The LSC, the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce’s training institute is partnering with the American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg (AMCHAM) and the Luxembourg Office of Reception and Integration (OLAI), and will be offering a series of weekly courses on Luxembourg’s economy and its institutions, starting on Wednesday 3 June from 18:30 to 20:30 at the Chamber of Commerce Training Centre in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.

The courses will be aimed at meeting the growing training needs of a cosmopolitan working population and is especially targeted at foreign residents and professionals with English as a first or second language, who are interested in better understanding the local economy and the national economic landscape. Particular emphasis will be placed on critically assessing the results, such as the outcomes and impact of the national policy-making process, as well as making considerations as to how the existing democratic gap, and the current institutional settings affect policy outcomes.

Any professionals, entrepreneurs, expat residents, and individuals willing to discover Luxembourg’s economy, its mechanisms and the key challenges ahead are welcome to participate in the course, for the full price of €125.

Participants completing the course will obtain a verified certificate of attendance at the end of the training.

The course will run for a total of seven weekly two-hour sessions and the programme outline can be found below:

1. A history of the Luxembourg economy with a focus on foreigners’ contribution to its development: issues of voice and accountability.

- Presentation of the country’s socioeconomic evolution since its industrialisation, with a focus on foreigners’ contribution to the economy.

- Presentation of the political system and of the private sector’s voice in the system.

2. A sectoral presentation of the Luxembourg economy : where are we heading? 

- Brief presentation of the Luxembourg economy’s main sectors with special focus on the financial sector.. 

- Luxembourg policy-makers’ efforts to diversify the economy, notably towards the ICT, logistics and the health and biotechnology sectors.

3. Luxembourg’s competitiveness - international rankings and studies: do they matter?

- International rankings’ usefulness and shortcomings.

- Luxembourg’s position in main international rankings, such as those of the World Economic Forum (WEF), of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) and of the World Bank’s Doing Business.

4. Doing Business in Luxembourg

- The entrepreneurial ecosystem in Luxembourg

- Roadmap to set up a business in Luxembourg

5. The Luxembourg education system and the labour market.

- Presentation of the Luxembourg education system: curriculum content and institutional features compared.

- Presentation of key features of the labour markets compared.

6. The national budgetary system and fiscal policy.

- Presentation of the evolution of the state of public finances in the past decade.

- The Luxembourg budgetary process compared.

7. Closing session: panel debate.