BRIGHTskills takes off: Empowering Europe's Health Industry

EIT Health leads a new Blueprint Alliance to strengthen the European health industry through skills development

Press release

January 7, 2025

Group of young people sitting in a classroom together.

The BRIGHTskills project is leading the charge to future-proof the European health industry by identifying and addressing the skills needed for a rapidly evolving sector. As part of this mission, we have launched two online consultations aimed at collecting input from stakeholders across the EU. Whether you are involved in training or workforce planning, or you are employed in a healthcare company, your input will help shape the skills strategy and tools that will guide the sector forward.

Best Practices Questionnaire

Open until 30 September 2025

This questionnaire seeks to map and analyse the most successful programmes, policies, and initiatives already supporting workforce development in healthcare companies and its related sectors, including:
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- Pharmaceuticals & Biomanufacturing
- Medical Technology
- Digital Health
- Medical Supplies

We are especially interested in identifying models that have delivered real impact whether through innovative training approaches, or successful reskilling strategies. The goal is to highlight best practices that can be scaled, adapted, or replicated across Europe.

‍Who Should Participate?
- HR professionals
- Employers and industry associations involved in training delivery
- Education and training providers (VETs, universities, micro-credential platforms)
- Public authorities and policymakers working on skills and upskilling strategies
- Experts from adjacent sectors(e.g., digital manufacturing, regulatory bodies) with transferable models

‍Access the questionnaire here

Health Industry Skills Mapping

Open until 31 December 2025

The second survey focuses on collecting comprehensive data on urgent and future workforce skillsn eeds, gaps and trends in European based healthcare companies. Its goal is to gather and uncover first-hand knowledge and insights into the skillgaps of healthcare employers and employees.

‍Sectors covered include:
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-Pharmaceuticals & Biomanufacturing
- Medical Technology
- Digital Health
- Medical Supplies

‍Please note: this survey does not cover frontline healthcare workers or healthcare service providers (e.g.,hospitals, healthcare clinics).

‍Who Should Participate?
- Employers in health-related industries
- Managers/Directors
- Workers within the above sectors

‍
‍Access the survey here

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In the face of an unprecedented tailwind of rapid technological, economic, environmental, and societal changes, the European health industry requires a trained, talented, and committed workforce to meet these challenges head-on. Workers employed by companies operating in the pharmaceutical and biotech, digital health, medtech and medical supplies’ industries must have the technical proficiency, environmental acumen, and the strategic and leadership vision to thrive in the post-COVID health industry ecosystem as the green and digital transition gathers pace. Looking to the future, a skilled, competent, workforce is essential to guarantee the sustainable competitiveness, regulatory compliance and strategic autonomy of Europe’s health industrial ecosystem.

In a changing world with new challenges, third-level education providers, industry manufacturers, HR companies, small and medium enterprises and industry associations have joined forces to build a critical mass for the up- and re-skilling efforts of the health industry’s workforce under the aegis of the BRIGHTskills project.

Catering for pressing market demands requires mobilising relevant knowledge and investment capacity from industrial stakeholders, complemented with a modern need-driven upskilling and reskilling offer from education and training providers.

Led by EIT Health, the four-year BRIGHTskills project will solidify 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.

The BRIGHTskills’ collaborative project officially kick offs in January 2025. Co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme (Alliances for Innovation - Lot 2: Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills), this Blueprint Alliance will enable the continuous development, innovation and competitiveness of the four above mentioned health industry subsectors 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.