In the framework of SKILLNET project – Sector Skills Network in Advanced Manufacturing, a webinar will take place on October 21, 10:00/11:15 CET  dedicated to Lifelong learning: upskilling and re-skilling of 50+.

The event is part of a series of 18 webinars designed to bring together experts in different fields linked to vocational education and training (VET), with the purpose of establishing relevant groups of collaboration and partnerships for future EU project proposals.

This webinar will be a valuable occasion for participants from different countries and institutions to get insights from key speakers and to interact with experts in the field of lifelong learning. 

Due to the rapidly changing labour markets and multiple challenges, such as digitalisation, technological changes, labour shortage, ageing societies and social inclusion, unemployment, upskilling and re–skilling adults became an urgent priority for European policy-makers and stakeholders. 

Thus, the webinar aims to bridge the gap between the need for re-skilling and upskilling and funding opportunities and programmes offered by the EU.  People over 50 oftentimes are not the target group approached for the majority of employers and there is association between ageing and reduced participation in learning which is why there is a need for training and retraining people over 50 to make them able to re-enter the labour market.

The objectives of the webinar are: 

• to highlight the relevance of EU funding opportunities and European cooperation in the field of lifelong learning
• to share regional good practice on upskilling and re-skilling and encourage people to educate themselves 
• to foster networking between experts in the field of lifelong learning and other interested parties

The webinar will cover:

• 10.00 – 10.10 Introduction to the Skillman network and to the webinar (Valentina De Vico, Skillman Communication Manager)
• 10.10 – 10.20 EU fund opportunities for lifelong learning (Elena Romanini, Skillman Senior Project Manager)
• 10.20 – 10.30 Empowering adults to reskill and upskill (Michael Heaney, Chief Executive Officer, Údarás na Gaeltachta)  
• 10.30 – 10.40 Cross-border cooperation in the field of lifelong learning (Ana Gale, Director, Uciliste Studium – Institution for Adult Education)
• 10.40 – 11.05 Panel discussion and Q&A session
• 11.05 – 11.15 Closing remarks

Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash