Are micro-, small- and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) threatened by a skills shortage or is it their in-built limitations that prevent their access to skills? How could governments and the European Union help them tackle the troubles they face when trying to recruit the skills they need to remain competitive and grow?

In an episode recorded live during the #CedefopVideoAward presentation event at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival on 8 March, vocational education and training learners, practitioners and experts share with Rosy Voudouri inspiring real-life stories, problems and solutions, as well as tips to make young people's learning and career paths easier and more fulfilling.

Microcredentials are all the rage in the world of education right now. But what exactly are they and do they deserve all the fuss created around them? Who benefits from acquiring them? With the European Year of Skills in full swing, how can we make microcredentials work for as many as possible? Two experts in the field, Honorary Research Associate at University College London Paul Grainger and Cedefop's Anastasia Pouliou, give their views.

In an interview during their visit to Cedefop, MEPs Dennis Radtke, Loucas Fourlas and Stelios Kympouropoulos, all members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, discussed the Parliament’s efforts to assist EU Member States in helping people upskill and reskill for the digital and green transition.

Talking to Cedefop's Rosy Voudouri, they also focused on the likely benefits of the European Year of Skills and on Cedefop’s work to support the Year and the Committee.

🌐 Cedefop for #EuropeanYearofSkills

How can skills intelligence be turned into policy to tackle skill gaps in view of the green and digital transitions?

Cécile Hanoune, Head of Unit Climate Action Governance and Effort Sharing at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Climate Action (⁠DG CLIMA⁠) and Cedefop's expert Ilias Livanos, who has been working on skills forecast and the European Skills Index, discuss on Cedefop's Skillset and match podcast.

🌐 Cedefop for #EuropeanYearofSkills

Annabel Wildschut, Research Officer at the European Institute for Gender Equality – EIGE, and Cedefop expert Joanna Napierala discuss the intricacies of moving to a clean energy sector while attracting more women to it.

🌐 Cedefop for the European Year of Skills

The wave of digitalisation that has swept the world of work in the last few years has been affecting all forms of education, changing what learners are taught but also how they are taught.

A symposium, co-organised by Cedefop and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Thessaloniki, as part of the European Year of Skills, was dedicated to the link between the digital transition and one of the most enduring institutions of vocational education and training (VET), apprenticeships.

In episode 18 of the Skillset and match podcast series, Marieke Vandeweyer, Senior Policy Analyst at the OECD, and Cedefop's Deputy Director Mara Brugia discuss the aspects of this dynamic relationship and their implications for policy-making.

Is teachers’ and trainers’ professional development commensurate with their key role in the educational process? What are the factors that slow it down? How

In an exclusive interview, European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas shares his views on skills, on what the Commission does to promote them and on how people can benefit from the European Year of Skills, which has just started. He recognises that skills shortages pose a big problem for the European labour market, and he sees the Year as a way of giving back to young Europeans who suffered during the pandemic 'opportunities in education, training, mobility and in the job market.' Mr Schinas argues that 'we have the political will, we have the regulatory framework, we have unprecedented resources, and we are now building the necessary synergies and awareness to make this Year work at all levels,' adding that 'we never had so much money for skills in the EU'. He also calls for a 'de-Brusselisation' of the initiative: 'Taking the Year out of Brussels would help immensely with its success.'