The BeWell Final Conference – From skills to implementation: building Europe’s future health workforce

On 7 May 2026, the BeWell Final Conference took place in Brussels and online, marking four years of collaboration to strengthen digital, green and emerging skills across Europe’s health workforce.

Bringing together policymakers, healthcare professionals, educators, researchers, workforce organisations and European initiatives, the conference focused on a key question: how can Europe move from identifying skills needs to creating realistic and sustainable pathways for workforce development?

From strategy to implementation

Discussions highlighted that upskilling and reskilling must become part of health system governance and everyday working environments, rather than remain isolated training initiatives. Organisational commitment, protected learning time and long-term investment were identified as essential, particularly in the context of workforce shortages, time constraints and burnout.

Participants also stressed the urgency of digital skills, especially as the European Health Data Space unfolds, alongside the growing importance of green skills for more sustainable and resilient healthcare systems.

Showcasing BeWell’s achievements

The conference presented key BeWell results, including the BeWell Skills Strategy, Skills Monitor, Competence Matrices, Online Training Courses and the Large-Scale Skills Partnership for the Health Ecosystem.

Experiences shared by training participants and stakeholders from across Europe further underlined the importance of accessible, flexible and practice-oriented learning opportunities.

As BeWell comes to a close, the challenge is no longer only to identify the skills Europe needs, but to build sustainable ways to develop them. The project’s tools, resources and partnerships provide a strong foundation for continuing this work beyond the project.