DG VET

A strong system of vocational education and training (VET) is increasingly seen as a precondition for overcoming the current economic crisis in Europe. From being treated as the ‘poor relative’ of education and training systems, policymakers now acknowledge that VET not only plays a key role in the integration of young people into the labour market, it also provides the skills and competences essential for innovation and entrepreneurship. However, for VET to be able to meet these high expectations, continuous and systematic renewal is of critical importance. Therefore, the need to support European VET systems to identify and anticipate future skill needs, to develop better matching between skills and labour market needs, and to bridge the gap between the worlds of education and work is imminent. Green skills have to be functional and set in the context of the real world. While digital skills are generally well understood, there is no accepted definition of green skills. Generic skills such as autonomy and communication skills are critical as well as generic green skills in such areas as waste reduction, energy and resource efficiency. There are new occupations emerging, such as builders working with sustainable materials and methods. Specialized green skills can transform existing occupations but, in most cases, they need to top up existing profiles. Automation and digitalisation affect all jobs. They bring fast change to our labour markets, integrating them with international markets and global value chains. They bring new opportunities but also affect existing business. DG-VET project partners recognize the important contribution of the Digital and Green economy (DaGE) sectors to creating job opportunities for young people living in rural areas. Within this framework, the main objective of the DG-VET project will be to develop a new innovative form of training material along with a gamified e-learning platform and a methodology for designing and implementing acceleration programs for potential young entrepreneurs and apprentices that will empower VET organizations/trainers throughout Europe by enabling them to support young/women NEETs living in rural areas in developing and enhancing their digital and green skills and their (self) employment in the two rapidly developing sectors of Digital and Green economy.