Developing the skills base
for Europe’s circular and digital future
Europe is undergoing a profound transformation as sustainability imperatives and rapid technological change reshape its economies, industries and societies. The transition towards a circular economy, combined with advances in digital and deep tech solutions, is creating new opportunities for innovation; while also redefining the skills needed to design, implement and scale these solutions effectively.
Education and training systems play a critical role in enabling this transformation. Today’s professionals must combine technical expertise and digital capabilities with a systems-level understanding of circularity, while remaining adaptable in rapidly evolving technological, regulatory, and market environments. Meeting these demands requires education and training models that are flexible, forward-looking, and closely connected to real-world practice.
The 3D-CIRCULAR project, funded by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA), addresses this challenge by strengthening the link between skills intelligence and educational design. The project supports the development of learning pathways that equip current and future professionals with the competencies needed to operate across digital, deep-tech, and circular economy contexts. By fostering closer interaction between industry, research, and education, 3D-CIRCULAR aims to reduce skills mismatches and enhance the relevance of education and training provision across Europe.
A core principle of this work is that effective educational design must be informed by those directly engaged in technological, organisational, and market change. Employers, innovators, researchers, and educators possess first-hand insight into how roles are evolving, where skills gaps persist, and which competencies will be critical in the coming years. Integrating these perspectives is essential to ensuring that future curricula and qualifications remain aligned with labour-market needs and emerging innovation trends.
Contribute to the 3D-CIRCULAR Skills Needs Survey
To this end, 3D-CIRCULAR invites stakeholders to actively contribute to an online Skills Needs Survey focused on deep-tech-driven circular economy sectors. The survey gathers insights on current and emerging skills requirements and directly informs the design of curricula, micro-credentials, and learning pathways developed within the project.
By participating, organisations and professionals have a concrete opportunity to influence how future education and training programmes are shaped; ensuring they are relevant, practice-oriented, and future-ready.
The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Access the online skills survey here:
3D-Circular Open Skills Survey on digital deep tech driven circular economy – Fill out form
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