Upskilling & Reskilling in the re-use sector: Re-use training initiative in Marche Region (Italy)
PRESS RELEASE – 29 July 2022
RREUSE is pleased that Marche Region (Italy) will develop a re-use valoriser training course to improve the management of the regional Re-use Centres network. This initiative has been taken in the framework of the 2LIFES project, which aims at promoting re-use through public policies.
To develop an inclusive circular economy, public support for upskilling and reskilling is necessary. Thanks to this new course in Marche Region, operators of Re-use Centres will acquire new skills and knowledge, including receiving training on the use of new digital tools, thus supporting their employability by creating added value for the individual’s curricula. In fact, the course will form a new professional figure which is currently absent in the region.
To develop this initiative, Marche Region drew inspiration from the waste valoriser training programme in Belgium, shared and explained to all 2LIFES’ partners by RREUSE. This programme is focused on providing skills to adequately assess and give value to waste materials and re-usable products, therefore distributing them towards the appropriate re-use or recycling stream. RESSOURCES, a regional federation of social and circular enterprises, implemented this training programme and strongly advocated for its official recognition. The job and training programme is now legally recognised by the Belgian regions of Brussels and Wallonia.
In the case of Marche Region, the re-use valoriser course will focus on various subjects and skills such as selecting and valorising items delivered to the centre to be re-used or prepared for re-use or how to improve the relationship with citizens.
However, the training course will place a strong emphasis on the use of new management software for Re-use Centres that has also been developed in the framework of the 2LIFES project. This software will improve the monitoring of re-use activities (reception, cataloguing, and flow of goods) and help provide high-standard and efficient services. It will also enable Marche Region to access and monitor in real-time the services offered by the Re-use Centres, including information such as registered users and items received and re-used – thus allowing to include the data in the annual Regional Waste Report.
RREUSE applauds Marche Region’s decision to develop a new management software and include it in the re-use valoriser training. Digital technologies are necessary to help mainstream the re-use sector. Still, these developments require addressing the need for new digital skills, which may be hard to access for vulnerable individuals distant from the labour market.
NOTES TO EDITORS
2LIFES is a project part of the Interreg Europe helping regional and local governments across Europe to develop and deliver better policies. 2LIFES focuses on re-use and serves as an instrument to help boost re-use through public policies. Through best practices and policy instruments, the seven project partners are active in the political backing of re-use to foster waste minimisation and resource efficiency.
For more information: https://www.interregeurope.eu/2lifes/
Press contact
Myrto Delkou, Communication Officer
myrto.delkou@rreuse.org