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Skills for the future: Building bridges to new opportunities

Agenda

The Skills Summit 2024 will be conducted as an in-person only ministerial ‘retreat’ with two days of activities, including informal receptions, interactive discussions, keynote speeches, side events, good practices, and bilateral meetings.

Wednesday 21 February 2024

09:00 - 10:00

Delegations will obtain their badges and receive all relevant information on the event.

Participants can visit several stands showing good practices from Belgium.

10:00 – 11:00

During the official welcome, the Skills Summit 2024 will officially start. This part of the Summit is open to a broader audience.

  • Opening speeches by:
    • Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium
    • Mathias Cormann, OECD Secretary-General
    • Jo Brouns, Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation, Work, Social Economy and Agriculture
    • Christie Morreale, Vice-President of the Walloon Region and Minister of Employment, Training, Healthcare, Social Action, Equal Opportunities and Women’s Rights
       
  • Keynote speeches on the topic of the Skills Summit 2024
    • Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights
    • Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London (pre-recorded message) 

11:00 – 11:30

An event for media and participation by Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium, Mathias Cormann, OECD Secretary-General, and ministers from Belgium.

11:00 – 12:00

Bilateral meetings are organised by the delegations (via info@skillssummitbelgium.be). The OECD will share a full overview of the participating ministers and delegations before the Summit, and rooms can be booked at the Palais des Académies.

Participants can also visit several stands showing good practices from Belgium.

12:00 – 13:00

Participants are free to visit the stands of the good practices during the walking lunch.

13:00 – 17:00

Participants can select one out of three side events for the afternoon that will take place at different locations across Belgium near Brussels (transportation is provided).

The side events showcase good examples from various regions of the three main themes of the summit that will be discussed on day 2 of the Summit.

  • Partnerships for the twin transition: Organised by the Flemish Government and hosted by Jo Brouns, Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation, Work, Social Economy and Agriculture. The side event is linked to the Skills Summit theme of “establishing a vision of future skills needs”, and participants will visit the Green Energy Park in Zellik. The Flemish Government will discuss skills forecasting and showcase how to put this policy into action. The visit will focus on green energy and drone technology and will emphasise the important role of partnerships between universities, industry, companies, and schools. Participants will visit a smart village lab and experience drone technology by Noordzee Drones and Buildwise.  
     
  • Training for and by the sector: Organised by the Walloon Government and hosted by Willy Borsus, Vice-President of the Walloon Region and Minister of Economy, Foreign Trade, Research and Innovation, Digital, Land Use Planning, Agriculture, IFAPME and Competence Centers and Christie Morreale, Vice-President of the Walloon Region and Minister of Employment, Training, Healthcare, Social Action, Equal Opportunities and Women’s Rights. This side event is linked to the Skills Summit theme of “Creating learning and career pathways that lead to new opportunities” and participants will visit Aptaskil, which is a leading training centre for production professions in the chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. It was founded by local businesses in the sector and became a leading training provider in multiple locations across Wallonia providing labour market relevant training to over 3000 students per year, ranging from short courses for employees, to training for jobseekers. During the visit, the work by Aptaskil is discussed and participants will tour the facilities.   
     
  • Bringing out the best in our talented youth: Organised by the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region and hosted by Bernard Clerfayt, Minister responsible for Employment and Vocational Training, Digital Transition, Local Authorities, and Animal Welfare. This side event is linked to the Skills Summit theme of “Enabling everyone to develop the skills for new opportunities”, and participants will visit Molengeek and Art2Work. Both are leading initiatives that provide training targeted and tailored to NEETs. Molengeek focusses on the technology sector and provides long and short-term training programmes on a range of topics, and Art2Work is a research and social innovation laboratory, that supports young people in their personal development and in building a professional project.

17:00 – 19:00

19:00 – 23:00

The dinner is for Ministers/Heads of Delegation only and a separate invitation will be sent before the summit. The dinner will be at the Palais des Académies and is hosted by Belgium.

  • Chef Seppe Nobels and his sous-chefs from the Instroom Academy present a fusion kitchen 2.0. The sous-chefs, refugees and multilingual newcomers from around the world, are trained within the Instroom Academy to become chefs under the guidance of Seppe Nobels. The sous-chefs showcase unique dishes from all continents and, under Seppe’s direction, give them a local twist using regional ingredients. It’s the ultimate stride in the sustainable and social gastronomy that Seppe strives for.

  • Keynote Speech by Minister Jo Brouns, Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation, Work, Social Economy and Agriculture.

 

Thursday 22 February 2024

09:00 – 10:00

In the opening plenary, the moderator will welcome participants and speakers who will introduce the topic of the Skills Summit 2024 and set the scene for discussions. This is a closed event for registered delegations only.

  • Introductions by:
    • Willy Borsus, Vice-President of the Walloon Region and Minister of Economy, Foreign Trade, Research and Innovation, Digital, Land Use Planning, Agriculture, IFAPME and Competence Centers
    • Minister Jo Brouns, Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation, Work, Social Economy and Agriculture 
       
  • Keynote speech by Mathias Cormann, OECD Secretary-General 
     
  • Keynote speeches to set the scene for discussions:
    • Mia Seppo, Assistant Director-General for the Jobs and Social Protection Cluster, International Labour Organization (ILO)
    • Shravan Goli, Chief Operating Officer of Coursera (virtual)
    • Mona Laroussi, Director of the Institute of the Francophonie for Education and TVET (IFEF) and professor at the University de Carthage (Tunis) and the University of Lille (France)

  • Q&A

10:15 – 11:00

Heads of delegation will have an opportunity to make formal remarks.

11:00 – 12:30

In this interactive first session, the topic of discussions will be “Establishing a vision of future skills needs”. While countries are adjusting to the digital and green transitions and other megatrends, they can and should also use this opportunity to consciously shape their own future. A clear vision is needed for the skills that will be strategically important for countries to achieve future ambitions. Building bridges across government, but also with stakeholders will be essential for developing such a vision.

There will be opening presentations by:

  • Minister Jo Brouns, Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation, Work, Social Economy and Agriculture
  • Yoshiki Takeuchi, OECD Deputy Secretary-General 
     

This is followed by a plenary discussion between participants, facilitated by a moderator and guided by the following questions for discussion:

  • What is your country’s strategic vision for the future and how is this vison linked to your country’s skills agenda?
  • What specific skills does your country consider to be important for taking advantage of the green and digital/AI transitions (e.g. STE(A)M skills, advanced digital skills, etc.)?
  • How are your government and stakeholders working together to develop this vision and identify strategic skills needs?

12:30 – 13:45

13:45 – 15:15

In this second session, the topic of discussions will be “Creating learning and career pathways that lead to new opportunities”. Learning across the life course will allow people to develop the skills for the future and adapt skills sets to changing jobs and more diverse career pathways. To this end, countries will need to provide youth and adults with the required up- and re-skilling opportunities to strengthen skills sets and support career transitions throughout life. Building bridges between education and work, and between government and social partners, will be key to ensure that skills are developed in line with strategic skills needs.

There will be opening presentations by:

  • Minister Christie Morreale, Vice-President of the Walloon Region and Minister of Employment, Training, Healthcare, Social Action, Equal Opportunities and Women’s Rights
  • Stefano Scarpetta, Director of Employment, Labour and Social Affairs.  
     

This is followed by a plenary discussion between participants, facilitated by a moderator and guided by the following questions for discussion:

  • How is your country preparing young people for future economies and societies (e.g. adapting curricula, building a foundation for lifelong learning, providing career guidance, etc.)?
  • What support measures and incentives are in place to stimulate adults to adapt their skills sets and careers to new future opportunities and changing skills needs?
  • How are government and stakeholders working together to ensure that learning pathways and opportunities are responsive to new future opportunities and changing skills needs?

15:15 – 15:30

15:30 – 17:00

In this third session, the topic of discussions will be “Enabling everyone to develop the skills for new opportunities”. To ensure that everyone can thrive in a rapidly changing world, countries should develop inclusive skills systems that support the people most vulnerable (e.g. young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, jobseekers, workers in jobs at risk of disappearing, etc.), to adapt to changes in the world of work. To reach these people and to provide them with the required support, countries should build bridges between governments and the actors who work most directly with them.

There will be opening presentations by:

  • Minister Bernard Clerfayt, Brussels’ Minister responsible for Employment and Vocational Training, Digital Transition, Local Authorities, and Animal Welfare
  • Etienne Gilliard, General Administration of Education, General Direction of Higher education, Life Long Learning and Scientific Research, Wallonia-Brussels Federation
  • Minister Caroline Désir, Minister for Education of the French-speaking Community of Belgium
  • Andreas Schleicher, Director for the Directorate of Education and Skills 
     

This is followed by a plenary discussion between participants, facilitated by a moderator and guided by the following questions for discussion:

  • How is the education system in your country supporting the most disadvantaged groups in society?
  • Do the adults who are vulnerable to changing economies and societies and who are not yet participating in learning (e.g. low educated workers, jobseekers, the inactive) have access to sufficient information and guidance on lifelong learning, as well as accessible learning opportunities?
  • How is your country working with stakeholders (e.g. at the local level) to encourage and support vulnerable adults’ participation in education and training?

17:00 – 17:30

In this closing plenary, Ministers and Heads of Delegation will have an opportunity to share final thoughts.

This is followed by closing remarks by:

  • Minister-President Pierre-Yves Jeholet, Minister-President of the government of the French-speaking Community, in charge of International relations, Sports and Adult Education
  • Minister Bernard Clerfayt, Minister responsible for Employment and Vocational Training, Digital Transition, Local Authorities, and Animal Welfare
  • Yoshiki Takeuchi, OECD Deputy Secretary-General

17:30 – ...