On 9 and 10 June 2025 the partners of the strategic SKILLS project - funded by the Interreg IPA South Adriatic Programme 2021-2027 (Italy, Albania, Montenegro) - met in Tirana for the two-days event on the occasion of Executive Committee and the Cross-border Permanent Table meeting, respectively the executive and governance bodies of the project. The project was created to respond to the growing need for qualified skills in the emerging blue economy sectors.

During the Executive Committee meeting, held on 9 June, were shared the modalities for the launch of the innovative cross-border course “Higher Technician for the Integrated Water Cycle Management”, for the training of a new and increasingly in-demand professional figure: “Higher Technician for Circular Productions in Green Chemistry and Innovative Materials”. The course, scheduled from October 2025 and addressed to 20 students from Italy, Albania and Montenegro, will follow the previously tested and consolidated model of the Italian ITS Academy and will be organised in collaboration with the ITS Academy Apulia Digital Maker and Biotech for Life.

With regard to university higher education, the Institute of Marine Biology of the University of Montenegro and the Puglia Region are preparing to launch 'Summer schools' in the 2026 – 2027 summer, reciprocally addressed to 15 students from the programme areas.

Finally, the Puglia Region, as partner of the project, with the collaboration and technical support of ARTI Puglia - Regional Agency for Technology, Technology Transfer and Innovation, proposed the methodology outline for the application of "vouchers on demand" for vocational training.

On 10 June, the meeting of the technical and institutional representatives in the Cross-Border Permanent Table was the occasion for the official launch of the cross-border training modules (university summer school, innovative cross-border course on the Italian ITS Academy model, 'voucher on demand' for vocational training), followed by the establishment of the new Digital Platform for the Blue Economy and the 'Blue Growth Cluster'.

The Skills project

H-LEVEL Smart Skills - High LEVEL and market-responsive Competences for a Blue and Digitised "Smart and skilled South Adriatic" is the strategic project financed by the Interreg IPA CBC South Adriatic Cross-border Cooperation Programme that aims to improve the availability of qualified competences and skills in the labour market, as a lever to strengthen the development of key economic sectors in the South Adriatic, with specific reference to the blue economy.

The project involves six partners from institutions and academia from Italy, Albania and Montenegro:

• • University of Montenegro - Institute of Marine Biology (Montenegro) - project leader
• • Department of Labour, Education and Training Policies of the Apulia Region (Italy)
• • Molise Region - Productive Systems Competitiveness Service (Italy)
• • SASPAC - Regional Agency for Strategic Planning and Aid Coordination (Albania)
• • Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism (Montenegro)
• • Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Albania)

Based on the needs of companies and labor market trends, the project aims to strengthen existing training programs and develop new ones, while also paving the way for on-the-job training initiatives that can lead to the creation of new qualified professions.

Adopting a cross-border approach, the project deploys specific actions to address the main challenges of skills shortages and mismatches in the emerging sectors of the blue economy, blue biotechnology and blue tourism. Among the main expected results are a cross-border course, vouchers for on-the-job training activities and two cross-border summer schools.