TRANSFORM - Twin Transition Support Framework for Reskilling and Upskilling in MSMEs based on the Living Lab approach

Acknowledging that addressing growing labour shortages in sectors vital to the twin transition requires standardised partnership models capable of delivering innovative and effective reskilling programs, the project aims to strengthen collaboration between the four pillars of regional learning and innovation ecosystems, increasing their capacity to reskill the workforce in priority sectors identified in line with Smart Specialization Strategies. The Living Lab approach will provide a collaborative foundation for the public and private sectors to co-create, test and validate solutions that ensure greater coherence between education & training, industry needs and labour market trends. The project will thus lay out an orientation framework contributing to high quality of adult training in 7 different EU countries (TRANSFORM online modular training courses for the reskilling of 210 unemployed/employed workers) and enhanced career guidance and counselling services (Career Guidance Excellence program targeting 70 MSMEs’ employers and professionals). Once tested and validated with the support of the established TRANSFORM Reskilling Lab, the products will be made freely available on the Smart Skills Intelligence Portal, a tried and tested platform linking training needs of MSMEs and individuals with relevant provisions, while also featuring digital tools designed to support skills gap assessment and skills development of adult workers and MSMEs. Based on the constant dialogue with regional ecosystems, a thorough policy landscape analysis and the active involvement of public authorities through consultations and collaborative workshops, a set of policy recommendations promoting mainstreaming of the TRANSFORM experimentation into 7 regional policy-making processes will be elaborated. Tailored dissemination and exploitation activities, together with a transnational final event, will act as a catalyst for upscaling at the EU level.