Skills are the infrastructure behind the transition

When people talk about the transition of Europe's cement industry, the conversation usually turns to carbon capture, alternative fuels, renewable electricity, or new construction materials.

Rarely do we ask a simpler question: who will make all of this happen?

Technology does not deploy itself. CO2 infrastructure does not build itself. New production processes do not simply operate themselves. Behind every investment sits a workforce capable of designing, operating and maintaining the technologies that will define Europe's industrial future.

If Europe is to remain competitive while achieving climate neutrality, skills cannot and must not be treated as a social policy discussion alone. Instead skills are an industrial policy priority.

Decarbonisation is changing jobs, not replacing them

The cement industry is already transforming.

Across Europe, companies are investing in carbon capture, circular production, digital technologies, automation and cleaner energy systems. These innovations will change how cement is produced and, with it, the skills needed across the workforce.

Operators increasingly work with digital monitoring systems. Maintenance teams will manage more complex electrified equipment. Engineers will integrate carbon capture technologies into existing plants. Data analysis, process optimisation, and environmental expertise are becoming as important as traditional industrial know-how.

The transition is therefore not simply about creating new jobs. It is about ensuring today's workforce can evolve alongside the technologies transforming our industry.

Europe cannot afford a skills gap

This challenge extends well beyond the cement sector.

Recent research by Ecorys highlights that Europe's built environment is entering a period of profound workforce transformation. While the green transition is expected to generate employment opportunities, an ageing workforce means many positions will need to be filled over the coming decade. At the same time, every worker across the construction value chain will require new levels of climate and digital literacy to support the transition.

In other words, Europe is facing two challenges simultaneously; replacing retiring workers and equipping the next generation with entirely new capabilities.

Without the right skills, investments risk being delayed, productivity constrained, and competitiveness weakened.

A just transition begins with people

This is precisely why skills form one of the nine priorities of our Cement Action Plan.

Delivering Europe's industrial transition requires more than climate ambition. It requires a workforce that is prepared for them.

Our Action Plan therefore calls for:

strategic investment in upskilling and reskilling across the value chain;
dedicated EU funding to support workforce development;
continued mapping of future skills needs;
stronger cooperation between industry, workers, education providers and policymakers;
the development of quality job profiles that make industrial careers attractive for future generations.

These are not isolated measures. They are part of creating the enabling conditions that allow decarbonisation to happen at scale.

Building solutions together

Skills cannot be developed by industry alone. Recognising this, Cement Europe and the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW) conducted the EU co-funded Cement Skills 2030 project to better understand how the sector's workforce will evolve between now and 2050.

The project examined future skills requirements across six European countries and brought together employers, workers, policymakers, and education providers to identify practical solutions. Its recommendations emphasise stronger cooperation, investment in lifelong learning, worker participation, occupational health and safety, and better use of European and national funding to support a fair transition.

Perhaps most importantly, the project demonstrated that the green transition is strongest when it is built through social dialogue.

Competitiveness depends on capability

Much of today's debate rightly focuses on energy prices, carbon leakage, CO2 infrastructure and financing.

These remain indispensable.

But even if Europe succeeds in creating the right investment conditions, projects still depend on people with the expertise to deliver them.

Competitiveness is ultimately built on capability.

The technologies needed to decarbonise heavy industry are advancing rapidly. Europe's ability to deploy them will depend just as much on engineers, technicians, operators and apprentices as it will on policy frameworks and investment decisions.

Skills are the infrastructure behind the transition

Many of tomorrow's jobs already exist today. What is changing is the expertise they require.

The transition therefore presents an opportunity that goes beyond emissions reductions. It is a chance to create high-quality industrial careers, strengthen Europe's manufacturing base, and ensure that industrial transformation delivers benefits for workers as well as society.

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