The Intelligent Cities Challenge has released an updated Cities Guide to Reskilling the Local Workforce, serving as a introduction to launching a Local or Regional Skills Partnership
COVID-19 accelerated the need for quick structural and cross-sectoral mobility of the workforce towards emerging jobs, e.g. green jobs, healthcare, and tech jobs. Cities are key in this major effort because they can combine insight of the local needs with a well-functioning and scalable reskilling network, involving local companies, vocational education institutes (VETs), high schools, local authorities, clusters, EENs, trade unions, and head-hunters.
At the core of this track is a focus on innovative education and training for upskilling and reskilling the workforce of ICC cities. While seeking to reduce the skills gap, mobilise and strengthen skills-ecosystems, it concentrates on pursuing a green, digital and social transition of the workforce. This will help equip cities in tackling new emerging needs and challenges. From a policy perspective, it builds on the new European Skills Agenda and Pact for Skills, focusing on new engagement models that assist in better supplying the skills for a green and digital recovery at city-level.
In this thematic, the ICC tackles, among other things:
- Upskilling and reskilling of workforce for a green, digital and social transition – based on assessment of the real city needs, current shifts in socio-economic-environmental trends
- Mobilising and strengthening skills-ecosystem – educational institutions, industry and businesses, schools, academia, VETs, fab labs, research centres, industrial clusters
- Reduction of skills gap and preparing the city for a better future
- Anticipation of new needs: e.g., moving workforce from idle airport logistics chain to support super-market logistic chains
Key related initiatives:
- European Skills Agenda and Pact for Skills as a new engagement model to supply the skills for a green and digital recovery