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02 DEC 2025
Event
Virtual event

Skills and jobs: How SMEs go digital

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.

REGISTER

Programme

14:00 - 14:15Welcome and introductionJuergen Siebel (Cedefop Executive Director) and Ivailo Kalfin (Eurofound Executive Director)
14:15 - 14:40How SMEs go digitalJasper van Loo (Department coordinator at Cedefop) and Franz Eiffe (Research manager at Eurofound)
14:40 - 15:15Panel 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 – 15:30Policy pointers and take-awaysSara Riso (Senior research manager at Eurofound) and Jasper van Loo

 

 

Speakers

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Jürgen Siebel
Executive Director, Cedefop

Jürgen Siebel 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.

With his management team and all staff, Jürgen has led Cedefop to strengthen its position as a go-to ally for the EU institutions, social partners, researchers and practitioners when it comes to analysing the impacts of megatrends on the labour market, on skills, and on training ecosystems – and on how vocational education and training enables a fair digital and green transition.

Jürgen has a background in human-resources management with particular emphasis on learning and education, earned his MSc in economics at the University of Hamburg, and his PhD in business administration from the University of Vienna. 

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Valentina Guerra

Valentina Guerra is Director of SMEunited Social Affairs and Training departments since June 2023. She is responsible for the daily management of the departments and oversees a variety of policy files including EU labour law, social protection, migration, occupational health and safety, equality and training policy.

She is also responsible for SMEunited participation in European social dialogue.

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Ants Sild

Ants Sild is a consultant and lecturer on digital skills development and National Skills Frameworks, and educational strategies. He serves as Chairman of the Board of BCS Digital Skills Academy (BCS Koolitus AS), the leading Estonian Digital Skills Training company, also the Official Awarding Body of Occupational Qualifications in IT in Estonia dsa.bcskoolitus.ee

Ants has a Master’s degree and holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering.

 

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Jasper Van Loo

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.

Event details

Event Date(s)
02/12/2025
Event Type
Virtual event
City
Virtual event
Event venue
Virtual event
Participation
Open event
Cedefop involvement
Co-organiser

Contacts

Contact
Jasper Van Loo
Send a message to Jasper Van Loo
Contact
Christina Karkanti
Assistant
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