competences matrices, self-assessment skill development tools and curated, certified, accredited training programmes in line with educational and industry best practices and standards.
SkillSync: Bridging the Skills Gap
Dr. Magí Lluch-Ariet, Data Manager and Skillsync Coordinator at EIT Health, introduced SkillSync; a one-stop solution for AI-based upskilling and competitiveness, designed to help organizations and educational institutions identify and align the right skills for driving innovation in AI. By analysing data from over 30,000 organisations across Europe, the tool provides actionable insights into the specific skills that companies need to thrive in the AI ecosystem.
As Magí explained, the tool’s unique approach compares the skills profile of an organisation against others in the same industry or region to identify gaps. The analysis helps companies and academic institutions alike pinpoint areas where skills development is needed, whether it’s in data acquisition, system design, or interpersonal communication for cross-disciplinary collaboration.
This approach not only helps organisations improve their internal capabilities but also fosters an environment of innovation by identifying best practices from companies that are performing better in specific areas. For instance, companies in emerging regions with low innovation levels were found to benefit most from focusing on data acquisition and collection skills. In more advanced regions, the focus shifted to database management and system design, with the highest-performing organizations also emphasizing interpersonal skills to bridge gaps between different domains.
One of the key points raised during the event was the potential for further collaboration in AI skills development across Europe. By mapping skills across regions, companies, and academic institutions, the SkillSync tool aims to support organisations in adapting to the fast-changing technological landscape.
It facilitates AI-based matchmaking, helping organisations find partners and collaborators with complementary skills to accelerate innovation.
“It’s not just about training employees in specific skills; it’s about creating partnerships that can lead to more innovative solutions. This is where SkillSync’s power truly lies: enabling companies to enhance their workforce while simultaneously building a stronger, more interconnected AI community across Europe.”
The future of work and AI: Shaping education, job readiness, and skills for tomorrow
We are especially pleased that our Paris-based Pledgers from JA Europe, Generation, Immerscio.bio, and Creative Cluster participated in the engaging discussions, sharing their educational activities and helping shape conversations that foster a stronger community, where experiences and needs are addressed more actively.
Junior Achievement Europe (JA Europe): Empowering the next generation
JA Europe is a global nonprofit focused on hands-on learning experiences across a broad age range, from primary school to university, and deliver about 6 million learning experiences annually. Its core areas are entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy, with a strong emphasis on international collaboration, and one major programme is helping students explore AI not just as a tool but as a creative engine for business solutions.
Vera Martinho, Chief Impact Officer of JA Europe, presented how together with Intel, they introduced AI to high school students, helping them ideate, develop, and code AI-driven solutions for real-world issues like food sustainability. This initiative, supported by the World Economic Forum, has reached 10 countries, with 5,000 young students creating impactful AI solutions, with a focus on solving real-world problems like those in the food sector.
However, challenges persist, particularly with educators. Many teachers lack familiarity with AI, which complicates its integration into classrooms. JA Europe is addressing this by providing teacher training and support to make AI tools more accessible.
Generation: Integrating AI into workforce development
Generation is an organisation focused on preparing individuals for careers across diverse sectors, and has integrated AI into its training programmes. With operations in 17 countries, Generation offers 49 programmes, including fields as diverse as solar panel installation, healthcare, and tech, that all now feature an AI generalist module, whether or not they’re tech-specific, to ensure participants gain essential AI knowledge.
Minh Huy Lai, COO of Generation explained how for their tech programmes, Generation have also developed a more advanced AI module covering topics like machine learning, natural language processing, and AI tools used in tech roles
AI also supports the organisation’s efforts to enhance mentorship, analyse applications, and automate job matching for graduates. Despite the progress, however, Generation faces challenges regarding data accuracy. AI analyses applicants’ videos to predict success but ensuring the accuracy of this data remains an ongoing challenge.
Immerscio.bio Bioproduction Training Platform: Revolutionising Biotech education
Supported by the French Government, Immerscio.bio is an ambitious training platform in the strategic bioproduction sector, offering training programmes across every profession in the bioproduction sector from product design to delivering the finished product to the patient.
The company integrates serious games, virtual reality (VR), and 3D simulations to enhance training efficiency in biomanufacturing, and incorporates AI to personalise learner pathways and experiences, track progress, and provide real-time feedback to improve retention.
Zribi Edmond, IT manager of Immerscio.bio, has presented the scope of activities and how they are also exploring AI’s potential to accelerate content creation and identify the most relevant skills in the biotech industry. Their goal is to use AI to accelerate time to market for new training modules while ensuring the core expertise from industry professionals remains intact.
Creative Cluster: Building AI-driven virtual learning environments
Creative Cluster trains the young generation of future entrepreneurs, and collaborates with cutting-edge technology partners from France and abroad to develop curricula and change the path of modern teaching and learning.
Yann Gozlan, director of Creative Cluster, presented how they are currently using virtual reality (VR) and AI technologies to develop new educational environments and training modules to build digital twins of physical assets and recreate environments for training, focusing on industries like fashion, medicine, and biotech.
The company is working with nonprofit organisations, museums, and startups to bring AI-driven, virtual environments into education, helping large generations adapt to technology and even retrain individuals who may be out of the workforce.
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