I-SKILL Final Conference: “A European skilled labour force to navigate the green and digital transformations – The role of industrial relations and the social dialogue” – 13^th October 2023, Brussels, Belgium.

The promotion of adult learning has been a key part of the EU policy debate since the Lisbon strategy in 2000 and over the last two decades, many binding and non-binding EU initiatives on lifelong learning have been launched. The topic has gained further momentum since the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, the European Commission released its ‘Communication on a European skills agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness, and resilience’ including 12 flagship actions to be achieved by 2025.

In 2022, President von der Leyen declared 2023 the European Year of Skills emphasising the importance of education, upskilling, and digital skills. Over the last three years, the ISKILL research project has contributed to advance understanding of how industrial relations and social dialogue can drive progress in adult learning in the EU as well as of ways in which workers can access quality learning opportunities to face the challenges of the green and digital transitions. This conference has the objective to disseminate the research findings, share country experiences and best practice and engage in a constructive debate about actual challenges and what policymakers can do to address them.