Agenda
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During the Swedish EU Presidency in the first half of 2023, Cedefop partnered with the Swedish Council for Higher Education (which hosts Euroguidance Sweden), The National Agency for Education, and the Swedish Public Employment Service as well as the Swedish Association of Guidance Counsellors in organising an event to pro...

During the Swedish EU Presidency in the first half of 2023, Cedefop partnered with the Swedish Council for Higher Education (which hosts Euroguidance Sweden), The National Agency for Education, and the Swedish Public Employment Service as well as the Swedish Association of Guidance Counsellors in organising an event to promote lifelong guidance in Europe: New Scenes for Career Guidance.

The event was held on 31 May and 1 June 2023 in Stockholm. Cedefop was part of the organising committee and contributed with a presentation on its collaborative work in lifelong guidance with the IAG WGCG. During a parallel workshop a colleague from Cedefop’s Skills and labour market thematic area presented latest work on skills intelligence fit for the career guidance context. 

The CareersNet core experts were invited by Cedefop to attend the conference, which was directly followed by the Seventh annual CareersNet meeting (June 1 afternoon), kindly hosted at the venue in Stockholm by the organisers in Sweden. The Euroguidance annual network meeting took also place prior to the conference, rounding off a four-day week dedicated to lifelong guidance.

The conference aimed to discuss the significance of the new scenes for lifelong guidance across different arenas in education, training and the labour market and the surrounding society undergoing many transformations. Participants discussed what these changes meant for the career guidance profession, for policy development, and for the content of guidance practices, particularly with technological developments, demographic shifts, and a global energy crisis and war in Ukraine, on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic onset.

Invited national, European, and international stakeholders - policymakers, researchers, trainers, practitioners, and others operating in the field of lifelong guidance in Europe were welcomed to Stockholm in the Scandinavian early summer for fruitful discussions and the exchange of ideas and experiences.

Lifelong guidance stands as a key component in overall skills development for youth and adults and enabling active and meaningful engagement for all in learning and the continuously evolving labour market, so that people are empowered to shape change. This includes acquisition of career management skills and opportunities for personal development in lifelong careers. Career guidance, particularly at transition points, should provide career education, career information, services and learning opportunities to individuals of any age and background and includes activities and programmes to increase self-awareness and knowledge about the labour market and society, to reflect and acquire skills and competences to act on one’s life experiences and potential barriers faced, ambitions, interests, qualifications, skills, and strengths.  

More information on this conference can be found at the external event webpage in Sweden: European lifelong guidance conference: New Scenes for Career Guidance.

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CareersNet, Cedefop’s network of independent national experts in lifelong guidance and career development, convened in Stockholm for a half day on 1 June 2023. It was the first onsite meeting for the network since the third annual meeting in Rome in 2019. 

The annual meeting was hosted by the Swedish Council for Higher Education, the Swedish National Agency for Education, and the Swedish Public Employment Service, during the Swedish EU Presidency. The network meeting  was held at the venue of the joint conference New Scenes for Career Guidance. Cedefop was contributing to the conference as part of its organising committee, which was also supported by Euroguidance Sweden and the Swedish Association of Guidance Counsellors association and several other organisations in Sweden.

CareersNet core experts met to discuss ongoing activities related to proposing updates on the EU Guidelines for systems and policies for lifelong guidance, an ongoing activity expected to run until 2025. Mutual exchange of experiences in what regards current national developments in national guidance systems was also discussed, as well as latest developments in the network and since the last annual meeting online in 2022.

More information on the meeting outcomes can be found here.

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Cedefop and the OECD have successfully organised their third joint symposium on 'Apprenticeship and the digital transition', on 15 and 16 June 2023 in Thessaloniki.  The event explored the links between apprenticeships and the digital transition, and their implications for policy-making, bringing together 100 policy-...

Cedefop and the OECD have successfully organised their third joint symposium on 'Apprenticeship and the digital transition', on 15 and 16 June 2023 in Thessaloniki. 
The event explored the links between apprenticeships and the digital transition, and their implications for policy-making, bringing together 100 policy-makers, social partners, practitioners and researchers from around the world.

UPDATE: Listen to the event podcasts, episode 18 (with Mara Brugia and Marieke Vandeweyer) and episode 19 (with Dan McCabe and Carlos de Olagüe Smithson)Presentations are available below (see Downloads and Links ). You may check the event photo gallery hereEvent recordings will be published on this page soon. 

The event was built around 13 papers from Europe, the US, Canada and China that presented new evidence or offer analysis on the challenges and opportunities that digitalisation already brings or may bring for apprenticeships in the future. Paper presentations were complemented with presentations by Cedefop and the OECD, panel discussions and Q&A sessions with participants.
The symposium made clear the great potential, relevance, and importance of apprenticeships in helping develop the skills people and enterprises need to shape and adapt to the green and digital transitions.

  • On the one hand, digitalisation calls for digital skills to be developed across apprenticeship occupations but also requires occupation-specific responses, including opening apprenticeships to new digital sectors.
  • On the other, digital tools such as simulators, virtual reality, as well as blended learning approaches which combine traditional classroom with online learning, can make the learning process even more relevant, engaging and efficient, and can attract new groups of learners.

Information for participants

The symposium programme, short bios of speakers, paper presenters, panellists and moderators are available below. 

Information for authors/ presenters

Key steps and dates for authors:

  • deadline for draft full paper: 1 March 2023 
  • draft full paper review by Cedefop/OECD: 2 May 2023 
  • deadline for symposium presentations: 9 June 2023 
  • event: 15 and 16 June 2023 
  • deadline for full paper: September 2023 (provisional, tbc) 
  • expected publication date: January 2024 (provisional, tbc) 

The 2023 symposium continues the joint work of Cedefop and the OECD on apprenticeships. Find out more about our past events and publications: 

Speakers

Juergen SiebelJürgen Siebel, Executive Director of Cedefop, joined Cedefop from the private sector in September 2019.

As Executive Director, he is responsible for managing the Agency’s operations in accordance with the strategic direction of its tripartite Management Board.

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Jürgen has a background in human resources management with particular emphasis on learning and education, the strategic development and roll-out of work-based vocational education and training programmes, as well as related corporate social responsibility initiatives.

In this context he has also collaborated with institutional actors at national, European and global levels.

Before joining Cedefop in Thessaloniki, Jürgen served for 20 years in various leading operational and strategic HR roles in Siemens AG, mostly as senior manager with global governance or business partner responsibilities.

Jürgen earned his MSc in economics at the University of Hamburg, and a PhD in business administration from the University of Vienna.

Stefano ScarpettaStefano Scarpetta is Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs at the OECD since 2013.

As director of ELS, he is responsible for the design and the implementation of the medium-term strategy of the Organisation on labour market and social policy issues as well as international migration and health issues.

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He represents the OECD in High-Level fora and academic conferences; liaise with key senior stakeholders and provide effective communication with the media. As a member of the Senior Management team of the Organisation, he also contributes to support and advance the strategic orientations of the OECD.

Previously, he held several positions in the Economics Department and in his current Directorate. From 2002 to 2006 he also worked at the World Bank, where he took over the responsibility of labour market advisor and lead economist. He has published extensively in academic journals, edited several books.

Mr. Scarpetta holds a Ph.D. in Economics  from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociales (EHESS), Département et Laboratoire d’Economie Théorique Appliquée (DELTA) in Paris and a Master of Science in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Mara BrugiaMara Brugia is the Deputy Director of Cedefop, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training.

She has been involved in vocational education and training (VET) since 1994.

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As Head of Department from 2004 to 2014, she managed teams of European experts working in research and policy analysis to support the development and implementation of the Union policy in the field of VET, skills and qualifications.

She holds a university degree in Economics and a Master in Economics, politics and law of the European Union. Her mother tongue is Italian (born in Perugia) and she is fluent in English, French, Greek and Spanish.

Namir AnaniNamir Anani is the President and CEO of the Information and Communications Technology Council (ictc-ctic.ca), he is the chief strategist and driving force in bringing ICTC’s world-class centre of expertise and services to industry, education and government; shaping Canada’s digital advantage in a global economy. Before joining ICTC, Namir previously led Policy Development & Research at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

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He has also held several executive leadership roles in both the private and public sectors including the Department of Canadian Heritage (Director General & CEO), CGI consulting, Nortel, and Novartis (Switzerland). Mr. Anani’s experience extends to; strategic policy development and implementation, learning and capacity building, business transformation, national/international strategic alliances, economic and market research, and technology innovation.

He has also held numerous board positions, and is a frequent keynote speaker at national and international conferences on the digital economy. Namir holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Salford (UK) as well as a Professional Engineer designation in Ontario (P. Eng.).

Scherwin M BajkaScherwin M. Bajka is a Researcher and PhD Candidate in Political Economy at the University of St. Gallen, who is currently affiliated with GOVPET.

The GOVPET Leading House is funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Research, Education, and Innovation, and explores the systemic governance of dual-track vocational and Training (VET) systems.

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In his doctoral project, Scherwin M. Bajka investigates how dual VET systems adapt to the Knowledge Economy from institutional, employers’ and apprentices’ perspectives. His broader research interests include education policy, social inclusion, and economic inequality. Overall, Scherwin M. Bajka is dedicated to combating societal prejudices with scientific facts for a more inclusive tomorrow.

Diana CopDiana Čop has been conducting policy research at Visionary Analytics since 2019.

Throughout her career, Diana was involved in multiple projects in the domains of educational, social, and labour market policies. Currently, her thematic focus is mostly oriented towards educational policies and their role in supporting labour market needs.

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As a Researcher at Visionary Analytics, Diana is involved in research and/or evaluation tasks. Her main role is focused on stages of data collection (surveys, interviews, document research) and data analysis (quantitative and qualitative). Diana also develops the final outputs, such as analytical reports and policy recommendations, as well as presents research findings to target groups. Her portfolio includes working with such organisations as the European Commission (DG EMPL, DG EACEA, DG CONNECT), the European Parliament, Cedefop, EIGE, and multiple others.

Carlos de Olague SmithsonCarlos de Olagüe Smithson is the Spanish representative of EfVET, coordinating the National Board composed of 27 members from VET organisations, regional and national school associations.

Carlos de Olagüe Smithson studied Telecommunications Engineering (UPM) and a Master in Power Electronics (FernUni Hagen). His Doctorate in Education (UAM) was a research about Erasmus funding in VET.

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Carlos is responsible for International Affairs at the Spanish association FP Empresa formed by more than 400 public and private VET schools. He is the Director of the VET High School IES Pedro de Tolosa in Madrid and Academic Coordinator at the University Carlos III.

Several of his articles and publications describe the past and current situation of vocational education and training in Spain and Europe.

Viola DeutscherViola Deutscher is a professor of Economics and Business Education at the University of Mannheim, where she holds the Chair for Competence Development and Training Quality.

She studied economics at the Goethe University in Frankfurt (Bachelor's) and business education at the University of Paderborn (Master's).

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She earned her doctorate at the University of Paderborn, during which she conducted research at the Learning Sciences Research Institute in Chicago, focusing on questions of occupational competence diagnostics. Afterward, she worked as a research associate at the German Institute for Adult Education. Since 2016, she has been teaching and researching at the University of Mannheim. Her core academic interests lie in the area of vocational and professional education. She specializes in designing and implementing digital learning environments for various occupational fields, diagnosing and promoting professional competency, training quality and dropout in vocational education, and researching career choice and professional identity development.

 

Driscoll BecaBeca Driscoll serves as the Future Talent Lead for Accenture North America as the director of the North America Apprenticeship Program.

Beca is a leader in the professional apprenticeship movement and inclusive talent development, engaging and advising other companies and community partners to leverage the success of the skilled trades apprenticeship model into careers in technology and other roles.

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Beca brings experience across business consulting, corporate social responsibility, the social sector and human resources. During her tenure at Accenture she has partnered with nonprofit, education and social service clients to develop new growth strategies and transform their organizations to deliver the highest impact with limited resources.

Beca started her career in the nonprofit sector focused on strategy, communications and field operations for international and US disaster response humanitarian aid nonprofit organizations. She holds an MBA from Duke University, and a Bachelor’s degree from Boston College.

Angeliki FilippidouAngeliki Filippidou is the Principal in the 2nd Vocational Apprenticeship School (EPA.S.) of Thessaloniki-DYPA, the Greek Public Employment Service.

2nd EPAS is one of the 51 VET Schools which DYPA operates all over Greece.

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Angeliki Filippidou has Degree in Sociology, bachelor in Education Studies and Msc studies in “Administration and Management of Educational Units”. She has more than 28 years’ experience in teaching in VET Apprenticeship Schools.

Alongside the educational duties and the duties as Principal, she is also Head of Career Office of the school.

She has participated in many projects on Vocational Education and Training, such as ERASMUS+ Mobility Program, Forums and Conferences in Greece and Europe.

Angeliki Filippidou has been selected for the European Alliance for Apprenticeships Excellence Award 2017, in the “Teachers” category. Award handed over by European Commissioner Marianne Thyssen on 24 November 2017, in Brussels. Also the team "Digital & Green Waves" of 2nd VET School Thessaloniki has been selected for the European Alliance for Apprenticeships Excellence Award 2020, in the “European Agencies Awards” category for the Cedefop Photo Award.

Friedrich DanielDaniel Friedrich is a mechatronics engineer, vocational trainer and social economist.

As a trade union officer in the department of work organisation and qualification policy at the IG Metall headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, he campaigns for good training and working conditions in vocational education and training.

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His main focus is to strengthen co-determination in the area of examinations and to further develop the final examinations at the end of vocational training with a view to the challenges of transformation.

During his dual vocational training, Daniel was elected chairman of the youth and trainee representation and later to the works council of a medium-sized automotive and mechanical engineering company in the Bavarian Rhön region.

After studying social economics at the University of Hamburg, he became a trade union officer for IG Metall. He was already responsible for the education, counselling and support of works councils, youth and trainee representatives, shop stewards, trainees and examiners as an education officer and later as an trade union manger at the IG Metall branch in Schweinfurt.

Sophia GentnerSophia Gentner is a research assistant at the Chair of Professional Teaching and Learning at the University of Mannheim (Germany).

Sophia holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Business Education with a minor in French from the University of Mannheim.

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Her research interests are related to knowledge transfer from science to practice and knowledge sharing in organizational settings.

Cesar HerreroDr. Cesar Herrero is a scientific researcher in the Digital Economy Unit from the European Commission Joint Research Centre.

His work contributes to the field of digital education and digital skills, with a clear focus on the digital transformation of the Vocational Education and Training Sector. He is SELFIE WBL project leader.

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He carries out and coordinate socio-economic analysis of Education and Training evidence for policy making in Europe, of the digital transformation of learning and teaching and of 21st century competence frameworks.

Mergim JahiuMergim Jahiu is a senior advisor in international affairs of the Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training, SFUVET

Mergim Jahiu is an expert in VET with professional experience focusing on international cooperation in the field vocational skills developpement.

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His past experiences include positions in the Skills and Empoyability Branch of the ILO, in Switzerland at federal level at the State Secretariate for Education, Research and Innovation SERI as well as at cantonal level in Geneva office for orientation, vocational and continuing education and training.

In his various positions, he has gathered experience in policy and implementation of VET and Skills developpment in Switzerland as well as in partner countries. He has been active as an international consultant and project manager with specific expertise in the developpement of the dual model of vocational education and training (incl. policy reforms and implementation, public-private partnerships, curriculum development, teacher and instructor training). In January 2022, he has been selected as the Swiss member to CEDEFOP’s community of apprenticeship experts.

In addition to various coutinous trainings in Skills developpement, Mergim Jahiu holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, as well as a Master’s degree in Public International Law from the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Hiromichi KatayamaHiromichi Katayama’s work focuses on strengthening national TVET systems and he is, among other activities, leading UNESCO’s TVET policy reviews in different countries.

He has also been coordinating the development of skills assessment and anticipation in the Middle East and North Africa regions, and the advancement of TVET management information systems in sub-Saharan Africa.

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He has also coordinated situation analysis of TVET systems in Asia and Africa. Before joining UNESCO Headquarters, he worked at the OECD in Paris on the assessment of PISA financial literacy. He also worked at the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) in Montreal, Canada, on the collection, analysis and dissemination of TVET data and statistics.

Natassa KazantzidouNatassa Kazantzidou, MSc in Chemical Engineering, Msc in Information Systems, Post Graduate Diploma in Education for Sustainable Development, BSc in Social and Educational Policies.

She has been working in European projects since 1999 and she is an expert in education policies, quality in education, curriculum design, innovation in education and work-based learning.

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She is a certified adult trainer and an instructor in professional development courses for staff in education and training.

She has participated in research teams with various Universities and research centres. She has experience in work-based learning as a researcher and a practitioner. As a researcher, she has participated in various European projects, related to WBL and especially on the aspect of its quality assurance e.g. app.Mode, Bequal.app, SMARTEX, Eduwork.net, ECVET Permit, ECWORK As a practitioner, she is responsible for training of interns and induction training of new staff.  She speaks Greek, English, Spanish and French.

Deniz KozanogluDr. Deniz Kozanoglu holds two Ph.D. degrees in Economics from Jean Monnet Saint-Étienne University and Istanbul University. He received master's degrees in Firm Economics and Economics Engineering, and International Economics and Politics from Grenoble II Pierre Mendès-France University. He completed his undergraduate education at Uludag University, Department of Labor Economics and Industrial Relations.

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Dr. Kozanoglu served as the President and Board Advisor at the Turkish Higher Education Quality Council (THEQC) for four years. He was also an assistant professor in the Francophone Department of Political Science and International Relations at Yeditepe University for nearly six years.

Dr. Kozanoglu continues his career as an affiliated researcher at the GATE Lyon St Etienne Research Center (a joint research unit of CNRS, University of Lyon, and Jean Monnet Saint-Étienne University). He also holds the international expert position at the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS). As a close stakeholder, he conducts joint events and scientific studies in higher education with international organizations and European institutions such as the United Nations Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (UN HESI) Green Learning Network, European University Association (EUA), and UNICA.

Dr. Kozanoglu has contributed to many national and international journals, books, scientific reports, and conferences in English, French, and Turkish languages.

Elena MagriniElena Magrini is Head of Global Research at Lightcast, where she currently leads the Global Business Unit’s Consulting team.

Her recent research focuses on labour market analysis and the future of work, in particular in relation to digital transformation, economic growth and skills insights.

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Prior to joining Lightcast, Elena worked at the UK think-tank Centre for Cities where she led on research on employment and skills in UK cities. Elena also has experience in local government, having worked as a Senior Policy Manager for the West of England Combined Authority. Elena holds a BSc. in International Economics from Bocconi University and an MSc. in International Public Policy from University College London.

Katerina ManiadakiKaterina Maniadaki is a graduate student of the department of "International, European and regional relations" of Panteion University.

She started working in IDEC S. A. as an intern, while from December 2022 she is working as a Junior Project Manager in the same company.

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She mainly works with European projects (mostly Erasmus+), and she is also helping with the research part of other projects. She has been a member of Amnesty International's Gender Network since September 2021, actively participating in the signing of calls. In addition, from February to June 2022, she worked as a volunteer in the library of her university’s gender studies lab, documenting and updating the online library catalogue.

She speaks fluently 2 foreign languages (English and French), and she has 2 ECDL certificates, one that certifies a basic level of digital competences and another one that certifies an advanced level of the corresponding competences.

Christian MayerChristian Mayer has, since July 2020, been a research assistant at the Chair of Professional Teaching and Learning (Prof. Dr Jürgen Seifried).

From December 2019 to December 2021, he was program manager of the Bachelor & Master in Economic and Business Education.

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Christian holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree (2017 and 2020, respectively) in Business Education with a minor in Political Science from the University of Mannheim. During his studies, Christian volunteered at the initiative “Studenten-bilden-Schüler e.V.” as a tutor and in the Mannheim site management.

He worked as a student trainee in the vocational training department of the Rhine-Neckar Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK), as a tutor for the course " Design of business learning environments II " (Master Business Edu) and as a student assistant at the chair of Prof. Dr Andreas Rausch in the PSA-Sim project of the ASCOT+ initiative (LUCA Office Simulation).

Research interests:

Eye-Tracking in the problem-solving process in computer-based learning environments.

Teaching and learning with ERP systems.

Language processing with artificial intelligence (Natural Language Processing).

Dan McCabeDan McCabe is a member of the Worldskills champions trust, a group of young people from all over the world.

One of our aims is to represent young people from many different cultures and economies about key issues and give an alternative perspective to employers and policy makers regarding key decisions in our societies. 

Stewart McKinlayStewart McKinlay worked for the Sector Skills Council in Scotland with responsibility for Apprenticeship frameworks in Engineering, Life Science, and Railway.

He was appointed to the University of Strathclyde as Associate Director (Industry Engagement) with the Engineering Academy; launched to support employer’s talent pipelines and widening access.

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Whilst there he was one of a team of three who developed the Graduate Apprenticeship programme and led the University to become the first in Europe to join the European Alliance of Apprenticeships.  Stewart then joined NMIS as Head of Skills Programmes before taking on the role of Skills Director.

At SAFEE, Stewart selected the first female Chair and led the executive committee in reaching 50/50 gender balance.  He currently sits on the Steering Board of Equate Scotland, the Engineering Skills Leadership Group, and co-chairs the Skills Workstream in the Making Scotland’s Future Programme Board.  Stewart is in the Cedefop community of apprenticeship experts.

Mary Kate Morley RyanMary Kate Morley Ryan is a leader on Accenture’s Future Workforce team with a focus on social innovation and radical inclusion.

She has worked closely with Fortune 50 C-suite leaders, local civic leaders, higher education executives and military leaders to allow public and private sector leaders to shape the future of work.

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She is responsible for Accenture’s US Innovating for Society strategy which pilots, implements, and amplifies solutions to pressing workforce related challenges faced by people and organizations.

As the daughter of a single Mom, she witnessed the power of grit, selflessness and community support. She’s translated these learnings into her work by championing courageous collaboration, human-centered design and servant leadership. She received a degree from Saint Louis University in Business Administration, a Platform Fellow for Work, Wages and Job Creation at the World Economic Forum, and visiting scientist with the Next Level Lab based at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Barbara OfstadDr. Barbara Ofstad has worked in the electro-technical industry in various managerial roles for more than 20 years.

As Head of Siemens Professional Education Germany, she has been responsible for apprenticeship training, dual study programs and technical upskilling/reskilling activities since 2017. 

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She studied European Business Administration at ESB Reutlingen (Germany) as well as ESC Reims (France) and holds an MBA, International Management from the Monterey Institute of International Studies (USA). In September 2022, she defended her Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) at Business Science Institute (Luxembourg) / Université de Lyon (France). Her thesis explored how and why boundary spanning in Vocational Education and Training helps improve technical skills and methods of trainers.

Dr. Barbara Ofstad serves in various German vocational education boards (VDMA, VHU, BDA) and is a member of the board of trustees of the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics (ITWM Kaiserslautern).    

Mauro PelucchiMauro Pelucchi is Senior Data Scientist and Big Data Engineer responsible for the design of the “Real-Time Labour Market Information System on Skill Requirements” for CEDEFOP (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training).

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He currently works as Head of Global Data Science at Lightcast with the goal to develop innovative models, methods, and deployments of labour market data and other data to meet customer requirements and prototype new potential solutions.

His main tasks are related to advanced machine learning modelling, labour market analyses, and the design of big data pipelines to process large datasets of online job vacancies. In collaboration with the University of Milano-Bicocca, he took part in many research projects related to the labour market intelligence systems. He collaborates with the University of Milano-Bicocca as a Lecturer for the Masters of Business Intelligence and Big Data Analytics and with the University of Bergamo as a Lecturer in Computer Engineering.

Romain PigeaudRomain Pigeaud currently works as a legal expert, writes, runs training courses and supports vocational training professionals and institutions.

He has been a specialist for many years on issues relating to apprenticeship contracts, apprenticeship training and its funding, and is involved in writing the Fiches pratiques de la formation continue, reports for Cedefop, and is a regular contributor to the presentation of vocational training.

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Romain Pigeaud works for the Centre-Inffo: an association under the supervision of the Ministry for Vocational Training, with a public service remit in the field of employment, training and vocational guidance.

Centre Inffo's mission is also to develop, capitalise on and disseminate information and documentation, particularly for public authorities and social partners.

Romain Pigeaud studied labour law at universities in Grenoble and Strasbourg, and is also a member of the French Alpine Club.

Konstantinos PouliakasKonstantinos Pouliakas is an Expert on Skills and Labour Markets at Cedefop.

He leads the Agency’s Skills and Work team and is principal research manager of its Digitalisation and Future of Work and Skill Mismatch projects. His proudest achievement is the development of two waves of the Cedefop European Skills and Jobs Survey.

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He has been scientific advisor and author on skills anticipation and skill mismatch for the European Commission, the World Economic Forum, ILO and the Greek Ministry of Labour and is regular instructor for the ILO-ITC.

He is currently a core member of the scientific committee of Greece’s National Skills Commission.

Before joining Cedefop he held posts at the University of Aberdeen and the University of Cyprus and worked for the Bank of Greece and HM Treasury. He has been invited Professor at the Universita Degli Studi Roma TRE and Visiting Research Scholar at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He is Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen Business School and IZA Research Fellow. He holds an M.Phil from the University of Oxford (St. Antony’s College) and a D.Phil from the Scottish Graduate Program in Economics.

He has published widely in peer-reviewed economics journals (e.g. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Oxford Review of Education, Economica, Journal of Economic Surveys, Research in Labor Economics, Education Economics, International Labour Review).

Tim SchreiberTim Schreiber is a Policy Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL).

He works in the unit in charge of Vocational Education and Training (VET). His tasks focus on the skills needed for the green transition on the labour market, internationalisation of VET, the SELFIE tool for work-based learning as well as higher VET.

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Previously, he worked in DG EMPL’s geographical desk for Austria and Germany, in a Brussels-based public sector consultancy and in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN). He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a master’s degree in International Relations.

Juergen SeifriedJuergen Seifried is a full professor of Economic and Business Education at the Business School of the University of Mannheim, Germany. His research focuses on subject didactic issues, research on competence development of teachers and trainers, simulation-based learning, learning in the workplace, and methods of competence assessment in vocational education. He is co-editor of the German Journal “Zeitschrift für Berufs- und Wirtschaftspädagogik”.

Andrzej Wojciech StepnikowskiDr. Andrzej Wojciech Stępnikowski, Education: phd on social sciences, faculty of pedagogy (Maria Grzegorzewska’s University of Special Pedagogy-APS ), graduate of doctor al studies in Labour economy (Institute for Labour and Social Affairs-IPISS), post-graduate studies on Leadership and Negotiations (National Defence Academy) and on  EU project’s management,  master of international relations – faculty of EU integration (Warsaw University), technic mechanic.

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Professional experience: Head of the Research Support Department and senior researcher in the Centre for VET Research and Innovation Management, previously 14 years in Nation-wide Polish Craft Association (as a deputy director for VET&Social Affairs Dept.) For 10 years (2010-2020) member of CEDEFOP’s Managing Board and Advisory Committee for Vocational Training (ACVT).

In the period 2018-2020 member of ministerial Programme Council on Competences. Nowadays (since 2018 – till now) member of CEDEFOP’s Experts Community on Apprenticeships (Thessaloniki) and OECD’s Group of National Experts on Vocational Education (Paris). Starting from IV.2021 expert of Foundation Platform of Future Industry (FPPP) in the fields of „Green economy” and „Competences of the future” .

Coordinator of around  15 EU funded projects (including LdV, Erasmus+) in the field of IVET, CVET and Green economy education. Half of projects with budget over 500.000 Euro.In the years 2015-2020 coordinator of the „New quality exams in crafts” responsible for development of on-line examination platform and since 2021 project and partner coordinator in four projects related with VR and AR, such as: Collaborative Virtual Reality

Platform for e-Learning:Teaching Communication (Erasmus+), PLC-Centered VR-Training for Industry 4.0 (VR-PLC) and its continuation VR-PLC Train the Trainer (European Institute for Innovation and Technology – EIT Manufacturing) and Mazovia EDIH (Digital Europe Programme).

Stefan ThomasStefan Thomas is a Senior Human Capital Development Expert at the European Training Foundation (ETF) in Turin, Italy.

The ETF’s mission is to help transition and developing countries to harness the potential of their human capital through the reform of education, training and labour market systems in the context of the EU's external relations policy.

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Stefan’s responsibilities at the ETF include working with governments, social partners, international organisations and development agencies to improve work-based learning and apprenticeship systems. Centres of Vocational Excellence, including their role in the digital transition, is another focus of his work at the ETF.

Marieke VandeweyerMarieke Vandeweyer is a senior policy analyst in the OECD Centre for Skills, where she leads the work on Vocational Education and Training (VET).

Since joining the organisation in 2014, she has worked in the areas of skills, activation policies and labour market reforms.

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She has been actively involved in the OECD’s Getting Skills Right project, analysing the match between skills demand and supply and the responsiveness of adult learning systems to changing skill needs. Her current projects focus on the future-readiness of VET systems, including analysis of VET and the green transition, flexibility of provision, higher-level VET programmes, technology use, and VET teachers and trainers. She is also co-leading the ongoing development of an International VET Assessment.   

Marieke holds a MSc in Business Engineering and a MSc in European Politics and Policies, as well as a PhD in Economics from the University of Leuven (Belgium).

Feiyu WangFeiyu Wang is a phD candidate at Beijing Foreign Studies University, China.

She also works as a lecturer at Yanshan University. Her research focuses on comparative analysis of vocational education policy, especially on quality and equity in VET of digital transition.

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She obtained a Master Degree of Science in Education at the University of Pennsylvania in 2012 and was a visiting scholar in 2017 specializing in Social Justice Education at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. She has many years of experience in educational research on social justice especially in developing countries such as India and China.

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    Cedefop, together with the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU, is organising the 14th Cedefop Brussels seminar as a virtual event.

    Organised in cooperation with the rotating EU Presidency, these seminars build on Cedefop’s research and analyses to address issues relevant to current European debates on vocational education and training (VET) and employment.

    The 14th Brussels seminar will address the skills necessary to boost innovation, the role of vocational education and training (VET) and skills anticipation approaches to meet the goals of the European Green Deal (EGD) and of the Green Deal Industrial Plan.

    The 14th Cedefop Brussels Seminar aims at addressing the two following questions:

    1. What are the expected skill needs relevant to green technological and social innovation and how can VET best address them?
    2. What is the role of skills governance and innovative skills anticipation in supporting policy-making to make the green transition happen?

    The 14th Brussels seminar will present Cedefop research on trends and developments in skills and jobs for the green transition, and its work on skills anticipation approaches that facilitate the transition to the new ‘green’ paradigm in European economies and societies.

    Cedefop experts and external experts will present, discuss and debate the interaction between VET and skills in the context of technological and social innovation, and the contribution of innovative skills anticipation and governance approaches.

    The concept note and agenda are available here.

    Programme

    Monday 19 June 2023
    Moderator: Antonio Ranieri, Cedefop
    10.00 - 10.10 Welcome and scene setting
     
    • Åsa Petri, Chair of the Education Committee, Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union
    • Jürgen Siebel, Executive Director, Cedefop
    Moderator: Jiri Branka, Cedefop
    10.10 - 11.00 Skills for boosting ‘greenovation’
     
    • Skills for the green transition – realising VET’s potential, Stelina Chatzichristou, Expert, Cedefop
    • Simone Schirru, RREUSE
    • Anders Norberg and Jakub Stolfa, ERASMUS+ ALBATTS and Automotive Skills Alliance
    • Q&A
    11.00 - 12.00 Anticipating and matching skills: promising practices
     
    • Stelina Chatzichristou, Expert, Cedefop
    • Joanna Sabat, Reboost – a Boost for Rural Lignite Regions initiative, EIT-KIC
    • Iván Pineda, Director of Innovation, WindEurope
    • Aoife O'Sullivan, Skillnet Ireland
    • Q&A
    12.00 - 12.10 ------- Break -------
       
    12.10 - 12.55
    Panel discussion
    Moderator: Jasper van Loo, Cedefop
     

    A panel discussion followed by Q&A and discussion involving the audience

    • Alfonso Alcolea, Policy officer, European Commission, DG ENV
    • Tim Schreiber, Policy officer, European Commission, DG EMPL
    • Daniel Wetzel, Head of Tracking Sustainable Transitions Unit, International Energy Agency
    • Christer Bergqvist, Deputy Director General, Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education
    12.55 - 13.00
    Cedefop closing remarks
    Mara Brugia, Cedefop Deputy Director

    Speakers

    Alfonso Alcolea is a Policy Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Environment (DG ENV), Unit C3 at the Directorate for Zero Pollution.

    He is member of the team in charge of urban environmental policy, running the Green City Accord and the European Green Capital / Green Leaf awards.

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    Previously, he worked in the Unit in charge of sustainable freshwater management (Water Framework Directive).

    Before, he developed different tasks related to environment and regional policy at the European Committee of the Regions, the Regional Office of Valencia in Brussels and the European Parliament.

    Alfonso is a lawyer and holds a master degree from the College of Europe in Bruges.

    Christer Bergqvist is the Deputy Director General of the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education.

    He holds academic degrees in Business Administration and Behavioural Science from Lund University and is a member of the governing boards of Kristianstad University and the National Board of Appeal for Student Aid.

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    Mr Bergqvist has extensive experience, working since 2000, with the Swedish system for higher vocational education.

    His current responsibilities also include the development and implementation of the Swedish qualifications framework (SeQF) and the Swedish NCP for the EQF.

    In cooperation with social partners and labour market stakeholders and representatives from the education system as well as regions, he is leading the work on developing structures for validation of prior learning.

    Mr Bergqvist has also overseen several EU-funded projects in the areas of qualifications, validation, microcredentials, and lifelong learning.

    Mara Brugia is the Deputy Director of Cedefop, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training.

    She has been involved in vocational education and training (VET) since 1994. As Head of Department from 2004 to 2014, she managed teams of European experts working in research and policy analysis to support the development and implementation of the Union policy in the field of VET, skills and qualifications.

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    She holds a university degree in Economics and a Master in Economics, politics and law of the European Union. Her mother tongue is Italian (born in Perugia) and she is fluent in English, French, Greek and Spanish.

    Stelina Chatzichristou is an expert in the Department for VET and skills at Cedefop, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training.

    She is leading Cedefop’s research on jobs, skills and vocational education and training (VET) for the green transition and sectoral skills developments.

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    Stelina coordinates the skills intelligence and foresight team, and contributes to the Centre’s research on skills anticipation and skills governance.

    Before joining Cedefop, Stelina worked for almost a decade as a researcher and policy analyst in the private sector.

    In that capacity, she has worked on and managed projects on national and EU comparative analysis on VET, skills and entrepreneurship.

    Dr Anders Norberg is an educational researcher and developer at Campus Skellefteå, a multi-institutional campus in Northern Sweden.

    Skellefteå is the site of Northvolt Ett, Europe’s first homegrown battery gigafactory.

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    Anders has extensive experience in EC projects, and is currently coordinator of the ERASMUS+ blueprint project ALBATTS, with 21 partners in 11 countries 2019-23, working in education development in the field of batteries and electromobility at the EU level.

    His well-cited research specialises in blended learning/ICT integration, educational justice and education logistics. Anders is also Vice President of the Automotive Skills Alliance, a large-scale European Pact-for-Skills partnership.

    Aoife O’Sullivan is the Head of Network Development and Innovation with Skillnet Ireland where she oversees the management of 70 Skillnet Business Networks across a range of industry sectors and regions.

    With over 15 years management experience, Aoife has a strong track record in relationship management and strategic communications.

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    As a senior manager in the public and private sector, Aoife has gained a solid understanding of the development and learning needs of companies at various stages of their growth lifecycle.

    Aoife holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Multimedia and an MA in Communications & Cultural Studies.

    Åsa Petri Education Counsellor, Permanent Representation of Sweden to the EU.

    Åsa Petri is the Chair of the Education Committee of the Council of the European Union during the Swedish Presidency of 2023.

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    She has worked for the Swedish Ministry of Education and Research for 13 years, of which 5 as Education Counsellor at the Swedish Permanent Representation to the EU.

    Åsa Petri is currently on leave from her post of Head of Unit of the International Office at Stockholm University.

    She has previously worked for the Swedish National Agency for Erasmus and other funding programmes, for the UCLA Anderson School of Management, the Stockholm School of Economics and for CEMS, a global alliance of management schools.

    Iván Pineda is the Director of Innovation for WindEurope, the European trade association representing wind energy based in Brussels, Belgium.

    He has worked there for 12 years, holding the positions of Head of Policy Analysis and policy officer on wind power integration into electricity grids and markets.

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    Before joining WindEurope, he worked for 6 years as a technical project manager on large-scale mechanical and electrical installations across Europe for Procter & Gamble.

    His professional experience includes working as freelance management consultant and as finance manager at French retailer Carrefour.

    He studied in Mexico and Canada, where he graduated with a BSc in Industrial Engineering, and in the UK, where he obtained an MSc in Sustainable Energy Technology at Imperial College London as a Chevening Scholar.

    Antonio Ranieri is Head of Department for VET and Skills at Cedefop.

    He manages a team of European experts investigating skills trends and changes in the worlds of work and support the development and implementation of the Union policy in the field of vocational education and training.

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    The Department work encompasses a wide range of research and policy analysis in two Cedefop strategic areas of operation, namely skills and labour market and learning and employability.

    An economist by training, Antonio has taught regional economics at the University of Rome since 2002. He also lectured at the National High School of Public Administration on cost-benefit analysis and public expenditure.

    Prior to joining Cedefop, in 2010, he was Head of Research and Studies at the public services authority of the Municipality of Rome. Until 2007, he was Head of Area at CLES, an independent centre of studies on labour market and economic development based in Rome.

    Photo Joanna SabatJoanna Sabat, EIT Climate-KIC CEE Ecosystem Developer.

    Working with EIT Climate-KIC since 2013, supporting innovative ideas, cities, and start-ups in central & eastern Europe aiming at C02 emission reduction and saving our planet and people from the climate crisis.

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    Involved in a number of initiatives focused on transformation of coal-dependent regions and just transition – among them the CEE Community Lab, the Post Coal Future Lab, and Reboost – a Boost for Rural Lignite Regions.

    Simone Schirru is a Policy Officer in Social and Economic Policies at RREUSE, the European network for reuse, repair, and recycling, representing social enterprises active in the circular economy.

    Simone follows policy files which include the EU Action Plan on the Social Economy, public procurement, State aid, and skills-related initiatives.

    Tim Schreiber is a Policy Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL).

    He works in Unit B3, which is in charge of vocational education and training (VET).

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    Tim works on skills needed for the green transition on the labour market, internationalisation of VET, as well as higher VET.

    Currently, Tim is also closely involved in the organisation of the European Year of Skills.

    Previously, he worked in DG EMPL’s geographical desk for Austria and Germany, in a Brussels-based public sector consultancy and in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN).

    He holds a bachelor degree in Political Science and a master degree in International Relations.

    Jürgen Siebel joined Cedefop from the private sector in September 2019 as Executive Director.

    Out of Thessaloniki, Cedefop supports the development of European vocational education and training (VET) policies, skills policies, and qualifications policies, and contributes to their implementation.

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    As Executive Director, Jürgen is responsible for managing the Agency’s operations in accordance with the strategic direction of its tripartite Management Board.

    Before joining Cedefop, Jürgen served for more than 20 years as an HR manager with global governance and business-partner responsibilities at Siemens.

    Jürgen earned his MSc in Economics at the University of Hamburg, and a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Vienna.

    Jakub Stolfa is the programme manager and an academic staff member at VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, Czech Republic, where he also received his PhD.

    At VSB – TUO he is responsible for the skills agenda in the automotive-mobility ecosystem, where – among other activities and projects in the field – he and his team coordinated the DRIVES project and the Blueprint project for the automotive sector.

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    Jakub is also leading the WP in ALBATTS project, the Blueprint project for batteries for the electromobility sector.

    His recent activities are strongly focused on a sustainable and pragmatic approach towards the skills agenda in the automotive ecosystem, establishing the Automotive Skills Alliance, a Pact for Skills partnership in the automotive-mobility ecosystem.

    He has experience in project/programme management, development of training and education programmes, and a technical background in informatics and mechatronics in the automotive ecosystem.

    Jasper Van Loo is coordinator of Cedefop’s department for VET and Skills.

    He currently coordinates the labour market and skills analysis work of the agency. He is also part of the team investigating EU skills trends using online job vacancies.

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    He has a master degree in quantitative and general economics and holds a Ph.d. in social sciences.

    As a researcher and project manager at the Dutch research centre for education and the labour market (ROA) Jasper led research projects on labour market issues, skills, employability and obsolescence of knowledge.

    He also worked on HRD and HRM, taking an economic perspective to human resources issues. Jasper started working for Cedefop in 2007. He led the centre’s early work on skill mismatch, coordinated the centre’s work on national VET systems and policies for several years, and led the centre’s skills governance work.

    Daniel Wetzel Head of Unit: Tracking Sustainable Transitions International Energy Agency.

    Dan leads the newly created Tracking Sustainable Transitions Unit within the World Energy Outlook, which tracks how policy measures are moving the needle on clean energy transitions, energy access, and energy employment.

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    He was one of the lead authors of the IEA Sustainable Recovery report and the IEA Sustainable Recovery Tracker, and coordinated IEA’s co-custodianship of Tracking Progress on Sustainable Development Goal 7.1: Universal Access.

    Dan also oversees the employment and parts of the demand analysis in the annual World Energy Outlook.

    Prior to joining the IEA, Dan worked at the Rocky Mountain Institute in their Beijing office, leading their Power Market Reform programme, and in Colorado, working on regional energy transition plans.

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    The conference 'Microcredentials – a labour market megatrend' presented the findings of Cedefop´s project Microcredentials for labour market education and training.

    REGISTRATION CLOSED  


    The event was an opportunity for policy-makers, social partners, stakeholders, experts and researchers from education and training, industry and beyond, to be informed on the emerging role of microcredentials in supporting labour-market-related and employment-relevant education, training and learning.

    The conference offered participants insights into the perceived added value of microcredentials for end-users, as well as created a space for reflection and discussion of microcredentials’ broader uptake and function. Building on research carried out by Cedefop in recent years, the conference complemented the ongoing political discussion on tools and initiatives supporting people in their lifelong learning pathways as described in the July 2020 Skills Agenda, the Council Recommendation on vocational education and training (VET) and the 2020 Osnabrück Declaration as well as the European Union Council Recommendation on a European Approach to Microcredentials.


    Recordings of the sessions 


    22 June 2023
    23 June 2023

     

     

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    The European Year of Skills is an excellent opportunity to take stock of how efficient skill systems are in developing, activating and ultimately matching workforce skills to the needs of the labour market. Skills drive the transition towards a greener, more digital Europe and help economies and societies become more resil...

    The European Year of Skills is an excellent opportunity to take stock of how efficient skill systems are in developing, activating and ultimately matching workforce skills to the needs of the labour market. Skills drive the transition towards a greener, more digital Europe and help economies and societies become more resilient. Forward looking insight into labour market trends underlies evidence-based policy making, because it helps bridge the gaps between the supply of talent and what employers are looking for.

    Cedefop has used its 2023 Skills forecast to identify future gaps between demand and supply. A new Future Shortage Indicator blending information on skills demand, supply, and their interaction helps shed new light on shortages and their policy implications. This second European Year of Skills Virtual Get together provided an opportunity to engage with Cedefop and other experts. It brought together an audience of representatives from EU institutions and agencies, civil society organisations, businesses, labour market experts, social partners, and policy makers. The new Cedefop findings has been showcased to discover new approaches to viewing skill shortages and to elaborate on how they can be tackled in practice.

    Video recording

    The video recording of the event can be watched from here.
    (By following the link, the YouTube privacy policy and cookies will apply)

    Agenda

    Times are indicated in CET.

    15.00 – 15.05 Opening and welcome by Jasper van Loo, Cedefop, coordinator of the department for VET and Skills
    15.05 – 15.25 Labour market tensions until 2035 - What can we learn from Cedefop's Future Shortage Indicator?
    Ilias Livanos, expert at Cedefop
    15.25 – 15.30 What drives recruitment difficulties? Evidence from the 2nd European Skills and Jobs Survey
    Konstantinos Pouliakas and Giulia Santangelo, experts at Cedefop
    15.30 – 15.40 Questions (via Teams chat) & Answers
    15.40 – 16.00 Zooming in on occupations: skill shortages in Canada
    Erwin Gomez Gomez, manager at the ministry of Employment and Social Developments Canada (ESDC)
    16.00 – 16.30

    Deep diving into policy responses to shortages
    Panel discussion moderated by Jasper van Loo, Department Coordinator at Cedefop, with

    • Terence Hogarth, professor at the University of Warwick Institute for Employment Research
    • Ben Kriechel, managing partner at Economix
    • Sylvain Renouvel, director at the Federation of European Social Employers
    • Tuscany Bell, policy coordinator for social services and youth at the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU)

    Speakers

    photo Tuscany Bell 2Tuscany Bell is Policy Coordinator for Social Services and Youth at the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU).

    In this role, she leads the policy work of EPSU in relation to Long-term Care and Early Childhood Education and Care and leads projects for the EPSU Youth Network to improve the inclusion of youth in the labour movement.

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    She has a broad knowledge of industrial relations, EU social policy and European social dialogue. Before working at EPSU, she did traineeships at the European Commission and the European Policy Centre.

    She has a Master’s degree in European Politics and International Relations from the University of Groningen and an undergraduate degree in law.

    photo Erwin GomezErwin Gomez Gomez is a manager in the ministry of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), which develops and maintains the Canadian Occupational Projection System, most commonly known as COPS.

    Erwin is an economist with 20 years of experience in assessing labour market conditions.

    He obtained his Master's degree in Economics at the University of Ottawa in 2003. Since then, he has worked on several research projects related to the labour market, specializing in the development of projections, both in the private and public sectors.

    photo Terence HogarthTerence Hogarth is a professor in the University of Warwick Institute for Employment Research (IER) where he leads a programme of research on vocational education and training (VET) - with a particular emphasis on apprenticeships - and its responsiveness to labour market demand for skills.

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    His research is also concerned with identifying changing patterns of demand for skills with a particular focus on skill mismatches. This particular programme of research employs a range of methods including surveys, forecasting, foresight, and text mining techniques.

    Between 2016 and 2020, he was a Senior Adviser at Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini (FGB), a not-for-profit research foundation based in Rome, where he led a programme of cross-national research on employment and skills.

    Ben Kriechel is Managing Partner at Economix Research & Consulting.

    He is specialized in empirical labour market research and research methodology. Ben Kriechel has worked on topics of personnel and labour economics, vocational education and training systems, worker displacement and labour mobility, labour market monitoring, survey methods, and skills forecasting.

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    He advised and participated in several countries on the development and implementation of labour market information systems and forecasts. He has worked for organisations such as EU Commission, Cedefop, ETF, ILO, OECD, UNESCO and national ministries.

    Ben Kriechel has co-authored, together with Rob Wilson, the Cedefop / ILO / ETF Guide on Forecasting. He published scientific articles in several peer reviewed journals on topics of labour markets, skills, qualifications and occupations. He is a research fellow at the IZA in Bonn, the Research Centre of Education and the Labour Market (ROA) in Maastricht.

    Ilias Livanos is a Cedefop expert at the Department for VET and Skills. Ilias, amongst his other duties at Cedefop, is the leader of the Skills forecast and the European skills index.

    Ilias is an economist by training, with a PhD in employment research from the University of Warwick, where he worked for several years prior to joining Cedefop. His expertise is in labour economics, education economics, and industrial relations. Ilias has published articles in various top-ranking journals.

    Konstantinos Pouliakas is an Expert on Skills and Labour Markets at Cedefop.

    He leads the Agency’s Skills and Work team and is principal research manager of its Digitalisation and Future of Work and Skill Mismatch projects. His proudest achievement is the development of two waves of the Cedefop European Skills and Jobs Survey.

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    He has been scientific advisor and author on skills anticipation and skill mismatch for the European Commission, the World Economic Forum, ILO and the Greek Ministry of Labour and is regular instructor for the ILO-ITC.

    He is currently a core member of the scientific committee of Greece’s National Skills Commission.

    Before joining Cedefop he held posts at the University of Aberdeen and the University of Cyprus and worked for the Bank of Greece and HM Treasury. He has been invited Professor at the Universita Degli Studi Roma TRE and Visiting Research Scholar at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He is Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen Business School and IZA Research Fellow. He holds an M.Phil from the University of Oxford (St. Antony’s College) and a D.Phil from the Scottish Graduate Program in Economics.

    He has published widely in peer-reviewed economics journals (e.g. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Oxford Review of Education, Economica, Journal of Economic Surveys, Research in Labor Economics, Education Economics, International Labour Review).

    Antonio Ranieri is Head of Department for VET and Skills at Cedefop.

    He manages a team of European experts investigating skills trends and changes in the worlds of work and support the development and implementation of the Union policy in the field of vocational education and training. The Department work encompasses a wide range of research and policy analysis in two Cedefop strategic areas of operation, namely skills and labour market and learning and employability.

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    An economist by training, Antonio has taught regional economics at the University of Rome since 2002. He also lectured at the National High School of Public Administration on cost-benefit analysis and public expenditure.

    Prior to joining Cedefop, in 2010, he was Head of Research and Studies at the public services authority of the Municipality of Rome. Until 2007, he was Head of Area at CLES, an independent centre of studies on labour market and economic development based in Rome.

    photo Sylvain RenouvelSylvain Renouvel is Director of the Federation of European Social Employers.

    The Federation gathers 31 members from 18 European countries and works together with its social partner, EPSU, on the policy field and in the framework of projects, on staff shortages, working conditions and skills and career paths development in the care sector.

    photo Santangelo for Dec22Giulia Santangelo is an Expert on Skills and Labour Markets at the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), since 2022.

    Before joining Cedefop, from 2013 to 2022, she worked as researcher at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, in the Competence Centre on Microeconomic Evaluation (CC-ME), where she has been the coordinator of the Centre for Research on Impact Evaluation (CRIE).

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    She has been a visiting research fellow at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and a lecturer at the Doctoral School of Economics at Sapienza University of Rome.

    She obtained a M.Sc. in Statistical Sciences and a Ph.D. in Economic Sciences at Sapienza University of Rome. Her main research interests lie in the fields of labour economics, applied micro-econometrics, and policy evaluation.

    Jasper Van Loo is coordinator of Cedefop’s department for VET and Skills.

    He currently coordinates the labour market and skills analysis work of the agency. He is also part of the team investigating EU skills trends using online job vacancies.

    He has a master degree in quantitative and general economics and holds a Ph.d. in social sciences.

    View more

    As a researcher and project manager at the Dutch research centre for education and the labour market (ROA) Jasper led research projects on labour market issues, skills, employability and obsolescence of knowledge.

    He also worked on HRD and HRM, taking an economic perspective to human resources issues. Jasper started working for Cedefop in 2007. He led the centre’s early work on skill mismatch, coordinated the centre’s work on national VET systems and policies for several years, and led the centre’s skills governance work.

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    In February 2024, Cedefop and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) organised the fifth Policy Learning Forum on upskilling pathways: a vision for the future. The event took place at EESC premises in Brussels, on 06/02/2024 (09.30–17.00 CET) and on 07/02/2024 (09.00–13.00 CET).  

    In February 2024, Cedefop and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) organised the fifth Policy Learning Forum on upskilling pathways: a vision for the future.

    The event took place at EESC premises in Brussels, on 06/02/2024 (09.30–17.00 CET) and on 07/02/2024 (09.00–13.00 CET).  

    Policy Learning Fora (PLF) on upskilling pathways are a series of policy learning events on the topic aimed at providing a platform for countries to come together to learn from one another and explore common challenges in upskilling adults.

    The Fifth Policy Learning Forum (PLF) on upskilling pathways is aimed at discussing support to lifelong upskilling pathways for all adults, also by exploring and discussing findings from Cedefop Thematic Country Reviews on Upskilling Pathways.