The EU MachinE Tool Alliance for Skills (METALS) project comes to an end with the release of an online and freely-available course about the fundamentals of Additive Manufacturing (AM). The course includes a total of 27 learning units divided along three main areas – knowledge on AM, work-process and entrepreneurship – covering both technical and soft skills needs in Additive Manufacturing.
Coordinated by CECIMO, the European association representing the Machine Tool and Additive Manufacturing industry, METALS has been characterised by a comprehensive partnership spanning across three countries – Germany, Italy and Spain – and one which embraces key stakeholders in AM workforce development, from industry and vocational training institutes to local training regulators and research bodies. METALS aimed to increase the competitiveness of the European machine tool industry by providing the sector with the skills needed to benefit from new disruptive technologies. Following surveys, workshops and interviews with machine tool experts from all over Europe, the project partners concluded that in the portfolio of innovative technologies in the machine tool sector, AM is a key area for training since it is on the verge of industrialisation.
The online AM learning course, which is available in English, German, Italian and Spanish, intends to support AM workforce development.
Calling for measures on Additive Manufacturing skills
The project also embarked on a journey to raise policymakers’ awareness about the importance of AM skills for the European advanced manufacturing sector. METALS developed a position paper, calling on Vocational Education and Training (VET) regulatory bodies across Europe to shape robust training programmes for AM-skilled workers, and for relevant national accreditation agencies to give priority to AM skills in their respective systems. The paper also calls for promoting the attractiveness of VET and to increase funding at the disposal of VET institutes for the purchase of necessary technical equipment in the field of Additive Manufacturing.
“Training and education are important elements for the industrialisation of additive technologies in Europe, which is the objective of CECIMO. With METALS, learners will be able to access relevant online knowledge at no cost and start building their competences to interact with AM. Coupled with on-hands training, which remains essential, initiatives like METALS are useful to increase the overall awareness of what AM concretely is and entails,” says Mr. Filip Geerts, CECIMO’s Director General.
