The synthesis draws on country reports from Croatia, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. These eight countries differ in many respects, including size, economic structures, location, history and institutional background, but three particular groups may be distinguished: transition countries which were part of the former Soviet Union, transition countries from former Yugoslavia, and Mediterranean countries.

This report looks at the experience of anticipation and matching of the demand for and supply of skills in these countries, drawing upon a broad range of previous work in this area. It analyses the practices described in the country reports on the basis of a conceptual framework that distinguishes matching and anticipation as different sets of practices performed by various kinds of actors and shaped by institutional and organisational frameworks.