News

The COMPLEMENTS Cross-Sectoral Working Group held its first meeting on 24 September 2026, bringing together around 40 participants from organisations across Europe.

The new Working Group is an open stakeholder forum connecting representatives from industry, education and training, research and innovation, public authorities, social partners and sector associations. It brings together expertise from the aerospace, automotive and digital ecosystems to support dialogue and cooperation on skills development for Europe’s Security & Defence ecosystem.

 

The first meeting introduced participants to the COMPLEMENTS project and the three ecosystems at the centre of its work. Milva Carbonaro (GISIG) presented the aerospace sector, Jakub Stolfa (Automotive Skills Alliance) presented the automotive sector, and Filippo Romano (Digital SME) presented the digital sector.

Participants then discussed the objectives of the Working Group, the added value of connecting different sectors, its collaboration and governance model, and the project's current work and next steps.

The diversity of participants reflected the cross-sectoral and European scope of the initiative, with organisations represented from a range of countries and stakeholder communities, including industry, research and innovation, education, public authorities and sector organisations.

 

The Working Group will provide a platform for exchanging expertise and evidence and for contributing to several areas of COMPLEMENTS' work. These include skills intelligence, skills shortages and labour-market mismatches, cross-sectoral occupational profiles, emerging technologies and future skills needs.

Members will also have opportunities to review methodologies and project outputs, peer review training materials and curricula, participate in thematic activities and identify opportunities for cooperation between ecosystems.

A key contribution will be to the COMPLEMENTS Strategic Skills Roadmap for Complementary Sectors in Security and Defence, due in the first quarter of 2027. The roadmap will examine skills development across the three ecosystems and include policy recommendations on cross-sectoral cooperation in skills development.

 

The first meeting established the foundations for this ongoing collaboration. As COMPLEMENTS moves forward, the Working Group will provide a dedicated space for stakeholders from complementary ecosystems to exchange knowledge and contribute to the development of practical and forward-looking approaches to skills for Security & Defence.