The Skills for the Digital Future of Plastic Factories UPSKILL
Tackling the skills shortage and skills gap in Europe
THE CHALLENGE
Due to skills gaps, companies in plastics industry across Europe face various problems: unfilled vacancies, downtime, a defect of production, longer delivery times, negative impact on the competitiveness.
The project partners have analysed existing research evidence on the plastics production line conductor’s profession-specific skills needs and identified that development of green and digital skills are specific industrial requirements:
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The digital revolution in industry brings new requirements for competences and qualifications in plastics sector.
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To get the most out of greening the economy, employees must develop the skills, knowledge and competence that resource-efficient processes and technologies need and integrate them into the practices of business and the community.
QUALITY VOCATIONAL TRAINING
01
DIGITAL SKILLS
02
SUSTAINABILITY SKILLS
03
LEAN MANUFACTURING
UPSKILL
APPROACH
THE PROJECT
The aim of the project is to enhance the capability of European VET systems to respond to the plastics sector-specific labour market needs by designing, piloting and implementing an innovative vocational training programme for plastics production line conductors with specific emphasis on digital skills to work with robotics and other smart manufacturing technologies, as well as green skills and entrepreneurial competencies.
The project will:
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enhance the quality of vocational training;
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improve the competence of teachers and plastic machine operators;
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make VET curriculum more relevant to the labour market;
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provide students and teachers with the opportunity to use digital materials.
OBJECTIVES
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Analyse and identify explicitly qualifications and European VET curricula of plastics machine operators based on the current and future skills demand in the plastics industry.
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Develop an adaptive WBL vocational training programme integrating digital, programming, circular economy, and lean manufacturing skills.
INNOVATIVE VET PROGRAMME
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Digital skills for the digital economy
The ICT contribution to the plastics factories of the future will improve the efficiency, adaptability, and sustainability of plastics manufacturing systems.
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Sustainability skills
Developing specific skills required to move ahead in the circular economy, analysing plastics value chain, "greening" manufacturing, products, consumption and end-of-life, resource management within the circular economy.
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Module on lean manufacturing
It will provide tools and processes to eliminate waste from the plastics manufacturing process resulting in improved efficiency, effectiveness, and profitability. Lean aims to shorten the time of order execution, reduce costs and improve work safety and quality.
OUR
PARTNERS
Polyvia (France) is the representative of the employers’ union for companies from the plastics processing industry (design and manufacture of plastic products) in France. The Plastics and Composites Federation represents about 3550 enterprises at a national scale, which sums about 130 000 employees. It also represents 4 national organizations and 3 regional organizations.
Polyvia Formation (France) was founded over 30 years ago by the French Plastics Federation and the Alençon Chamber of Commerce as ISPA. Today, Polyvia Formation is a highly specialized Institute whose unique area of expertise include plastics and composites. Its vocation is to supply highly skilled plastics and composites engineers and technicians to the French plastics industry as well as deliver training to industry and engaging in fundamental research and innovation.
EuPC (Belgium) is the leading EU-level trade association, based in Brussels, representing European plastics converting companies. EuPC totals about 46 national as well as European plastics converting industry associations and represents more than 50,000 companies, producing over 50 million tons of plastic products every year. The European plastics industry makes a significant contribution to the welfare in Europe by enabling innovation, creating a quality of life to citizens and facilitating resource efficiency and climate protection. More than 1.6 million people are working in EU converting companies (mainly SMEs) to create a turnover in excess of € 260 billion per year.
KPMPC (Lithuania) was established in 1996 by the order of the Minister of Education and Science. Currently KPMPC employs 79 employees. KPMPC strives to ensure the developments of Lithuanian lifelong learning system correspond to the needs of the economy as well as national and international initiatives.
VPM (Lithuania) is a public institution of vocational training, providing professional qualifications and general education to meet the requirements of a knowledge society and the changing labor market. VPM provides the following training programmes: basic curriculum, secondary curriculum, primary vocational training, continuous vocational training and retraining programs, non-formal education programs.
APRC (Lithuania) was established in 2004 with the main activity being vocational training. Other areas of activities include secondary education, basic education, non-formal education. Approximately 1500 students and 1500 adults study at APRC under continuous and non-formal educational programmes every year. APRC carries out 34 programmes on formal vocational training and 97 programmes on continuous vocational training.
LINPRA (Lithuania) is the coordinator for UPSKILL project. LINPRA was established in 1993, as an independent self-governing employer association, uniting more than 100 major manufacturing, services companies, and education institutions. It represents Lithuanian engineering industry, interests of companies, working in metal, machinery and equipment, electromechanics and electronics, plastics and rubber industry on an international and national level.
TREDU (Finland) is a regional upper secondary level college in the second largest city region in Finland. Nowadays there are approximately 8000 IVET students, 10 000 adult VET students and 1000 staff members, making Tredu the second largest vocational college in Finland. Tampere Vocational College Tredu has altogether 17 campus areas in Tampere region. Courses are arranged also elsewhere in Finland.
