WOODCircle - dual teaching and training for green and circular skills in wood and furniture sector for young European students and workers

<< Background >>We applied for this project to tackle key challenges in the EU furniture sector, which includes ~120,000 companies and over 1 million workers, mainly SMEs and micro firms. The sector faces threats like competition from low-cost countries, an ageing workforce, poor attraction of young talent, protectionist measures, high innovation costs, and weak IPR protection. Despite over 2 million vacancies in Europe, youth unemployment is high at 17.5%.The sector is undergoing a Twin Transition: Green and Digital, requiring new skills, especially for roles like cabinet makers and furniture assemblers. Our project, WOODCircle, complemented WOODigital by focusing on the green transition. In 4 learning units it covered Circular economy, Circular design, Sustainable materials, and Resources, manufacturing, and waste. The course was piloted through virtual/blended and physical mobility, enhancing European citizenship awareness among young students and workers. This hands-on experience in Hungary validated the training and promoted dual system VET from a transnational perspective.<< Objectives >>Our project aimed to foster green skills and competences related to the Circular Economy and sustainability in the W&F sector, addressing labor market needs, enhancing learning and transnational mobility, giving young Europeans firsthand experience with the sector’s innovative green transition.Achieved objectives:Enhanced green skills of woodworkers, making them resilient to sector changes and leading the circular transition.Improved VET training offers and innovation, supporting the school-to-work transition.Strengthened the dual-learning system practice.Boosted cooperation and dialogue between sectoral stakeholders.Increased awareness of EU citizenship among young students and workers.We delivered:A joint curriculum for the “Circular and Sustainable Woodworker” profile, including a comprehensive job description, key competences, and learning outcomes.A digital platform/virtual community for e-learning, featuring multilingual content and various multimedia resources.A training package covering eco-design, circular economy technologies, sustainable materials, and legislative instruments.Blended trainingevents for VET trainers and physical mobility for students and young workers, providing hands-on experience in Hungary.<< Implementation >>In the WOODCircle project, we implemented several key activities to achieve our objectives. We developed a comprehensive curriculum for the “Circular and Sustainable Woodworker” profile, which included a detailed job description, key competences, and learning outcomes. This curriculum was designed to align with the new ESCO taxonomy and CEDEFOP guidelines.We created a digital platform and virtual community to deliver an e-learning training program. This platform is free, multilingual and user-friendly, featuring various multimedia resources to enhance learning.The training package was divided into modules covering essential topics such as eco-design for repairability and long-life products, new technologies and manufacturing processes for the circular economy, innovative and sustainable materials, and voluntary and legislative instruments.To pilot the training package, we organized blended training events for VET trainers and tutors, as well as physical mobility for students and young workers. These activities provided hands-on experience in Hungary with sectoral companies, universities, and research centers, validating the training and promoting dual system VET from a transnational perspective.<< Results >>The WOODCircle project produced several concrete outputs and results:Joint Curriculum: Developed for the “Circular and Sustainable Woodworker” profile, including job descriptions, key competences, and learning outcomes.Digital Platform: Created a multilingual, user-friendly e-learning platform with multimedia resources.Training Package: Delivered modules on eco-design, circular economy technologies, sustainable materials, and legislative instruments.Blended Training Events: Conducted for VET trainers and physical mobility for students and young workers, providing hands-on experience in Hungary.Enhanced Skills: Improved green skills and competences of woodworkers, making them resilient to sector changes.Job Opportunities: Opened new job opportunities for EU youth, improving the sector’s attractiveness.Stakeholder Cooperation: Boosted cooperation and dialogue between sectoral stakeholders.EU Citizenship Awareness: Increased awareness among young students and workers involved in mobility actions.