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Boosting employment of workers with support needs and boosting skills for work integration

The event will explore the solutions provided by B-WISE to develop the skills of workers with support needs.

B-WISE aims to bridge the digital skills gap in the Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) sector, which provides employment opportunities to millions of people struggling to find jobs.  

In particular, the project targets the skill needs of disadvantaged workers, their support staff (e.g. job coaches), and managers, helping to increase awareness of digital technologies as well as the WISE sector’s attractiveness as a career path. 

The upcoming conference “Boosting employment of workers with support needs and boosting skills for work integration” will dive into how B-WISE has addressed these diverse needs to provide cross-European yet localised approaches to skill development, both in terms of soft and digital skills. 

The event will serve as a platform to bring together key stakeholders to share insights, discuss the implementation of the European WISE Skills Strategy, and offer policy recommendations. Moreover, participants will discover the tailored training materials developed by the project to enhance the integration of workers with support needs. 

The conference will take place on 13 November, from 9:30 to 18:00, at the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels.  

Register via this link to take part in the conference. 

Agenda

9:30

Welcome – Introductory Remarks 

  • Giuseppe Guerini - EESC member, President of Cecop (the European Confederation of Industrial, Worker and Service Cooperatives and Social Cooperatives)

  • Manuela Geleng - Director of Jobs & Skills, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission

  • Thomas Bignal - Secretary General, EASPD

  • Patrizia Bussi - Director, ENSIE

 

10:00

How the B-WISE project can help to boost work integration?

10:30

Presentation of the B-WISE project

  • Nóra Györke - Project Officer, EASPD

 

10:45

Key findings of B-WISE research. Future of the WISE sector

Interactive discussion on how the consortium progressed from identifying skills needs and gaps of the workers in the sector to developing “scenarios”, “personas” and future occupational profiles.

Moderator: Martina Paterniti - Project Coordinator, ENSIE

  • Giulia Galera - Research Coordinator, Euricse

  • Lieven Bossuyt - Head, Lichtwerk

  • Camilla Baldini - Project Coordinator - Idee in Rete

  • Biancamaria Molinari - Scuola Centrale Formazione, Fondazione Opera Sacra Famiglia

 

11:30

Coffee break

12:30

Universal Training Curricula for workers in WISEs – Workers’ experiences with the B-WISE piloting 

Moderator: Corine van de Burgt - Director, De Omslag

  • Melanie Schaur - Researcher, Johannes Kepler University Linz
 
13:30

Networking lunch

14:30

Workshops

  • WS1: How to boost digitalisation in Work Integration Social Entreprises?
  • WS2: Exploitation of research results for advocacy actions for the Work Integration Socia Entreprises sector
  • WS3: Blueprint project synergies under Large Scale Partnership for the Proximity and Social Economy Ecosystem
 
15:30

Coffee break

16:00

Next steps – How can we make the most of the B-WISE project?

Moderator: Thomas Bignal - Secretary General, EASPD

  • Karel Vanderpoorten - Policy Officer Industrial Policy/Social Economy, DG GROW, European Commission

  • Felix Rohn - Policy Officer, DG EMP, European Commission

  • Patrizia Bussi - Director, ENSIE

  • Nóra Györke - Project Officer, EASPD

 
17:00

Concluding remarks

17:30

Networking cocktails

 

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