Did you know? By 2050, about 30% of the European population will be over 65, and it is expected that there will be fewer than two working age adults for each elderly person!
According to a 2023 report of the European Commission on the impact of demographic change, demographic divergences can worsen economic, regional and social divides. The Alpine region is confronted with an accelerated reduction of its working age population and lags behind in developing, attracting and retaining the right talent needed for the development of mountainous rural areas.
How to combat this? In line with the European Year of Skills 2023, the EC report underlines the need for activating the available talent and continued investment in skills across all generations and attracting talent in shortage occupations from around the world!
Interreg Alpine Space projects are helping the region adapt to demographic change by promoting the development of skills! Two of our 2014-2020 projects dealt with those issues:
- YOUrALPS developed a new school model to highlight the interdependent environmental and social processes taking place in the Alps. Learning green skills at a young age is key to improving the sustainability of the Alpine region!
- DuALPlus developed innovative ways to increase the appeal of dual education in Alpine skilled crafts and trades. Innovative dual education leads to an improvement of the skills supply in the region!
Two of our 2021-2027 projects are also working on combatting population decline:
- AlpSatellites analyses the opportunities and challenges of remote working in order to attract and integrate young people, workers and digital nomads in remote areas! As part of the project, they will assess the readiness level of remote working in target territories, including workers’ digital skills.
- SmartCommUnity will facilitate capacity building of rural areas, promote existing digital tools and solutions and develop digital tools to foster the “smart transition” of Alpine areas. One key aspect is helping pilot areas develop expertise and skills to create digitalization strategies!
Make your ideas shine!
Helping the Alpine region fight population decline by activating the available talent is one of the key challenges of our time. Our projects young and old are working towards this goal.
Do you have an idea for a project to combat depopulation or improve the skills supply in the Alps? Submit it during our next calls for project proposals! Learn more on how to apply here: https://www.alpine-space.eu/for-applicants/how-to-apply
