The core of the Circular Economy Operational Learning Environments project is to increase the circular economy and employment opportunities based on it, as well as the skills of people in a weak position on the labour market. The aim of the project is 1. to create new solutions for the development and employment of people with a weak labour market position,2. to meet the needs of employers’ workforce in a rapidly developing circular economy field, in particular for low-threshold tasks, and3. to promote the circular economy and create new jobs. The project creates and further develops functional learning environments in the circular economy through cooperation between participants. The project pilots several aspects of the circular economy and related models of employment and competence development. The physical framework of learning environments is also linked to the activities and development of districts. The activities focus on Hervanta, Nekala and Hiedanranta in Tampere. Hiedanranta is a new part of the future where there is already a circular economy pilot area. Acting in the regions, on the grassroots level, supports Tampere’s strategic objectives in a collaborative, human, urban and sustainable Finnish city. The project supports the identification of the future labour and skills needs of companies and other circular economy employers and responds to them using the learning environments that are being developed. The project is implemented by the City of Tampere and the participants are Tampere’s ev.lut. parish association, Ekoaput Oy, Nextiili ry and TITRY ry. The project is intrinsically linked to the whole of employment management in the Tampere region and its development. Employment services are increasingly implemented and developed in a multifunctional way, and the services of job seekers and employers are brought together on joint service platforms. Currently, the projects underway in Finland around the circular economy focus largely on high-tech know-how, product development and industrial symbioses. This project focuses on the development of jobs in the circular economy and in particular on identifying low-threshold tasks. Low-threshold tasks are created in significant amounts in the circular economy as new resource-efficient solutions become more diversified and expand into innovative business activities. Learning environments are developed into several themes of the circular economy with content. The themes include waste food and removal textiles and a number of other circular economy related activities such as repair construction, sorting of demolition and construction waste, green construction and installation and maintenance of new technical circular economy solutions. The employers’ needs identified in the project will guide the development of learning environments during the project. In changing the labour market and business structure, enterprises are active in renewing and developing circular economy business. Companies and other organisations that develop the circular economy need to understand the needs of work, skills and planning that the circular economy brings. At the same time, young people and jobseekers in a weak position on the labour market do not yet know what jobs the circular economy offers and what skills they need in these future jobs. In the project, they can acquire the skills needed for future jobs in a flexible and meaningful way through different ways of learning on the job, as well as new, partly digital, training courses. In the genuine jobs offered by the learning environments of the project, it is possible to build skills in different occupational fields and thereby achieve motivation and readiness to apply for related degree studies or directly engage in tasks related to the circular economy in the labour market. The aim of the project is to reduce the number of inactive people and to strengthen employment through the circular economy.
