The 25 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union drive growth, innovation and employment and play a key role in digitalisation. By leveraging digital technology, SMEs can improve operations, expand their market reach and contribute to innovative solutions to pressing challenges such as fighting climate change and increasing social cohesion.
In this virtual get together, Cedefop and Eurofound, EU agencies which both celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2025, team up to present new joint work on digitalisation policies and to explore how digital SMEs in Europe are today. Live from Dublin and Thessaloniki, the two EU agencies present the key challenges and barriers SMEs face in becoming more digital and review digitalisation and digital skills support measures. The links between digitalisation and job quality in SMEs will be assessed by looking at how digital tools and algorithmic management practices affect work organisations and working conditions.
This virtual get-together is open to policy makers, social partners and sectoral representatives, SME representation organisations, VET providers and institutions, representatives from national, regional, and local authorities, and labour market, education and training, and skills experts.
Registration to the event is now open.
Programme
| 14:00 - 14:15 | Welcome and introduction | Juergen Siebel (Cedefop Executive Director) and Ivailo Kalfin (Eurofound Executive Director) |
| 14:15 - 14:40 | How SMEs go digital | Jasper van Loo (Department coordinator at Cedefop) and Franz Eiffe (Research manager at Eurofound) |
| 14:40 - 15:15 | Panel conversation | Moderated by Jasper van Loo Valentina Guerra (Policy Director at SMEUnited) Ants Silt (Lecturer-Consultant BCS Digital skills academy, Estonia) Thomas Oberholzner (Director of KMU Forschung, Austria) Marjorie Grassler (EU project manager at Mobile World Capital, Spain) |
| 15:15 – 15:30 | Policy pointers and take-aways | Sara Riso (Senior research manager at Eurofound) and Jasper van Loo |
Event details
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