The European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) conducted a workshop this week, focusing on the role of educations tools that could bridge the rubber industry skills gap, Tyres & Accessories reports.
“With 73 billion euros of turnover and employing 350,000 people across more than 7800 companies around Europe and investing up to 5% in research and development, the industry is facing a two-fold challenge: an aging workforce and a difficulty in attracting young talents,” said Christian Koetz, president of ETRMA.
Less students are interested in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) disciplines, which is adversely reducing the candidate pool to fill the positions of the aging workforce.
At the workshop, Christian Caleca, director of the French Rubber and Polymers Institute, and Federico Brugnoli, consultant to the Automotive Skills Council, presented two initiatives the industry is taking to help bridge the skills gap: the first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on rubber technology and the Automotive Skills Council.
The European Commission’s Peter Baur said it was important to have the industry and academia working together regularly and constructively across Europe, T&A reported. Fazilet Cinaralp, secretary general of ETRMA, said it was important to invest in getting the “Y Generation” to be interested and know more about the industry.
Panelists at the workshop all agreed that tools were needed that included “innovative education instruments” and the importance of students acquiring experience in the industry while in school.
