The B-WISE project partners are glad to announce the publication of the “Report understanding user (digital) skill needs in WISEs”. The deliverable is the result of the research work conducted during WP. 2 coordinated, on behalf of the B-WISE partnership, by the Consorzio Nazionale Idee in Rete, one  of the  Italian  partners  of the  project,  under the  leadership of  Camilla  Baldini and Gianfranco  Marocchi,  responsible  for  the  research  work  and  the  content  presented. The report aims to make the link between the report from WP.1 “Report on current situation of skills gaps, especially in the digital area, in WISEs sector and anticipating future needs” which was published in October and the work foreseen in WP3 to design VET curricula meeting skills gaps which will soon be published.

European work integration social enterprises (WISEs) are at the core of the B-WISE project, which aims to develop skills strategies to address skills needs in the sector. For that, methodology during the research implied the direct involvement and active participation of the entire partnership, which actively contributed to the work presented.

The research framework started from an assumption that the objective of capacity building cannot be adequately realised unless we are able to understand that European WISEs, although within certain unifying traits, are different from each other in their objectives, operational styles, organisation, size, entrepreneurial orientation, etc; and that the people working in WISEs, disadvantaged workers, supporters and enablers, are diverse in terms of starting skill levels, life histories, investment in learning, etc.

From this it follows that, in order to be effective, the definition of a capacity building strategy must be designed with reference to the different types of WISEs and the different types of persons working in them. In other words, attention has been paid to the creation of ‘Scenarios’ (the different types of WISEs) and ‘Personas’ (the different types of disadvantaged workers, supporters and enablers), so as to ensure that training and learning respond to the different skills needs.

The report tries in fact to answers two main questions:

• What skills building action do WISEs need, based on their characteristics, the directions of their development, their corporate culture and their strengths and weaknesses?
• What are the characteristics of the workers (enablers, supporters, workers with support needs) to whom we would like to propose competence building pathways?

Based on those questions, the reports elaborate two kinds of answers, first “scenarios” for WISEs which offers a general description of the model adopted, based on three basic WISEs types (social, training and productive).

It then proposes some “Personas” which are a summary of the classification made at national level, divided into the three categories of workers with support needs, supporters and enablers.

The report includes also a chapter summarising national reports and a conclusion which includes general policy indications as well as a specific guidance offered to WP. 3 work in terms of competence-building pathways.

The project partners are working now, on the basis of this report on curriculas and training pathways for the three categories of WISEs workers (workers with support needs, enablers and supporters). You will soon be able to learn more about them too!