Skills+ 3.0 with momentum for the European finals

What does it really take to make a European competition that celebrates the talents of young adults with disabilities? Last week, the answer took shape around a table in Madrid.

On 5 May 2026, our partners in the Skills+ 3.0 consortium gathered for our third Transnational Project Meeting (TPM), hosted with characteristic warmth by the Siglo22 Foundation in the Spanish capital. Representing CollectiveUP, our Innovation Strategy Lead Esztella Rostasi spent the day rolling up her sleeves alongside colleagues from across eight countries, turning months of national work into a concrete plan for the international finals this autumn.

If you're new to Skills+ 3.0, start here to learn how the project is rethinking vocational education and opening fairer pathways into the labour market.

‍

A full agenda, a single purpose

The day in Madrid moved fast, because there is a lot to bring together before the European Competitions take place on 4 and 5 November 2026 in Burgh-Haamstede (NL). Partners worked across every work package of the project:

• WP1 – Project Management, led by Pro Work (NL), with feedback from the interim progress report and the next steps to keep the project on track.
• WP2 – Digital Manual for Organisations and Job Coaches, where Pro Work and CIRPE (IT) shared the state of the translations on Genially and mapped the final activities: sharing the manual with the field, gathering evaluation feedback, and adapting it for the final report.
• WP3 – European Competitions, the heart of the day. Partners reviewed the lessons from each country's national competition, then worked in groups to refine the European-level assignments and judging forms so that every participant in November competes on a level playing field.
• WP4 – Practical Toolkit for SMEs, with Pro Work and Euroface Consulting (CZ) walking partners through the toolkit's translations, the upcoming focus groups, and the job-shadowing experiences that will feed into the final report.
• ‍WP5 – Dissemination, led by ALLI (GR) with contributions from Siglo22, Bucovina Institute (RO), Pro Work, and all partners, including a fresh look at press, social media, website, the involvement of European-level organisations, and our engagement with the Pact for Skills.

For Esztella and the team, the highlight of the day was the working session on the European assignments and judging forms. National competitions across the eight partner countries have generated a treasure trove of insights about what works, what surprises participants, and what needs to change. Translating that into a fair, inclusive European framework is exactly the kind of co-creation Skills+ 3.0 was built for.

‍

‍

Designing the experience, not just the competition

One of the most energising moments of the day was a Mentimeter session on free-time activities for participants travelling to Burgh-Haamstede. Because here's the thing: a European competition is not only about the contests. It is about the days around them, the friendships formed, the new places explored, and the feeling of being welcomed exactly as you are.

The partners' input pointed clearly toward low-threshold, flexible, and inclusive options:

• A film room with bean bags and a calm atmosphere emerged as the most popular idea (rated 8.8).
• An outdoor walk through the forest and dune area scored almost as high (8.7).
• A game/chill room with PlayStations was strongly supported (7.8).
• Participants will benefit from a balanced mix of rest and activity (rated 7.7), so everyone can choose what suits them at any given moment.

Partners also brought ideas for group games, a quiet tea corner, a “tech lounge” with VR experiences, music-related activities, and accessible walking routes designed for participants with different needs and abilities. The takeaway is clear, and it mirrors the spirit of Skills+ 3.0 itself: design for the widest possible range of people, and everyone has a better time.

‍

The road to 4 and 5 November 2026

With the European Competitions just under six months away, the Madrid meeting closed with a clear shared to-do list: finalise the national competitions, finalise the assignments and judging forms, complete the participant logistics, and roll out the next wave of communications. The digital manual and the SMEs toolkit are heading into their final stretch, with translations, evaluations, and field-testing under way.

Throughout the day, what stood out to Esztella was something that no agenda item can quite capture: the trust and chemistry between partners after years of working together across Pro Work (NL), Siglo22 (ES), CIRPE (IT), Euroface (CZ), Socialinių projektų institutas (SPI) (LT), ALLI (GR), Bucovina Institute (RO), and CollectiveUP (BE). It is the kind of partnership that does not just produce deliverables. It produces change.

‍

Let's keep building together

At CollectiveUP, we are proud to bring the Belgian perspective to Skills+ 3.0 and to amplify the project's reach across our networks. The work we are doing together, from a digital manual for job coaches to a toolkit for inclusive SMEs and a genuinely fair European competition, is the kind of infrastructure Europe needs if it wants to take inclusion seriously.

A heartfelt thank you to Siglo22 Foundation for the warm welcome to Madrid, and to every partner who showed up ready to work, listen, and co-create.

👉 Are you an organisation working with young adults with disabilities, an SME exploring inclusive hiring, or a European network that wants to amplify this work? We want to hear from you. Whether it is a partnership, a new project, or a service we can deliver together, get in touch and join us in showing that there is space for all of us.

Curious to follow the journey? Visit the Skills+ 3.0 project website for updates, stories, and resources from across Europe.

Skills+ 3.0 is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union (KA220-ADU). Led by Stichting Kenniscentrum Pro Work (NL) with partners across 8 countries, including Belgium and CollectiveUP.

#SkillsPlus3  #Inclusion  #Erasmus  #CollectiveUP  #VocationalEducation  #DisabilityInclusion  #Europe  #Madrid  #PactForSkills