FUSE project in THE “GLOBAL CONNECTION FOR LOCAL CHANGE” Congress Dissemination Day
From 21 to 23 April 2026, Vitoria‑Gasteiz in the Basque Country (Spain) hosted the International LCAMP Week & Open Days 2026, bringing together vocational education and training (VET) providers, teachers, students and advanced manufacturing experts from across Europe. Organised by Tknika and the Basque Government’s Department of Education, the week focused on how learning factories, Industry 4.0 and innovative teaching can strengthen regional skills ecosystems.
As part of the programme, Project Dissemination Day – 2026 took place on 23 April at the Palacio Europa, where European projects had the opportunity to present their results and exchange good practices in VET. More than 25 initiatives shared how they are innovating in areas such as advanced manufacturing, digitalisation and social inclusion, turning Vitoria‑Gasteiz into a vibrant meeting point for European collaboration in vocational education.
FUSE presentation by CEBANC
During this dissemination day, the FUSE – Food Unity and Skills Empowerment project was presented by Kote Bernal, Marketing Director at CEBANC, a VET and hospitality centre based in Donostia–San Sebastián and one of the project partners. The presentation introduced FUSE as a three‑year ESF+ social innovation project (2025–2028) that tackles long‑term unemployment by connecting people who have been out of work for more than 12 months with real jobs in the food and hospitality sectors.
Kote highlighted how FUSE combines shared kitchen incubators—practical community spaces where participants can build culinary and food‑production skills—with subsidised, time‑limited jobs with inclusive employers. This approach is being tested across four countries (Ireland, Spain, Italy and Slovakia) with the aim of creating a replicable and transferable model that other regions can use to respond to skills shortages and social exclusion.
Why this matters for FUSE
Presenting at LCAMP Week allowed FUSE to reach a wide audience of European VET centres, policy‑makers and practitioners who are working on the future of skills and employment. The event reinforced key messages at the heart of FUSE: that community‑based learning spaces, strong partnerships and tailored support can turn local food initiatives into pathways towards stable, quality jobs.
For the project consortium, the Vitoria‑Gasteiz Dissemination Day was also an opportunity to gather feedback, identify synergies with other EU projects and invite interested organisations to follow FUSE’s progress as pilots move forward in Gipuzkoa (Spain) and the other partner regions.