Europe’s labour markets are changing at unprecedented speed. Digitalisation, automation, demographic shifts, and new patterns of work continue to reshape the skills people need — and the support they require to enter, remain, and progress in employment.
Yet today, Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs) remain fragmented, uneven in quality, and often designed without timely evidence or a clear understanding of what works. Policymakers struggle to access reliable data, evaluate programmes, or anticipate emerging labour market needs.
The EU-ALMPO project was created to respond to these challenges. Its mission is simple but ambitious: to build Europe’s first Observatory dedicated to ALMPs, bringing together data, research, technology, and policy expertise in one place.
At its core, EU-ALMPO seeks to revolutionise the design, evaluation, and implementation of ALMPs across the EU. The project introduces a new model of policymaking — one that is:
- Evidence-based
- AI-supported
- Collaborative and user-centred
- Responsive to real-time labour market needs
- Inclusive of vulnerable groups and disadvantaged communities
To achieve this, EU-ALMPO is developing a centralised Observatory, a digital hub powered by advanced AI tools capable of analysing documents, identifying good practices, comparing policies, and generating recommendations tailored to different labour market contexts.
EU-ALMPO begins by confronting a fundamental question:
Why do labour market policies succeed in some cases and fail in others?
To answer this, the project develops an analytical framework that examines:
- Skills mismatches and labour market frictions
- Trends in job demand and supply
- Characteristics of target groups
- Determinants of ALMP effectiveness
- Policy gaps and system weaknesses
This framework allows policymakers to look beyond surface-level challenges and understand the mechanisms that sustain unemployment, exclusion, and skills gaps.
We go further by building the tools Europe needs. EU-ALMPO is building:
- An AI-powered ALMP Repository
A comprehensive, annotated collection of ALMP documents from across Europe, supported by automated metadata extraction and expert-guided classification.
- A policy Design Wizard
An interactive environment where policymakers can design, test, compare, and refine ALMP interventions using real evidence, examples, and recommendations.
- A labour market analysis engine & along with a recommendation system
A system that integrates online job postings, administrative datasets, and statistical sources to identify emerging trends and skill demands in real time. A recommendation system designed to match labour market needs with tailored intervention pathways for individuals, regions, and target groups.
Together, these tools will help policymakers move from fragmented information to coherent, evidence-based strategies that can adapt to shifting economic conditions.
The project also conducts innovation experiments in four countries — Denmark, Greece, Italy, and Spain — testing tools and methods directly with policymakers, training providers, and jobseekers.
By the end of the project, EU-ALMPO will deliver:
Better-targeted and more effective ALMPs thanks to AI-supported analysis and real-time labour market insights.
Stronger policymaking capacity across Europe with tools that support design, evaluation, and continuous improvement.
Improved skills matching reducing mismatches and enhancing the employability of workers.
Greater inclusion through interventions tailored to the needs of vulnerable groups.
A long-term European resource
The Observatory will continue operating beyond the project, supported by an ambassadors’ network and ongoing knowledge-sharing structures.
EU-ALMPO marks a significant step toward a more intelligent, inclusive, and resilient European labour market. By harnessing AI, data, and collective expertise, the project creates the conditions for policies that truly respond to the needs of workers, businesses, and societies.
It is not simply building tools — it is building the foundations for a new generation of labour market policymaking.