Cypriot pupils continue to rank among the lowest in Europe in essential skills, according to the European Commission’s Education and Training Monitor 2024. The findings point to persistent gaps in digital, technical and vocational competencies - areas considered critical for a rapidly changing labour market.
Deep deficits in vocational training
Cyprus has one of the lowest participation rates in vocational education and training (VET) in the EU. Only 17.9% of upper-secondary students follow a technical or vocational pathway, far below the EU average of 52.4%.
The Commission notes that this lack of engagement severely limits pupils’ practical and laboratory skills, which are essential for the green and digital transition.
The picture is equally bleak when it comes to hands-on training: just 39.2% of recent graduates in Cyprus benefited from meaningful practical or lab-based work during their studies, compared with around 65% across the EU. This shortfall, Brussels says, directly undermines young people’s employability.
STEM shortage despite high university attendance
The problem continues into higher education. Although Cyprus has one of the highest shares of university graduates in the EU, it attracts very few students to STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics).
The Commission stresses that this persistent reluctance to study STEM limits the development of scientific and technological skills, and is closely linked to the weak foundation of technical competencies built at school level.
A pressing digital skills gap
Digital literacy remains one of Cyprus’ most serious weaknesses. Only 49.5% of the population have at least basic digital skills, compared with an EU average of 55.6%.
According to the report, this “gap” hampers the country’s transition to the modern digital economy. The deficit affects not only adults but also pupils, who are not acquiring the technological skills now considered fundamental in education systems across Europe.
A structural skills problem
Taken together - weak VET participation, low STEM uptake and poor digital skills - the Commission concludes that Cyprus faces a “structural skills problem”.
The country lags in areas linked to productivity, innovation and the needs of the new labour market.
The Ministry of Education acknowledges the need to strengthen technical education and digital literacy and is pursuing related reforms, the report notes. But the data make clear that the distance Cyprus must cover remains substantial.