Co-designing the health and care workforce future: testing the European Skills Strategy for digital and green upskilling and reskilling

Context: Europe’s health and care systems are under increasing pressure to adapt to digital transformation, the green transition, and the shift towards integrated, person-centred models of care. These transitions require not only technological and organisational change, but also a workforce equipped with the right mix of technical, transversal and system-level skills. The BeWell project (Erasmus+ Blueprint Alliance, 2022–2026) addresses this challenge by developing a European Skills Strategy for the health and care workforce. The strategy aims to support workforce sustainability, quality of care and system resilience by embedding digital and green skills across education, training and lifelong learning pathways.

 

Methods: BeWell applies a system-wide, participatory, and evidence-informed approach to skills development. The project combines desk research, policy analysis, and skills intelligence with extensive stakeholder engagement across Europe. Methods include pan-European surveys, interviews and workshops involving health and care professionals, managers, educators, policymakers, social partners, and patient and community representatives. These inputs informed the co-creation of a Skills Strategy structured around priority competence areas, implementation enablers, and governance mechanisms.

 

Particular attention was given to ensuring relevance across different care settings, including integrated and community-based care, and across national and regional contexts. Iterative validation cycles were used to refine the strategy, ensuring alignment with EU policy priorities, labour market needs and existing education and training frameworks.

 

Results:The BeWell project has produced a draft European Skills Strategy for the health and care workforce, identifying priority digital and green competences alongside transversal skills such as interprofessional collaboration, leadership, and change management. Results highlight significant skills gaps related to digital health adoption, data use, sustainability practices, and integrated care delivery.

 The consultations revealed strong demand for clearer skills frameworks, better alignment between education and practice, and improved access to continuous professional development. The strategy proposes concrete implementation pathways, including curriculum updates, modular training, micro-credentials and stronger links between health, social care, and education sectors. By June 2026, the final version of the strategy will be ready for testing and adoption across multiple European contexts.

 

Discussion: The BeWell Skills Strategy demonstrates how skills development can act as a lever for health system transformation, supporting digitalisation, sustainability, and integrated care simultaneously. By grounding the strategy in stakeholder experience and policy realities, BeWell bridges the gap between European ambitions and local implementation. The findings underline the importance of coordinated action across sectors and governance levels, as well as sustained investment in lifelong learning and workforce well-being. While the diversity of European health systems poses implementation challenges, the flexible and modular nature of the strategy allows adaptation to different contexts. The BeWell approach offers a transferable model for aligning workforce skills with system reform, contributing to more resilient, inclusive, and future-ready health and care systems in Europe and beyond.