Specific Challenge:

Transport is a rapidly developing and changing sector which faces problems to develop, attract and retain appropriate staff. As the overall trend is to increase automation, the sector will depend more and more on specialised equipment and products. Future jobs will therefore require new and advanced skills in engineering as well as in back office operations, but at the same time, the growing interdisciplinary elements of transport activities will also require transport professionals with developed skills in safety, security, logistics, IT, behavioural sciences, marketing and economics. As a consequence a new paradigm needs to be developed in training and education cross-fertilizing the disciplines and combining traditional training methods (e.g. face-to face classrooms, on the job training, etc.) with alternative methods and learning systems (such as web-based training, immersive virtual learning environments /IVLE, etc.) addressing the different needs of the various skill levels (from low skilled workers to high skilled managers/researchers) and incorporating lifelong learning aspects which seem particularly important for the low and middle-skills segments of the workforce.

The specific challenge of this topic will be to identify and assess future requirements for skills and training tools/methods across transport modes and systems, in order to improve the potential of the workforce and improve the gender balance in the field of transport.

Scope:

Proposals should address all the following aspects:

―Explore the impact of the deployment of new technologies new business models, growing internationalisation, increased intermodality and interdisciplinarity of transport activities on employment profiles and identify future requirements of skills and competences across all skill levels of the transport workforce.

―Identify critically review (and benchmark) existing and/or innovative training and learning methods and tools with a view to address the needs of the workforce in transport modes and systems of a growing complexity.

―Identify critical issues to be addressed and subjects to be taught in order to meet the future needs of transport across all skills levels; identify and/or propose specific curricula for training in particular for the mid-low skilled workers and those who need to upgrade their skills through lifelong learning.

―Define the competences of trainers and design new profiles of teams devoted to facilitating the transfer of knowledge through innovative ideas/methods.

Issues of gender and age are important and should be appropriately considered.

Actions should take into account and coordinate with, where appropriate, with other EU and national initiatives in the field, such as those supported in the context of Erasmus+ and its sector skills alliances.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 2 and 3 million each would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Expected Impact:

As described in the specific challenge, the transport sectors will undergo significant changes over the next years with the gradual deployment of new technologies, increased intermodality and internationalisation. These changes will lead to new requirements for skills and competences of the workforce in practically all relevant sectors. Work under this topic is expected to provide the identification of these new requirements, a critical review and analysis of educational and training needs and methods thus contributing to the elaboration of new training curricula, tools and methods to be used for the development of a workforce capable of meeting the future needs of the sector across Europe. While, in the mid-term, work under this topic is expected to contribute to a better qualified labour force in the various transport sectors, in the longer term is expected to contribute to improved transport services as well as the employment prospects and gender balance of the sector.

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