From Blueprint to Action: baSE Final Event Sets the Direction for Skills in Europe’s Social Economy
On 9 July 2026, the baSE (blueprint for advanced skills and trainings in the social economy) project held its Final Event at Circularium in Brussels. Under the title “Strengthening Skills for the Social Economy: From Blueprint to Action”, the event marked the conclusion of four years of European cooperation focused on addressing skills gaps and anticipating future competence needs in the social economy.
More than 200 participants from 16 countries joined the event in person and online, including policymakers, education and training providers, employers, researchers and representatives of social economy organisations.
The morning sessions explored how investment in skills can strengthen Europe’s competitiveness, resilience and social cohesion. Speakers, including Baptiste Mandouze from the European Commission, highlighted that the green and digital transitions require not only technological innovation, but also inclusive education, lifelong learning and continuous opportunities for workers to update their competences.
The baSE Roadmap was presented as a common framework to support cooperation between VET providers, employers, policymakers and social economy organisations. The discussions emphasised that competitiveness and solidarity should not be seen as opposing objectives. The social economy can combine innovation and economic performance with democratic participation, cooperation and positive community impact.
For EVTA members and the wider VET community, the baSE results offer practical opportunities to adapt training provision to the green and digital transitions, strengthen cooperation with social economy organisations and support the recognition of skills and qualifications across Europe.
During the afternoon, three interactive workshops moved the discussion from project results to practical implementation. Participants considered how to transform transition-related challenges into learning opportunities, strengthen the contribution of higher education and ensure that the baSE Blueprint remains a useful resource after the project’s conclusion.
EVTA contributed to the workshop “Turn baSE results into follow-up actions”, which focused on how project outputs can continue to be used and promoted through the Pact for Skills Social Economy and Proximity Skills Large-Scale Partnership, as well as through connected European networks and initiatives.
Several priorities emerged from the workshops and closing discussions:
- supporting educators through train-the-trainer activities;
- making existing learning resources easier to access and implement;
- strengthening cooperation between education providers, social economy organisations and policymakers;
- improving the recognition of skills and qualifications across Europe;
- connecting the Blueprint with regional, national and European initiatives.
The event also explored how the baSE results can contribute to the European Skills Agenda, the Social Economy Action Plan and the Pact for Skills. A key conclusion was that the next challenge is not simply to develop additional tools, but to ensure that existing knowledge and resources are accessible, practical and widely adopted.
Through its European network, EVTA will continue supporting the visibility and uptake of the project’s resources and promoting cooperation between vocational education and training providers, social economy actors and policymakers.
