On behalf of the
North-West Ireland City region, that involves
Derry City and Strabane District Council and
Donegal County Council,
ERNACT’s programme manager
Dr. Margaret Quinn participated in an informative session on Skills within the European Commission’s
Intelligent Cities Challenge Implementation online Lab, mediated by
Niels Van Der Linden Vice President of
Capgemini Invent.
Stelina Chatzichristou, from
Cedefop, an EU agency supporting European vocational education and training, delved into the basics of building skills intelligence for cities or regions. She emphasized the importance of comprehensive approaches drawing from various sources such as EU skills forecasts, sectoral skills foresight, and big data analysis of online job ads. She noted research indicating that the green transition will create more jobs than it displaces . The Cedefop
skills intelligence tool, was highlighted as it can provide insights into sectoral trends at a national level.
Stelina also stressed the significance of soft traversal skills, parental engagement, and vocational education as pivotal for successful transitions, recommending increased on-the-job training and short courses like micro-credentials for public staff.
Narijsse Ben Moussa, representing the
Alliance Villes Emploi, involving a network of 220 local authorities in France, provided insights into how local authorities are addressing skills needs and shared key challenges and recommendations for local employment strategies.
Lastly,
Caroline Cahalamon from
Grand Besancon Metropole shared her experiences in innovative initiatives like circular economy projects in the construction sector, advocating for bold and transformative actions.
As part of the Intelligent Cities Challenge 2.0, the North-West City Region is committed to playing a pivotal role in achieving the goals of the European Commission's initiative. The focus of the new initiative is on green and digital transition and building Local Green Deals to create concrete actions for change in public-private partnerships between businesses, the local authorities and communities.
Stay tuned for updates on the Intelligent Cities Challenge 2.0, within the North-West City Region as multiple Local Green Deals are being developed in the City Region in areas such as energy districts and the bio-economy.