CoastalPro and our sister project NextBlueGen was invited to organise and moderate a dedicated Blue Skills / Blue Careers policy workshop during the European Ocean Days 2026 in Brussels, bringing together leading EMFAF-funded projects to align on the future of skills development in the blue economy.

Held on 2 March at the Sparks venue, the closed workshop convened seven EU projects working across coastal tourism, aquaculture, ports, and blue biotechnology. The objective was clear: move beyond project-level results and converge on concrete, actionable policy recommendations that can support adoption, recognition, and long-term sustainability of blue skills initiatives .

The session, moderated by CoastalPro, followed a structured format designed to maximise output within a limited timeframe. Participants identified key barriers affecting implementation, including low institutional uptake of training tools, weak recognition of digital credentials, and limited sustainability beyond project funding. These challenges were not isolated but consistently observed across sectors and countries.

Discussion focused on three priority areas:

• Adoption and engagement, addressing how training tools can be integrated into education systems and employer pathways.
• Recognition and portability, exploring how micro-credentials, badges, and game-based learning outcomes can gain formal acceptance.
• Sustainability and scaling, examining how platforms and training models can survive and expand after project completion.

The workshop also embedded a cross-cutting focus on inclusion, highlighting the need to create accessible pathways for underrepresented and vulnerable groups within the blue economy.

Beyond the closed session, CoastalPro contributed to the broader European Ocean Days programme through project exhibition, stakeholder engagement, and a policy survey targeting participants across industry, education, and public authorities. This allowed real-time validation of key assumptions and strengthened the evidence base for policy recommendations .

The outcome of the workshop is a consolidated set of policy messages, currently being formalised into a joint policy paper. These recommendations aim to support EU and national actors in transitioning from fragmented pilot actions to structured, scalable systems for blue skills development.

The participants of the workshop were: