From 31 March to 1 April, EfVET took part in the Kick-off Meeting of the ROOT (Resources for Orientation and Occupational Transition) project in Coimbra (Portugal). Hosted by the Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN), members of the consortium exchanged on the main objectives of the project and started its implementation phase.
The project is funded by Erasmus+ as part of its Key Action 2 (Forward-looking projects) and aims to support career guidance, upskilling and reskilling of adults with a focus on the Earth Observation Sector.
In a rapidly evolving labour market that underlines the urgent need to upskill and reskill workers, ROOT aims to address the needs of employees, as well as employers in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and career counsellors, in order to create the conditions for innovation and growth.
Most importantly, ROOT focuses on empowering individuals to take informed decisions on their career, supporting their development and adaptability. The project will involve stakeholders from the quadruple helix – i.e. industry, academia, government and civil society – to create solutions applicable to the downstream Earth Observation (EO) sector, which supports fields such as climate monitoring, agriculture, urban planning and disaster management: growing areas that create new skills needs and career opportunities.
ROOT will also be beneficial for other sectors, among others renewable energy (e.g. wind and solar technician training), the circular economy (e.g. waste management and sustainable design), digital health (e.g. AI in diagnostics and telemedicine) and smart manufacturing (e.g. robotics and IoT).
In practice, the project will aim to develop research and methodologies on methodology on career guidance needs, Living Labs to pilot innovative, real-world approaches to career guidance and adult learning, in line with Regional Smart Specialisation Strategies and with an eye to replication and sustainability.
On 1 April, the consortium also took part in the first ROOT dissemination event, with insightful exchange between partners and panelists on emerging skills needs and how career guidance can better respond to them.