Kick-off to the third project year — Skills2Capabilities shows first results

The third partner meeting of the Horizon project took place in Dortmund in February. In addition to reports from the work packages, there was also valuable expert input.

The third in-person meeting of the Skills2Capabilities Project started off with a keynote on Multiple Transitions and the Future of Skills Policy by Kirak Ryu, Head of Employment, Skills Development, and Qualifications Research Division at Korea Institute for Vocational Education and Training Research (KRIVET), South Korea, focusing on com­pu­ta­ble general equi­li­bri­um (CGE) models, policy simu­la­ti­ons and the impact of digital-green indu­stri­al lines and changes in the com­po­si­ti­on of smart green jobs and impli­ca­ti­ons for skills policy redesign. Around 25 par­ti­ci­pan­ts, including con­sor­ti­um members, asso­cia­ted partners and national rese­ar­chers, followed the keynote and attended the sub­se­quent dis­cus­sion. The rest of the day focussed on dis­cus­sions on the project’s work packages, such as the supply of skills and lifelong learning, the role of policies, services and stake­hol­ders on sup­port­ing voca­tio­nal education and training (VET) systems.

Day two began with a pre­sen­ta­ti­on by a con­sor­ti­um team member, Didier Fouarge, Director of the Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA), Maastricht University, on Artificial Intelligent in customer care services and supported training and labour pro­duc­ti­vi­ty, showing positive effects of AI inter­ac­tion on the pro­duc­ti­vi­ty of call centres employees. In the sub­se­quent working sessions, chal­lenges and changes in the demand for VET skills were analysed. In addition, the drivers and effects of skill mis­mat­ches were discussed using the capa­bi­li­ty approach.

The event took place at the International Meeting Centre of the Technical University of Dortmund (IBZ TUDO). The sup­port­ing programme included a visit to the :DASA, Germany’s largest exhi­bi­ti­on on the world of work. An insti­tu­ti­on of the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health that informs the public about the world of work, its signi­fi­can­ce for indi­vi­du­als and society and the importance of human-centred work design.

The project is now in its final year of work and we are looking forward to another highlight, the planned con­fe­rence in Maastricht on 13 to 14 November. More infor­ma­ti­on and the invi­ta­ti­on will follow soon.