Today is an important day for SFC: the CoVE RECEBA – Regional Circular Economy Business Acceleration, of which we are the lead partner, is officially launching. RECEBA is the Erasmus+ project establishing a Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) dedicated to the circular transition, active across six European regions. Leading a CoVE on circular economy is a strategic milestone for Confindustria's training system: it means placing businesses at the heart of curriculum design, building pathways that originate directly from the real challenges SMEs face in transitioning to circular business models.
Public-private cooperation is not an abstract principle here — it is the project's operational engine.
The starting point is an uncomfortable reality: Europe's circular material use rate stands at just 11.8% (EEA, 2023), more than a decade into the first CE Action Plan.
One of the core structural barriers is the fragmentation of VET systems, which separate technical from business training, leaving a critical gap in integrated competencies. A technician knows how to manage materials. A manager knows how to build a business model. What is needed is to bring these competencies together, combining lifecycle management logic with reverse logistics and applied financial modelling — in order to build a genuine circular economy value chain, and move beyond isolated "good practices."
RECEBA responds with a systemic approach: 12 training modules co-designed with companies, 6 regional Circular Business Labs (one per region), portable micro-credentials, and permanent structures — the VET Excellence Panels — designed to outlast the project and carry forward professionalising training systems for the circular economy. Budget: nearly €4 million, 17 partners, 48 months.
The consortium brings together, from Italy, SFC, Lazio Innova, Learnind Digital; from Spain, Universidad Pública de Navarra, CEIN and AEZMNA (Navarra); from France, Région Normandie and École de Management de Normandie; from Belgium, ACR+, Le Forem e GreenWin (Wallonia); from the Netherlands, Vereniging Circulair Friesland, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen and NHL Stenden (Friesland); and from Bulgaria, Kliynteh Bulgaria and KRIB. They are joined by 21 associated partners and 25 supporting organisations across Albania, Catalonia, Ireland, and EU-level networks.
The Kick-Off Meeting takes place on 12–13 May in Rome. But the work has already begun: building VET ecosystems capable of supporting productive innovation, resource efficiency, and sustainable energy and water management, not for the duration of a project, but permanently.
For updates:
Today is an important day for SFC: the CoVE RECEBA – Regional Circular Economy Business Acceleration, of which we are the lead partner, is officially launching. RECEBA is the Erasmus+ project establishing a Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) dedicated to the circular transition, active across six European regions. Leading a CoVE on circular economy is a strategic milestone for Confindustria's training system: it means placing businesses at the heart of curriculum design, building pathways that originate directly from the real challenges SMEs face in transitioning to circular business models.
Public-private cooperation is not an abstract principle here — it is the project's operational engine.
The starting point is an uncomfortable reality: Europe's circular material use rate stands at just 11.8% (EEA, 2023), more than a decade into the first CE Action Plan.
One of the core structural barriers is the fragmentation of VET systems, which separate technical from business training, leaving a critical gap in integrated competencies. A technician knows how to manage materials. A manager knows how to build a business model. What is needed is to bring these competencies together, combining lifecycle management logic with reverse logistics and applied financial modelling — in order to build a genuine circular economy value chain, and move beyond isolated "good practices."
RECEBA responds with a systemic approach: 12 training modules co-designed with companies, 6 regional Circular Business Labs (one per region), portable micro-credentials, and permanent structures — the VET Excellence Panels — designed to outlast the project and carry forward professionalising training systems for the circular economy. Budget: nearly €4 million, 17 partners, 48 months.
The consortium brings together, from Italy, SFC, Lazio Innova, Learnind Digital; from Spain, Universidad Pública de Navarra, CEIN and AEZMNA (Navarra); from France, Région Normandie and École de Management de Normandie; from Belgium, ACR+, Le Forem e GreenWin (Wallonia); from the Netherlands, Vereniging Circulair Friesland, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen and NHL Stenden (Friesland); and from Bulgaria, Kliynteh Bulgaria and KRIB. They are joined by 21 associated partners and 25 supporting organisations across Albania, Catalonia, Ireland, and EU-level networks.
The Kick-Off Meeting takes place on 12–13 May in Rome. But the work has already begun: building VET ecosystems capable of supporting productive innovation, resource efficiency, and sustainable energy and water management, not for the duration of a project, but permanently.
For updates: