The VET (Vocational Education & Training) programs led by Telecentre-Europe’s members Fast Track to IT (FIT, Ireland) and Interface3 (Belgium) are good examples that show how many long-term unemployed people can succeed in high skills training programmes and find a quality job related to technology.
In Ireland and since 1999, over 11.000 unemployed people have completed an FIT ICT training and 8.500 (77%) got jobs. A quarter of FIT participants in Ireland are aged 25 or under.
In Belgium and since 1988, 5.000 women have received IT training at Interface3 and 70% of them found quality jobs in the IT field or in other professional fields very much affected by IT.
Both organizations closely engage the industry and work at the interface between skills demand from employers and public training provision. This “skills ecosystem analysis” (OECD 2008) aspect is more important than ever, with ICT now effectively a global marketplace and ICT skills shortages growing in most countries.
UK based 
