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Pact for Skills
News article28 October 2022Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

Pact for Skills networking event: Members and non-members unite to boost skills for the green and digital transitions

On 21 September 2022, the European Commission hosted a virtual networking event for potential and new members of the Pact for Skills.

Visual from the second Networking event of the Pact for Skills

The second Networking event of the Pact for Skills was a unique opportunity for potential and new members to share ideas and experiences for upskilling and reskilling opportunities for adults.

The networking event was livestreamed, and gathered 215 participants. Alongside testimonials from existing Pact for Skills members, speakers discussed how to join the Pact, funding opportunities, regional and sectoral dimensions, and engaging with different ecosystems.

How to join the Pact

Practical information on how to join the Pact and make concrete commitments was presented by Marianna Georgallis, Associate Director at Ecorys.

Marianna outlined the opportunities and support available to the members of the Pact through the Networking, Knowledge and Guidance Hubs (including the LinkedIn group, tools and resources library, and funding tool). Interested organisations were invited to complete an application form on the Pact for Skills website.

Funding opportunities

Arthur Tréguier, Policy Assistant for the Digital Economy, Recovery Plan and Skills Unit at DG CNECT, spoke about the new DIGITAL Europe programme. With a budget of EUR 56 million, DIGITAL Europe will address the shortage of digital skills by providing funding to universities, businesses and research centres for master’s and bachelor’s programmes in digital technologies. The call opens on 29 September 2022 and will close on 24 January 2023.

Regional and sectoral dimensions

William Hammonds, Associate Director at Ecorys, discussed the importance of working at both regional and sectoral levels, as regional partnerships have the potential to bring forward impact and foster meaningful action at local level. Current members of the Pact also presented examples of benefits generated by large-scale and regional partnerships.

Engaging with different ecosystems

Ten parallel sessions were organised to give participants an opportunity to initiate contacts with different large-scale partnerships (LSPs) and engage with regional stakeholders. These sessions aimed to increase membership of LSPs by highlighting the benefits of becoming a member; in particular, being able to exchange with other members on challenges in the ecosystem, and sectoral or funding opportunities.                                           

Event take-away

The key take-away of the networking event was the importance of collaborative efforts to address skills challenges in Europe. Attendees were encouraged to help address Europe’s upskilling and reskilling challenges by making commitments to implement and monitor upskilling and reskilling; becoming part of an existing large-scale or regional partnership to join forces with others; and establishing new sectoral or regional partnerships.

The main benefit of joining the Pact for Skills emphasised by the speakers was the ability to collaborate with all ecosystems, including LSPs and beyond. They also highlighted that the upcoming European Year of Skills 2023 is now a pivotal moment to join the Pact for Skills community.

Download the full report to learn more about the event.

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