This report is part of a series of country projects within the OECD programme of work on “Building Effective National Skills Strategies”.
The OECD is grateful to the Flemish National Project Team for its invaluable guidance and input throughout the project, and its help in convening and organising the stakeholder workshops. We are particularly grateful to the National Project Leader, Willem De Klerck, and the National Project Co-ordinator, Raf Boey, both from the Flemish Department for Work and Social Economy, for their strong leadership and co-ordination of the National Project Team, which included: Jeroen Backs and Caroline Gijselinckx (Department of Education and Training); Jort Ory, Isabel Gaisbauer, Anneleen Peeters and Sven De Haeck (VDAB); Mieke Valcke and Sandra Hellings (SERV); Reinhilde Pulinx and Koen Stassen (VLOR); Philippe Nys and Tom Tournicourt (Department of Economy, Science and Innovation); An Katrien Sodermans (Syntra Flanders); Karolien Kaisz (Department of Finance and Budget); Sarah Vansteenkiste (Centre for Expertise on Labour Market Monitoring); and Ann Van den Cruyce and Ariane Rober (Department of Work and Social Economy).
The OECD team wishes to thank Minister Hilde Crevits, Vice Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Education, and Minister Philippe Muyters, Flemish Minister for Work, Economy, Innovation and Sports, for their continued commitment to this project. We also thank Dries Willems, Permanent Representative of the Flemish Government to the OECD, for his support during the project.
Our warm thanks go to the many representatives of government agencies, education and training institutions, businesses and business associations, unions and community associations, think tanks and other organisations, and adult learners who generously shared their insights during bilateral interviews with the OECD team in Brussels and Ghent and for their written input and good practices. A full list of participating organisations and stakeholders is included in Annex D of this report. We would also like to take the opportunity to thank the staff of the Department of Work and Social Economy for their excellent organisation of the stakeholder workshops and for their hospitality in hosting these events.
We are grateful to the Directorate-General for Education and Culture and the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission for contributing both financial support and expertise throughout the project. We are especially grateful to Michael Horgan and Kasia Jurczak.
While the report draws upon data and analysis from the OECD, Flemish authorities and other published sources, any errors or misinterpretations remain the responsibility of the OECD team.
Samuel Kim was the OECD project leader responsible for co-ordinating this OECD National Skills Strategy project in Flanders. The main authors of this report were: Chapter 1. Summary Assessment (Bart Staats, Directorate for Education and Skills), Chapter 2. Developing a Learning Culture (Samuel Kim, Directorate for Education and Skills), Chapter 3. Reducing Skills Imbalances (Katharine Mullock, Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs), Chapter 4. Strengthening Skills Use in Workplaces (Jonathan Barr, Anna Choi and Lindsey Ricker, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities), Chapter 5. Strengthening the Governance of Adult Learning (Samuel Kim, Directorate for Education and Skills), and Chapter 6. Improving the Financing of Adult Learning (Katharine Mullock, Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs). Bart Staats and Cuauhtémoc Rebolledo-Gómez (Directorate for Education and Skills) provided statistical support and Helena van Langenhove (Directorate for Education and Skills) provided background research. Glenda Quintini (Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs) provided advice and feedback.
As team leader for OECD National Skills Strategy projects, Andrew Bell provided analytical guidance and supervision. Montserrat Gomendio (Head of the OECD Skills Centre and Deputy Director of the Directorate for Education and Skills) and Dirk Van Damme (Head of the Skills Beyond School Division) provided thought leadership, while Andreas Schleicher (OECD Director for Education and Skills) and Stefano Scarpetta (OECD Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs) provided strategic oversight for the project.
Sarah Zaft, Véronique Quénehen and Sophie Limoges (Directorate for Education and Skills) provided invaluable support for mission organisation, report layout and design and publication planning, while Elizabeth Zachary provided proofreading and editorial support.