As part of the Skills Strategy project in Flanders, the OECD and Flemish project team organised two workshops in Brussels – the diagnostic workshop on 15 May 2018 and the good Practices workshop 18 September 2018. These workshops were conducted to convene officials from ministries participating in the project team as well as other relevant public agencies and a broad cross-section of stakeholder representatives. In total, both workshops had around 75 participants.
In the two workshops, participants developed long lists with policy recommendations for each of the priority areas. In the diagnostic workshop, with input from a presentation, a briefing pack and outcomes from a pre-workshop survey, participants worked on a specific priority to develop generic and group specific recommendations. Discussions took place throughout multiple sessions in small groups that were heterogeneous and homogenous (in terms of stakeholders), and various exercises steered the conversation. In the good practice workshop, participants further refined the recommendations. Supported by presentations on good practices and different exercises in small groups, final lists with specific recommendations were developed.
The final lists of policy recommendations are comprehensive, detailed and often very concrete. They represent a broad view of government and stakeholder perspectives and demonstrate the diversity and quantity of ideas for further strengthening the Flemish skills system. As a result, these recommendations are the main input for the final recommendations presented in this report. This annex presents an overview of all the generic and specific recommendations developed by the workshop participants.