Skills and technological innovation, our new study for ETF

Between January and July 2026, Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini will carry out a new research assignment for the European Training Foundation (ETF) on how technological innovation is reshaping skills needs in two strategic EU domains: Critical Raw Materials (CRM) and Defence Readiness. FGB has been selected to implement the study in collaboration with IBF, with analytical work carried out jointly by FGB and ErreQuadro.

The study will analyse long-term innovation trends using a 30-year patent time series to identify key technological disruptors across CRM and defence value chains. It will also assess adoption readiness in the Western Balkans and neighbouring economies – including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Türkiye, and Ukraine – comparing global innovation dynamics with national capacities.

A core focus of the study will be on the skills implications of these trends. Using semantic matching aligned with ESCO – the European multilingual classification of skills, competences, qualifications and occupations – the research will map the skills, competences and occupations most likely to grow in demand, and highlight potential skills gaps emerging from technological change.