We couldn't have started the summer in a better way than our invitation to join the "Making Skills Count" conference, the flagship event of the European Year of Skills announced by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in her State of the Union speech last year. The event aims to shed light on the ways skills matter - and how they can help you get the career of your dreams (or how they can make you transition to the career of your dreams).
The conference, which lasted for two days, on 8-9 June, brought together key stakeholders, from policy makers to NGOs, from industry executives and experts to innovative projects. The two days were filled with exciting discussions on the future of skills, the ways in which we equip professionals with the tools to refine their skills or gain new ones, and the challenges countries of the EU have encountered along the way when it comes to supporting their workforce.
As for the OTTERs, we have gained many valuable insights and have had the chance to reflect on the "why" behind our work. We are promoting Education Outside the Classroom, but we are not doing so in a vacuum, without a clear purpose: we are helping the youth develop transversal skills that would greatly benefit them at the start of their career journeys. We connected with fantastic initiatives across the EU and talked to the participants about our mission, emphasising the values that drive us and the power of education.
All in all, it was a humbling experience to be surrounded by so many accomplished and passionate professionals and we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the Commission for having us there.
