The INTERREG North Sea Region co-funded project called RIGHT aims to enhance regional innovation support capacity, increase long-term innovation levels and support smart specialisation strategies. The project concentrates its efforts on developing the skills of the workforce relevant for small and medium-sized enterprises in the participating regions within the energy and blue sectors. With a total funding of just over 3.3 million Euros, it ran from 2018 til 2022, involving seven European countries with coastlines. The proposal identified the lack of knowledge about long-term growth potential and existing skills gaps act as a barrier to innovation and growth in the blue and energy sectors and related fields. The project encompasses partner municipalities and counties from seven countries in the North Sea Region, aiming for both local and transnational long-term effects and aimed at addressing these issues at different levels. Through desk research, mapping, interviews, and collaboration with business and clusters, RIGHT identified gaps in the partner regions and produced seven regional reports and a trans-regional report. These reports provided insights on the participating regions in terms of their regional innovation ecosystems, including the labour market and education sector, with a specific focus on the energy and blue sectors.

The project’s outcomes highlighted the urgent need to upskill and reskill the workforce, increase innovation capacity, and speed up digital transitions to address the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The local pilot initiatives launched by the project aimed to align training systems with the needs of the business and local communities, thus improving the relevance and effectiveness of training programs. Overall, the RIGHT project successfully bridged the gap between the skills of the workforce and the need from the industry to innovate and raise competitiveness in the North Sea Region. Its outcomes contribute to growth and competitiveness in the region by connecting smart specialization strategies to human capital and skills development, which are essential for the sustainable development of the energy and blue sectors in the region.

The award-winning video is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcuH6CbutnM&ab_channel=ProjectRIGHTInterreg

In line with this project, the EIT Food-funded AGAPE project aims contribute and enhance this effort by providing AI-driven recommendations for upskilling and reskilling to adapt the workforce’s skills to the aquaculture industry’s changing needs.