A SKILLS PARTNERSHIP FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE ECOSYSTEM

THE CHALLENGE

The European auto industry is going through an unprecedented transformation because of the short- term impact of the COVID crisis, as well as the long-term shift towards zero-emission and digital mobility, as well as the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. This transition is already significantly impacting the lives of the ca 15 million Europeans currently employed in the automotive value chain. The whole European automotive ecosystem – from small SMEs to big manufacturers, from suppliers and dealers up to maintenance and repair workshops – is facing disruption.

This transition and the foreseen structural change will impact the workforce, with jobs being endangered in the short to medium-term. At the same time, the entire automotive chain is struggling to attract and recruit qualified people for new and emerging jobs. To remain competitive and to meet its economic and social responsibilities, the industry needs to invest significantly in the up/re-skilling of its workforce.

THE AMBITION

The aim is to put in place an up-/re-skilling framework which maximises industry competitiveness, job retention and new job opportunities – paving the way to a skills partnership for the whole automotive ecosystemⁱ. It will present a roadmap towards the transformation of skills, while also contributing to post-COVID recovery. It further broadens the outcomes of DRIVES (blueprint project), which will provide a key input to the work of the Skills Partnershipⁱⁱ.

The partnership also builds on inclusivity and openness for all relevant stakeholders, initiatives or projects (e.g., ALBATTS blueprint project) to jointly cooperate under one European umbrella.

The ambition of the partnership is to enable the up-/re-skilling of 5% of the workforce each year to tackle the industrial transition in the automotive ecosystem.

THE PROPOSAL

In order to reach this target, the partners jointly commit to:

• Establish a skills partnership for the automotive ecosystem;
• Update intelligence about the ecosystem and its development, resulting in data on skills needs and guidance to education providers;
• Set up an EU-wide framework for skills and job roles building on the DRIVES outcomes; share experience and best practices;
• Provide financial or non-financial contributions (depending on the nature of the entities) to the trainings realised under the Framework, connected to the established support schemes for individual projects in the respective regions or member

The following will be implemented:

• Analyses and definition of skills needs (industry is committed to share its perspective and strategy)ⁱⁱⁱ;
• Streamlining of the workforce planning, including employee skills assessment (industry and

regional/national authorities will cooperate together)^iv;

• Relevant trainings and education courses for all kinds of backgrounds and levels of education^v;
• Assessment of the outcomes of the trainings to improve the quality of the system (a joint exercise of all stakeholders involved)^vi.

THE COMMITMENT AND KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The partnership will ensure:

• Sustainable sectoral cooperation based on the commitment of all stakeholders involved;
• Systematic EU-wide recognition of skills and knowledge;
• EU-wide mutually accepted definitions of skills and job

Implementation will start in at least five pilot regions in 2021.

The ambition to reach 5% of the workforce each year would result in 700,000 employees being up- and re-skilled along the automotive ecosystem in the coming years. Based on a re-skilling investment of on average €10,000 per employee^vii, this represents an overall commitment of around €7bn from the private and public authorities^viii.

KPIs include:

• Number of stakeholders involved and coverage of the ecosystem;
• Coverage of countries and regions;
• Stakeholder involvement in sectoral drivers of change, such as carbon-neutral mobility, electrification, new powertrains, green mobility, batteries, power cells, IT applications