Our Activities

STATE OF PROGRESS

• 1 DEVELOPMENT PHASE
• 2 IMPLEMENTATION PHASE
• 3 END OF THE PROJECT

Over a year has passed since the implementation of the project started and a lot has happened since then. The ESIMeC network has held six transnational events and is preparing the seventh event that will take place in Cherbourg, France, on 29 February and 1 March 2012.

ESIMeC TRANSNATIONAL EVENTS

The first event took place in Basingstoke in September 2010 and focused on partnership working as a key ingredient of effective workforce development. To download the event report, click here. You can also read ESIMeC recipe no 1 that presents the key ingredients and utensils for effective partnership working at local level.

The second event took place in November in Debrecen, Hungary, and explored the role of the triple helix partnership (university/business/public sector) in workforce development and job creation. To download the event report, click here. You can also read ESIMeC recipe no 2 1 that presents the key ingredients and utensils for effective tripe helix co-operation in medium sized cities.

The third event was hosted by Albacete, Spain, and looked at how the green economy can contribute to economic growth and workforce development. The full event report will be available soon. But in the meantime, you can read the ESIMeC recipe no 3 which highlights the key findings of the event.

The fourth ESIMeC event took place on 21 and 22 June 2011 in Gävle, Sweden, and focused on how cities can prepare young people for the 21st century economy and improve youth employability. ESIMeC recipe no 4 presents the key ingredients and utensils medium sized cities need to prepare their local young people to the world of work. During this event, we also look at how medium sized cities can improve their image and positioning. ESIMeC recipe no 5 presents the key ingredients and utensils medium sized cities need to develop a branding and positioning strategy.

The fifth ESIMeC event was hosted by Besançon, France, on 27 and 28 September 2011. This event focused on the creative and cultural industries and how they can contribute local economic and employment development. ESIMeC recipe no 6 presents the key ingredients and utensils medium sized cities need to support their local creative and cultural talent.

The sixth ESIMeC event took place in Sabadell, Spain, and explored how medium sized cities can break down policy silos and integrate economic and employment strategies. It also looked at how cities can offer a comprehensive business support offer that includes training. For the event programme, click here.

The next ESIMeC event will take place in Cherbourg, France, on 29 February and 1 March 2012. This event will focus on skills forecasting and how helping medium sized cities to anticipate their future skills needs can contribute to long-term sustainable growth. For the event programme, click here.

OTHER TRANSNATIONAL ACTIVITIES

The ESIMeC network also established very strong links with the Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) programme run by the OECD. We were invited to run a workshop at their partnership forum in Vienna in March 2011. The event explored how local partnerships can help cities do more with less in times of public sector cuts. The ESIMeC workshop focused more specifically on how partnership working can contribute to the creation of better quality jobs. For an overview of the findings of the workshop and the event, click here to read Alison Partridge's article.

We were also invited to present ESIMeC and URBACT at another LEED event in Dublin on 13 and 14 October 2011. This event focused on how to build quality jobs in the recovery and will bring togethe delegates from across the world.  For information on the programme of the event, click here.

And for more information on the OECD's LEED programme, click here.

ESIMeC partners also visited Antwerp in Belgium on 31 January and 1 February 2012 as part of a study visit to look at the work the city of Antwerp is doing to engage employers and match skills supply and demand. We used this opportunity to also have a half-day dissemination event in Brussels to present the project and its findings to various representatives of ESIMeC partners  Brussels offices.