In its 2023 “Employment and Social Developments Report”, the European Commission calls labour shortage “a key challenge” for the EU (p. 38). The job vacancy rate surged to 2.9% in 2022, “the highest rate ever recorded”, while labour shortage indicators reveal an “increasing tightness in the labour market.” The manufacturing and construction sector are a case in point, with labour shortages now being “nearly three times the level observed 10 years ago” (p. 14). The new outlook on the job market promoted by Talentguide becomes increasingly significant in this context, as do lifelong and personalised learning.

And a personalised learning process doesn’t even have to be complicated, Vickie argues. She refers to the Duolingo app as the ultimate proof. “I get a programme tailored to how much I can learn in a certain period. If I want to move on to the next level, I have to keep trying until I get the exercises right. Duolingo is designed for language learning, but why shouldn’t it be possible for other subjects as well? When it comes to learning, the predominant idea is still that inclusiveness stands in the way of excellence, or vice versa: that a good education is only for the happy few. An education system in which learning, supported by technology, is both inclusive and excellent would constitute a societal milestone.”

“An education system in which learning, supported by technology, is both inclusive and excellent would constitute a societal milestone.”

Vickie was also one of the driving forces behind the introduction of combined work and study in Flanders, a system that allows young people to gain knowledge and skills both at school and in a business environment. “Getting the educational authorities and employers’ associations around the table was a milestone for me”, Vickie says. She contributed to the vision statement on lifelong learning, too, taking inspiration from a European Commission conference. “We adopted the European Commission’s screening method, reviewing all the regulations that had to do with lifelong learning and getting rid of the ones that were redundant. That’s very unusual. Rules are continually created, but seldom scrapped.”

“A conference is the perfect place to do away with pigeonholes.”

“I learned that a method from a different field can be very relevant to your own work. That’s what interests me so much about going to conferences on other subjects. Or to ones where the keynote speaker is not the leading expert in their field but comes from a different background. A conference is the perfect place to do away with pigeonholes.”