Data report
54.9% of European companies pay for training courses, and it costs them 1.5% of their wage bill
Eurostat's continuing vocational training survey puts course provision at 54.9% of enterprises in 2020, rising to 67.4% once informal formats are counted. 32.6% provide no training at all. Where training does happen it reaches 42.4% of employees and costs 1.5% of total labour cost.
Key takeaways
5 findings- 0154.9% of EU enterprises provide continuing vocational training courses.
- 0267.4% provide training in some form once guided on-the-job learning and conferences are included.
- 0332.6% provide none of it.
- 04Training reaches 42.4% of employees and costs 1.5% of total labour cost.
- 05Czechia leads at 84.6% of enterprises providing courses.
How many European companies train their staff
Data points 1–4- 01
54.9% of EU enterprises provided continuing vocational training courses in 2020. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 02
67.4% provided courses or another form of training. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 03
57.3% used forms of training other than courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 04
32.6% provided no continuing vocational training of any kind. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
What form the training takes
Data points 5–12- 05
46.8% of EU enterprises buy external training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 06
35.0% run internal courses of their own. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 07
43.1% use guided on-the-job training. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 08
29.4% send staff to conferences, workshops or trade fairs as training. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 09
29.1% rely on self-directed learning. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 10
13.4% use learning or quality circles. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 11
12.7% use job rotation, exchanges or secondments. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 12
External courses are more common than internal ones, which is why the corporate training market exists as a market at all. (Eurostat, 2020)Directional
Who actually takes part
Data points 13–17- 13
42.4% of people employed in EU enterprises took part in a training course in 2020. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 14
Among women it is 41.4%; among men 43.1%. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 15
Employees spent 6.0 hours in training per 1,000 hours worked. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 16
In enterprises with 250 or more employees that rises to 8.4 hours per 1,000 worked. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 17
In enterprises with 10 to 49 employees it is 3.5 hours. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
What it costs
Data points 18–22- 18
Training courses cost EU enterprises 1.5% of total labour cost. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 19
0.5 percentage points of that are direct costs such as fees and trainers. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 20
0.8 percentage points are the labour cost of the participants themselves, meaning the time they are not working. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 21
0.1 percentage points are net contributions to training funds. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 22
More than half the cost of training is the wage of the person being trained rather than the training itself. (Eurostat, 2020)Directional
Training the people who are not yet employees
Data points 23–25- 23
32.4% of EU enterprises employ participants in initial vocational training. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 24
Among enterprises with 250 or more employees it is 58.5%. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 25
Among those with 10 to 49 employees it is 29.3%. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
Training by company size
Data points 26–31- 26
88.5% of EU enterprises with 250 or more employees provide training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 27
72.3% of EU enterprises with 50 to 249 employees provide training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 28
50.3% of EU enterprises with 10 to 49 employees provide training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 29
54.5% of employees in enterprises with 250 or more employees took part in a course. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 30
35.0% of employees in enterprises with 50 to 249 employees took part in a course. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 31
27.5% of employees in enterprises with 10 to 49 employees took part in a course. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
Where corporate training is most common
Data points 32–41- 32
Czechia: 84.6% of enterprises provide continuing vocational training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 33
Norway: 79.0% of enterprises provide continuing vocational training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 34
Belgium: 75.5% of enterprises provide continuing vocational training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 35
Sweden: 75.3% of enterprises provide continuing vocational training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 36
Austria: 69.5% of enterprises provide continuing vocational training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 37
Luxembourg: 69.1% of enterprises provide continuing vocational training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 38
Spain: 64.8% of enterprises provide continuing vocational training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 39
Netherlands: 64.7% of enterprises provide continuing vocational training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 40
France: 63.3% of enterprises provide continuing vocational training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 41
Germany: 63.2% of enterprises provide continuing vocational training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
Where corporate training is least common
Data points 42–46- 42
Romania: 11.3% of enterprises provide continuing vocational training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 43
Greece: 13.0% of enterprises provide continuing vocational training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 44
Hungary: 23.6% of enterprises provide continuing vocational training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 45
Poland: 26.1% of enterprises provide continuing vocational training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
- 46
Bulgaria: 26.7% of enterprises provide continuing vocational training courses. (Eurostat, 2020)Verified
Methodology
Figures come from Eurostat's continuing vocational training survey, datasets trng_cvt_01s, trng_cvt_16s, trng_cvt_12s, trng_cvt_21s and trng_cvt_34s, reference period 2020. This survey runs every five years rather than annually, so 2020 is the most recent wave; we state the year on every figure rather than presenting it as current. Percentages of enterprises cover those with 10 or more employees across all activities except agriculture, forestry, fishing and public administration. Nothing here is modelled or adjusted by us.
Every data point carries one of three labels. Verified means the figure was read from the named primary source. Directional means sources agree on the trend but measure it differently. Single source means one publisher reported it and nobody has corroborated it. We would rather label a number honestly than round it into confidence it has not earned.
Sources
- Eurostat — Enterprises providing training by type of training and size class - % of all enterprises (
trng_cvt_01s). Period 2020, published 2024-01-03. View the dataset.
EU statistical office. Annual survey of enterprises; percentages are of enterprises in the stated size class unless noted. - Eurostat — Cost of CVT courses by type and size class - % of total labour cost of all enterprises (
trng_cvt_16s). Period 2020, published 2026-05-20. View the dataset.
EU statistical office. Annual survey of enterprises; percentages are of enterprises in the stated size class unless noted. - Eurostat — Participants in CVT courses by sex and size class - % of persons employed in all enterprises (
trng_cvt_12s). Period 2020, published 2024-06-07. View the dataset.
EU statistical office. Annual survey of enterprises; percentages are of enterprises in the stated size class unless noted. - Eurostat — Hours spent in CVT courses by size class - per thousand hours worked in all enterprises (
trng_cvt_21s). Period 2020, published 2024-06-07. View the dataset.
EU statistical office. Annual survey of enterprises; percentages are of enterprises in the stated size class unless noted. - Eurostat — Enterprises employing IVT participants by size class - % of all enterprises (
trng_cvt_34s). Period 2020, published 2024-01-03. View the dataset.
EU statistical office. Annual survey of enterprises; percentages are of enterprises in the stated size class unless noted.
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Cite this report
The Knowledge Engineers. (2026, 4 September 2026). Corporate Training in European Enterprises. https://theknowledgeengineers.com/reports/corporate-training-europe
The Knowledge Engineers. “Corporate Training in European Enterprises.” The Knowledge Engineers, 4 September 2026, https://theknowledgeengineers.com/reports/corporate-training-europe.
The Knowledge Engineers. “Corporate Training in European Enterprises.” 4 September 2026. https://theknowledgeengineers.com/reports/corporate-training-europe.