On 26 November 2025, the European Training Foundation (ETF) launched the second stage of the European dialogue on skills and competitiveness, with a high-level roundtable held in Turin. Entitled “Empowering Competitiveness: Investing in Skills Ecosystems and Strategic Partnerships for Prosperity”, the event aimed to act as a catalyst for action, forging new connections that can empower competitiveness and prosperity for all.

The roundtable brought together European, national and local partners, international financial institutions (IFIs), social partners and businesses from the European neighbourhood region to discuss how to make skills the driving force of inclusive and sustainable growth. It also saw the launch of a new partnership between the ETF and the European Investment Bank (EIB), under which the ETF will contribute to a new Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) Technical Assistance Facility, with EUR 1 million earmarked for projects that integrate skills development, gender equality and social inclusion in Eastern Partnership countries and Southern Neighbourhood partners.

The Turin discussions also coincided with the launch of a new ETF publication – “Skills investments for competitiveness and sustainability” – which highlights how investments in human capital can support both the green and digital transitions and long-term competitiveness. Drafted in collaboration with the European Commission and major IFIs, it aims to position skills at the strategic core of competitiveness, contribute to aligning skills investments with ESG criteria, and illustrate the positive power of partnerships.

The ETF occupies a unique position at the crossroads of the EU’s internal and external action, helping to build skills ecosystems that align with EU priorities and enable partner countries to integrate EU value chains.  And in a global world, the EU and its neighbourhood countries are facing similar problems. Erica Gerretsen, Director of Human Development, Migration, Governance and Peace at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships,  outlined the programmes in place to boost skills development beyond the EU’s borders.

To conclude the event, Pilvi Torsti and Lionel Rapaille, Director of the European Investment Bank’s Global Directorate for Enlargement and Neighbourhood, signed the new agreement between the two institutions. Under the partnership, the ETF will implement EUR 1 million within the EUR 6.4 million GESI facility to support five to seven pilot projects that embed skills development, gender equality and social inclusion into EIB-backed investments.