Apply for Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills

Deadline: 6 March 2025

The European Commission (EC) is inviting applications for its Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills under Alliances for Innovation action to create new strategic approaches and cooperation for concrete skills development solutions – both in the short and the medium term – in areas implementing a major action of the European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience, the Pact for Skills.

The initiative provides large-scale partnerships established under the Pact for Skills, already 20 up until now with more in preparation, with the opportunity to support the development of sector skills strategies, as well as the revision and development of job profiles and of related training programmes.

The main objective of the Pact is to mobilise and incentivize all relevant stakeholders to take concrete actions for the upskilling and reskilling of the workforce, by pooling efforts and setting up partnerships, also at EU level, addressing the needs of the labour market, supporting green and digital transitions as well as national, regional and local skills and growth strategies. Therefore, the deliverables of Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills, i.e. sectoral skills intelligence, skills strategies, occupational profiles, training programmes, and long-term planning, will be an important contribution to the work of the ecosystem-based large-scale partnerships that have joined the Pact for Skills.

Focus Areas

The 14 industrial ecosystems as identified in the Annual Single Market Report 2021:
- Mobility-Transport-Automotive
- Textile
- Renewable Energy
- Electronics
- Retail
- Construction
- Aerospace & Defence
- Low-carbon energy Intensive Industries
- Tourism
- Agri-food
- Creative & Cultural Industries
- Digital
- Proximity & Social Economy
- Health

Funding Information

Lot–2 – Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills (implementing the “Blueprint”):
- 4 million euros (4 years project).

Eligibility Criteria

The applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities, if applicable) must be:
- Registered members of the Pact for Skills
- Public or private organisations legally established in an EU Member State or third country associated to the programme, such as:
  - higher education institutions
  - VET providers
  - networks of VET providers
  - small and medium-sized or large enterprises (including social enterprises)
  - research institutes
  - non-governmental organisations
  - public bodies at local, regional or national level
  - organisations active in education, training and youth
  - intermediaries that represent education, training or youth organisations or enterprises
  - accreditation, certification, recognition or qualification bodies
  - chambers of commerce, industry or labour, chambers of skilled crafts
  - european or national social partners
  - hospitals or other care institutions, including long-term care
  - authorities responsible for education, training or employment at regional or national level
  - employment services
  - national statistics offices
  - economic development agencies
  - sectoral or professional associations
  - sector skills councils
  - bodies providing career guidance, professional counselling, information services and employment services.
Organisations from third countries not associated to the Programme may also participate but only as associated partners.
Higher education institutions established in an EU Member State or third country associated to the Programme must hold a valid Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE)
Consortium composition:
- Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills (Blueprint) must cover at least 8 EU Member States or third countries associated to the Programme and involve at least 12 applicants (beneficiaries, not affiliated entities). The consortium must include at least 5 labour market actors (enterprises or companies, or representative intermediary organisations, such as chambers, trade unions or trade associations) and at least 5 education and training providers (VET and HEIs) as applicants (beneficiaries, not affiliated entities). There should be at least one HE institution and one VET provider involved as applicants (beneficiaries, not affiliated entities) in each proposal.
- Affiliated entities and associated partners do not count towards the minimum eligibility criteria for the consortium composition and cannot be coordinator.