The first visit awaited us at Zaventem Airport
The airport is located in Flanders, the north-western part of Belgium and the Dutch-speaking area. Brussels Airport has always invested in appropriate and modern education and training for its approximately 30,000 direct and 35,000 indirect employees. Their educational centre, Aviato Academy, has been dealing for many years with the challenges of recruiting and selecting the right people, training them and continuously upgrading their skills in line with rapid technological and other changes. It’s not just about technical skills influenced by the digital and green transitions; they also develop soft skills.
There is a shortage of potential new staff, so they strive to identify and retain talent. The Aviato Talent Hub, which they showed us, is still in the making – bare walls, cables you still trip over, etc. But the first displays are already there, promising technology-rich, forward-looking opportunities for acquiring unique experiences, knowledge and skills for future professions in aviation and related industries. I was amazed by the enthusiastic, credible and proud manner in which their director presented something that was just transitioning from dreams to reality.
In the Brussels-Capital Region, we were impressed by urban gardens and dedicated gardeners
We visited the Groot Eiland Training Centre, which operates on the principles of the social economy. The centre offers opportunities for Brussels residents who are far from the labour market (people with disabilities, former prisoners and other vulnerable groups) to develop their talents, creativity and various skills. The experience of leadership from skilled mentors is crucial. Participants are trained in urban farming, processing and selling produce, carpentry and hospitality.
Their employment prospects after completing the training are high. Aunt Nena, as they call the lively manager of no fewer than eight restaurants across Brussels, passionately described the efforts and achievements of the participants. She explained that they do not try to retain them in this safe, understanding environment. Instead, they train and encourage them to establish themselves out into the world. Nevertheless, nearly half of the employees in the restaurants, associated urban gardens and two carpentry workshops come from their ranks – because they are excellent and have a sense of belonging.
Potovanje smo zaključili v Valoniji, južnem delu Belgije in območju francoščine
Tam smo spoznali dva od skupno 22 valonskih centrov odličnosti. Slednje so v regiji vzpostavili kot blagovno znamko za učinkovito in inovativno usposabljanje za poklice prihodnosti. Temeljijo na javno-zasebnih partnerstvih ter se poleg usposabljanja in zagotavljanja sodobnih tehničnih zmogljivosti ukvarjajo tudi z ozaveščanjem o poklicih in potrebnih spretnostih. Delujejo izključno glede na potrebe posameznega območja oziroma panoge.
Center odličnosti Aptaskil usposablja za delo v kemični, farmacevtski in biotehnološki industriji. Oprema pri njih je najsodobnejša, skoraj do potankosti taka, kot jo bodo udeleženci uporabljali na bodočih delovnih mestih. S prakso podkovani so tudi njihovi mentorji, ki jih uvajajo v realni in virtualni svet posamezne vrste dela. Usposabljanje je izvedeno po meri bodočih zaposlovalcev pa tudi udeležencev iz vrst zaposlenih, brezposelnih, študentov in učiteljev.
»Če udeleženci ne pridejo k nam, gremo pa mi k njim,« je moto Centra odličnosti EPiCURiS. V treh mobilnih enotah, s katerimi gostujejo kar na dvoriščih naročnikov – podjetij, usposabljajo za delo v prehrambni industriji, in sicer pekarstvu, mesarstvu, gostinstvu ter cateringu. Usposabljanja so prikrojena potrebam zaposlovalcev, predvsem malim in srednje velikim podjetjem. Vanje se lahko vključijo zaposleni, iskalci zaposlitve, drugi posamezniki, študenti in učitelji.
Udeleženci EPiCURiS so v sklepnem delu našega popotovanja z odlično hrano poskrbeli tudi za naše brbončice. Tedaj sta visoki predstavnici valonske vlade ter Evropske komisije tudi uradno prevzeli zaključno izjavo nacionalnih koordinatorjev o ELS. Ta med drugim narekuje, naj s pozornostjo, ukrepi in praktičnim delom za nadgradnjo vseh vrst spretnosti nadaljujemo.
Mag. Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik (zvonka.pangerc@acs.si), ACS
