European Employment Forum & Shipbuilding Pact for Skills

On 3–4 March, the Basque Maritime Cluster took part in the European Employment Forum and in the 16th Technical Meeting of the Large‑Scale Skills Partnerships and Regional Skills Partnerships, held in Brussels.

The gathering brought together coordinators from other Large Scale Partnerships and Regional Skills Partnerships across Europe to exchange progress, best practices, and new collaboration opportunities within the Pact for Skills framework.

Representing the Cluster and leading the Shipbuilding Pact for Skills, the Basque delegation highlighted the Partnership’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the skills ecosystem of the shipbuilding and maritime industries. During the meeting, it was also underlined that the LeaderSHIP Project is a concrete example of how the work developed within the Shipbuilding Pact for Skills is being translated into European cooperation, training initiatives, and sector‑wide skill development actions.

This contribution took on particular relevance at the European Forum on Employment and Social Rights, where important issues such as skills enhancement and upskilling and reskilling for the maritime sector were discussed.

The meeting reaffirmed the importance of close cooperation between European regions and industrial alliances to build a resilient, future‑ready maritime workforce.