On 26 January, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Alliance for Apprenticeships held the online event ‘Green and digital transition. The role of regions and cities’. This was the second of a series of three events, leading up to a high-level event that will take place in the summer of 2021.

The event was hosted by Norbert Schöbel, team leader at the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, and moderated by Sandra Parthie of the German Economic Institute. The event consisted of two panel discussions.

Green transition panel

The first panel discussion explored the green transition, and how regions and cities can not only respond to the change but lead it. Low-skilled and older workers will likely face difficulties in coping with the transition, and young people will also need to be equipped with the right skills and competences. Apprenticeships can help to ensure no one is left behind, and regions and cities can implement strategies to ensure this happens.

The panel speakers presented experiences from their regions and cities, providing inspiring good practice examples. The speakers included:

• Anne Karjalainen, Chair of the Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture, Member of Kerava Municipal Council, CoR Rapporteur on ‘A strong social Europe for just transitions’
• Francesco Pisanu, Head of the Office for Evaluation of Educational Policies, Department of Education and Culture, Autonomous Province of Trento
• Rikardo Lamadrid, Director of Technology and Advanced Learning, Basque Government Regional Education Minister

Digital transition panel

In the second panel discussion, speakers discussed the challenges and opportunities emerging from the digital transition. While new jobs are created, these require not only specific skills and knowledge but also the capacity to constantly update and upgrade them. Vocational education and training systems need to be equipped to address this challenge. What is more, regions and cities can develop digitalisation strategies, support teachers and trainers in transferring new in-demand skills, and ensure that the digital transition is inclusive. The panel speakers included:

• Emil Boc, Mayor of Cluj-Napoca and former Prime Minister of Romania
• Ralph Burghart, Mayor for Education, Youth, Social Affairs, Culture and Sport in the German city of Chemnitz
• Päivi Korhonen, Director of Communication and Marketing at OMNIA, the Joint Authority of Education in the Finnish region Espoo

The online event was organised in cooperation with the European Association of Regional and Local Authorities for Lifelong Learning, the German delegation at the CoR, and the Basque Government.

You can download the full event report from the ‘Related documents’ section below, and you can watch the event recording on YouTube.