31 March 2023

Currently, Europe is facing skills gaps in both the public and private sector, leading to a mismatch between the supply and demand of needed skills and staff shortages in European companies. This can impede innovation and the adoption of advanced technologies, which are critical for the digital and green twin transition. Nowadays, organisations and markets want digital, green and clean-tech skills in addition to problem-solving, communication, creativity, readiness to learn, and critical thinking. In this context, the year 2023 has been dubbed the European Year of Skills by the European Commission which means a series of events, initiatives and projects will be directed as boosting skills across the EU over the course of the year.

With a unique position through the ability to establish wide networks and local level access to citizens’ needs, cities are key players in leading this up and reskilling effort. This is why an updated edition of A Cities Guide to Reskilling the Local Workforce – An Introduction to launching a Local or Regional Skills Partnership has been published by the Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC). The Guide gives cities the tools to harnesses the power of technology and social innovation to enhance existing strengths, solve persistent challenges and create new successes.

Amsterdam (The Netherlands)’s TechConnect initiative is one of the several inspiring case studies featured in the Guide.  It gives underrepresented groups the chance to upskill and reskill in tech & IT; increasing the number of programmers, data analysts, growth hackers, UX designers and tech managers in the city.

Robocoast in Pori (Finland), is a partnership among 9 universities, 7.000 researchers and over 60 companies in the field of Robotics, to promote modernisation of the local industry through robotics, AI, cybertechnology and IoT.

 

Other case study examples include those from the ICC cities (2020-22) of Espoo, Tampere & Turku (Finland), Nice (France), Ventspils (Latvia) and Guimarães (Portugal). Many of these cities’ solutions were supported by the ICC programme between 2020-22 which enabled them to advance progress in their local communities.

 

The Guide also provides a step-by-step approach to developing and designing reskilling initiatives, covering the 5 main phases: build an ecosystem, identify future skills need, design solutions, implement solutions, and monitor progress. In addition, by reading this guide, cities can expect to:

  • Understand lessons learned from good practice examples;
  • Facilitate collective action in local ecosystems & growing maturity;
  • Identify ways to make local skills gaps and mismatches insightful;
  • Discover practical methods and examples of crafting skills initiatives.

 

The Expression of Interest for the second phase of the ICC programme is now open and cities can submit their application to join via the website.

This exemplary publication showcases the great work of participating ICC cities (2020-22) and offers insight and inspiration to cities considering their application.

The full updated version of A Cities Guide to Reskilling the Local Workforce – An Introduction to launching a Local or Regional Skills Partnership is available here.