About the BECOME project
BECOME (Boosting Circular Economy Expertise through Learning Communities) has the objective of fostering the circular skills of future experts in the circular economy. To address the need for a transition towards a circular economy (CE), we are going to reinforce the cooperation between education (i.e., HEI and VET) and labour market actors to educate current and future professionals to be able to develop viable solutions for the circular economy and its respective business models. This will be achieved through building strong circular economy learning communities or “Circular Hubs” in which experts engage in training activities, share state-of-the-art knowledge and best practices to boost the essential aim of educating future experts in this domain.
BECOME combines the expertise of two VETs, four HEIs, and four labour market actors from four European countries: Finland, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and Slovenia. The consortium pursues the following activities:
- Analysis of Regional CE Ecosystems and Learning Communities;
- Development of CE Learning Building Blocks;
- Fostering CE Skills for Professionals;
- Creation and Exploitation of Learning Communities on Circular Economy in Europe;
- Piloting, Monitoring and Evaluation of CE Learning Outcomes.
Among the results are a gap analysis report on CE content and skills in existing ecosystems, train the trainer/educator formats based on the developed CE Learning Building Blocks, a CE skills training for practitioners/professionals. At least four CE Learning Communities in the four EU member countries will be involved. The effectiveness of the developed teaching and learning content and infrastructure will be piloted, tested, and evaluated to foster improvement and suitable learning outcomes.
The BECOME project is co-funded by the European Union. The project duration is 1.1.2024–31.12.2026.
Main results
Analysis of EU Level Initiatives and their Synergies with the Circular Economy Action Plan and SkillsGap Analysis
The transition to a circular economy is important for reaching European and global sustainability goals. However, putting circular economy ideas into practice is still challenging, especially when it comes to matching education and training with the needs of the labour market.
This document was developed as part of the BECOME project to look at the current situation of circular economy ecosystems and learning communities. It focuses on identifying skills gaps and mismatches between vocational education and training, higher education, and labour market needs.
The report brings together regional insights from Slovenia, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Finland, along with a wider European perspective. It explores existing learning communities, highlights good practices, and identifies key skills needed for the circular economy. The results support the development of targeted training materials and knowledge hubs and offer readers a clear introduction to how circular economy skills can be developed to support a broader transition.
Read more about the findings and results in the linked document
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