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SA SKILLS - eng
The SA SKILLS project (High LEVEL and market-responsive Competences for a Blue and Digitised "Smart and skilled South Adriatic") is an initiative co-funded by the European Union under the Interreg VI-A IPA CBC Italy-Albania-Montenegro cross-border cooperation programme. The project addresses the challenge of unemployment and the shortage of qualified labor in the Lower Adriatic regions, focusing particularly on inclusive economic development linked to the emerging sectors of the Blue Economy (such as blue biotechnologies and blue tourism). Through a cross-border approach, it aims to bridge the gap between educational offerings and the actual needs of the labor market.
OBJECTIVES
The general objective is to improve the availability of qualified skills in the labor market to strengthen the competitiveness of the key sectors of the blue economy in the Lower Adriatic. Specifically, the project aims to:
- Establish a permanent dialogue between the education, training, and professional systems.
- Create new educational curricula and training pathways to introduce advanced professional figures.
- Reduce the skills gap between the existing educational offer and industrial needs.
- Increase the attractiveness of career opportunities in the blue economy.
MAIN ACTIVITIES
- Needs analysis: Conducting in-depth surveys on skills shortages and mismatches by directly involving SMEs in the sector.
- Cooperation tables: Creating a permanent cross-border discussion table ("quadruple helix") to define common strategies and harmonize qualification systems.
- Training and up-skilling/reskilling: Development of high-level training pathways, "on-demand" training voucher schemes, and practical experiences such as summer schools.
- Development of support tools: Establishment of the Blue Economy Training Center, the Blue Growth Cluster, and the Blue Economy Digital Platform to facilitate the circulation of skills and innovation.
EXPECTED RESULTS
The main physical and measurable results expected include:
- A cross-border strategy jointly developed to harmonize the education, training, and professional systems in the Blue Economy.
- 20 "on-demand" training voucher schemes tested between businesses and education/VET institutes.
- Intermediate-level pilot courses and high-level training modules (summer schools) tested at a cross-border level.
- 12 workshops to improve the capacity of businesses in managing professional skills.
- At least 70 participants who will successfully complete the joint training programs.
PROJECT PARTNERS
- University of Montenegro - Institute of Marine Biology (Montenegro).
- Puglia Region - Department of Labor Policies, Education and Training (Italy).
- Molise Region - Service for the competitiveness of productive systems (Italy).
- State Agency for Strategic Programming and Aid Coordination - SASPAC (Albania).
- Ministry of Economic Development of Montenegro (Montenegro).
- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Albania).
DURATION: 01/09/2023 - 31/12/2027
TOTAL BUDGET: € 4,799,677.12
WEBSITE: https://skills.southadriatic.eu/
