{"id":1037,"date":"2025-12-29T12:16:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T12:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/credo.unidu.hr\/?p=1037"},"modified":"2026-01-07T12:17:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T12:17:26","slug":"mapiranje-razumijevanje-izazova-i-prilika-za-samozaposljavanje-u-europi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/credo.unidu.hr\/en\/mapiranje-razumijevanje-izazova-i-prilika-za-samozaposljavanje-u-europi\/","title":{"rendered":"Mapping the freelance revolution: Understanding challenges and opportunities for self-employment in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row css_animation=&#8221;&#8221; row_type=&#8221;row&#8221; use_row_as_full_screen_section=&#8221;no&#8221; type=&#8221;full_width&#8221; angled_section=&#8221;no&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; background_image_as_pattern=&#8221;without_pattern&#8221; padding_top=&#8221;0&#8243; padding_bottom=&#8221;14&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1741384030748{margin-top: 20px !important;background-color: #FFFFFF !important;}&#8221; z_index=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-998 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/credo.unidu.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/FREELANCER.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/credo.unidu.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/FREELANCER.jpg 450w, https:\/\/credo.unidu.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/FREELANCER-300x133.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>FREELANCER\u2019s research, co-financed by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, reveals key trends shaping digital entrepreneurship and self-employability across Europe.<\/p>\n<p>The foundation of the <strong>FREELANCER project<\/strong> lies in a deep understanding of the dynamics shaping self-employment and digital work across Europe. As the first step in the project\u2019s implementation, <strong>Work Package 2 \u2013 Mapping and Stock Taking of Entrepreneurship Challenges for Freelancers<\/strong> set out to analyse the evolving freelance landscape, identify gaps in skills and support, and lay the groundwork for targeted training interventions.<\/p>\n<p>Conducted across <strong>Italy, Estonia, Croatia, and Spain<\/strong>, alongside a comprehensive <strong>EU-level analysis<\/strong>, the study explored both <strong>quantitative and qualitative dimensions<\/strong> of freelancing. It examined how the digital transformation, socio-economic changes, and post-pandemic realities have reshaped opportunities and challenges for self-employed professionals.<\/p>\n<p>The results confirm that freelancing has become a <strong>cornerstone of the modern European economy<\/strong>, engaging more than <strong>25 million professionals<\/strong>. Freelancers are increasingly seen as <strong>drivers of innovation, flexibility, and competitiveness<\/strong>, providing specialized services to businesses across diverse sectors. However, the mapping highlights several recurring challenges: <strong>income instability, lack of social protection, gender disparities, skills mismatches, and limited access to training and support ecosystems<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <strong>EU overview<\/strong> found that while freelancing brings new opportunities for autonomy and creativity, it also exposes workers to volatility and regulatory uncertainty. National reports provide additional depth:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-mce-word-list=\"1\"><strong>Italy<\/strong> shows a rapidly growing freelance sector, particularly post-pandemic, yet affected by <strong>regional disparities and persistent gender gaps<\/strong>. The report calls for targeted training in <strong>business management, marketing, and entrepreneurial mindset development<\/strong> to strengthen self-employment capacity.<\/li>\n<li data-mce-word-list=\"1\"><strong>Estonia<\/strong> presents a digital-forward but still uneven landscape, with freelancers facing <strong>income instability and social protection gaps<\/strong>. However, it stands out for its <strong>high adaptability<\/strong> and a culture open to innovation, offering a strong base for future digital entrepreneurship.<\/li>\n<li data-mce-word-list=\"1\"><strong>Croatia<\/strong> has witnessed a <strong>12.8% increase in self-employment<\/strong> since 2019, with the freelance sector expanding rapidly in creative and IT industries. Still, freelancers face significant <strong>income disparities<\/strong> and a lack of structured training and credit access.<\/li>\n<li data-mce-word-list=\"1\"><strong>Spain<\/strong>, one of the most dynamic ecosystems, links the <strong>growth of freelancing to flexibility and autonomy<\/strong>, but highlights the need for <strong>financial literacy, project management, and digital marketing skills<\/strong> to ensure sustainability and competitiveness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These findings underline a common message across all countries: <strong>freelancers are a growing and essential workforce<\/strong>, yet their potential is constrained by structural gaps in training, regulation, and support.<\/p>\n<p>By consolidating these insights, the FREELANCER mapping provides <strong>strategic guidance for policymakers, VET providers, and training institutions<\/strong> to align their efforts with the real needs of the self-employed. The results directly inform the project\u2019s training design, ensuring that all materials and resources on the <strong>FREELANCER Digital OER Platform<\/strong> respond to the realities of the European freelance economy.<\/p>\n<p>The complete mapping reports, together with country snapshots and the EU summary, are freely available on the project\u2019s platform:<br \/>\n\ud83c\udf10 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freelancer-training.eu\/mapping.php?lang=EN\">www.freelancer-training.eu\/mapping.php<\/a><\/p>\n<p>By analysing where freelancers stand today, FREELANCER lays the foundation for a <strong>more skilled, resilient, and future-ready European freelance community<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row css_animation=&#8221;&#8221; row_type=&#8221;row&#8221; use_row_as_full_screen_section=&#8221;no&#8221; type=&#8221;full_width&#8221; angled_section=&#8221;no&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; background_image_as_pattern=&#8221;without_pattern&#8221; padding_top=&#8221;0&#8243; padding_bottom=&#8221;14&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1741384030748{margin-top: 20px !important;background-color: #FFFFFF !important;}&#8221; z_index=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;] FREELANCER\u2019s research, co-financed by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, reveals key trends shaping digital entrepreneurship and self-employability across Europe. The foundation of the FREELANCER project lies&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/credo.unidu.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/credo.unidu.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/credo.unidu.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/credo.unidu.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/credo.unidu.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1037"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/credo.unidu.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1041,"href":"https:\/\/credo.unidu.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1037\/revisions\/1041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/credo.unidu.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/credo.unidu.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/credo.unidu.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/credo.unidu.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}