Fit for Industry 4.0
A European initiative is helping young people to acquire specific IT skills, thus increasing their chances of finding a job.
It’s a paradoxical situation: in Europe, nearly six million people under 25 are without a job. At the same time, there will be a shortage of as many as one million IT experts in the European Union by 2015. The problem is that many unemployed young people don’t have the IT skills companies expect of them. That’s due mainly to the radical changes brought about by increasing digitization.
The Academy Cube initiative aims to close this gap. The online platform focuses on two issues: further training and job hunting for scientists and engineers. “One of Industry 4.0’s key demands on workers is the capacity for networked and cross-disciplinary thinking,” explains programme manager Kay Hradilak.
As he sees it, engineers in particular are expected to have a completely different set of skills than just a few years ago. “They must learn, for example, to handle Big Data – in other words, manage vast amounts of information – or know how to digitally connect a manufacturing machine to a tool.” These and other topics are addressed by Academy Cube’s e-learning courses. Not all courses are free of charge, but many are sponsored by partners and fees are up to 80% lower than market rates. Enrolment is open to students, graduates and professionals from the following disciplines: mathematics, engineering, the natural sciences and technology. A good command of English is also required. Prospective participants must complete a form and upload application files. If their profile meets all the formal requirements, they are given free access to the platform and can begin with the real business of applying for jobs. “In a third step, they are given recommendations about what qualifications might increase their chances of getting the job,” says Hradilak. Participants then have the option of completing a three-to-four-month online course, taking a final examination and receiving a certificate. They can then apply for the job.
In a pilot phase lasting until the end of July, 32 students – initially from Spain and Portugal only – tested the platform, which was launched in March 2013, and helped to refine it. Since August, it has been available to all Spanish and Portuguese participants who meet the requirements. Academy Cube is now being gradually expanded across Europe: a pilot project with ten participants recently began in Greece and further pilot projects are planned in Ireland, Italy and France.
The platform was created by SAP. The German software firm is responsible for overall coordination of the project and has so far invested three million euros in it. The SAP team is supported by nearly 30 IT and manufacturing companies, European academic institutions and government agencies. Partners include Bosch, Festo, Germany’s Federal Employment Agency, the German-Portuguese Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Technical University of Madrid and the University of Minho.
In the coming years, SAP and its partners aim to equip 100,000 young people with specific professional skills and help them find a job in Europe. After all, the idea is for young people to consider the entire European labour market – and in so doing broaden not only their professional horizons. ▪
