In collaboration with the Vratsa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the University of Library Science and Technology of Sofia, EOLAS S.L., Business Development Friesland, and Eurodimensions, the Malta Business Bureau has kicked off a new Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnerships in Vocational Education and Training (VET) project. This project, entitled ToRRe – ‘Building Towards Retail Resilience’ – aims towards the creation of  a smart learning environment space to further support the digital upskilling of Europe’s retail sector, in particular its retail small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

In a post-pandemic context, it is clear that a sector such as retail must embrace the digital transformation, greatly accelerated by Covid-19. To embrace the digital transformation, the industry must equip itself with the right skillset – that is, a digital tools skillset. Investing in the digital capabilities of both retail employers and employees is key in ensuring both the survival and growth of the industry in today’s digital world.

The kick-off meeting was organised by the lead partners of the ToRRe project, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vratsa, Bulgaria. This virtual preliminary meeting served as a good opportunity for the ToRRe partners to discuss an initial strategy, a communication environment and a way forward for the project. These are crucial in ensuring that the consortium agree on the project’s first steps and that its milestones and objectives are ultimately met.

The ambition of the ToRRe partnership is to allow small retail businesses to acquire new skills for the digital transformation by developing a tailor-made training programme that SMEs in retail can access to learn basic digital skills.

For more information, visit the project website https://www.torreretail.eu/ or kindly contact MBB Projects Executive Martina Spiteri on mspiteri@mbb.org.mt.

The ToRRe project, co-funded by the EU’s Erasmus+ funding programme, is managed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vratsa (Bulgaria), in collaboration with The University of Library Science and Technology of Sofia (Bulgaria), EOLAS S.L. (Spain), Business Development Friesland (Netherlands), Eurodimensions (Malta), and the Malta Business Bureau.