CECIMO Releases Online Course

The MachinE Tool Alliance for Skills (METALS) project, coordinated by CECIMO, has released an online course on additive manufacturing (AM). The course includes 27 learning units divided along three main areas—knowledge on AM, work-process and entrepreneurship—covering both technical and soft skills. The online learning course, which is available in English, German, Italian and Spanish, intends to support workforce development.  

The METALS project, which ended on October 31^st, aimed to increase the competitiveness of the European machine tool industry by providing the skills necessary to benefit from new technologies. Following surveys, workshops and interviews with machine tool experts from all over Europe, the project concluded that AM is a key area for training since it is on the verge of industrialization.

The project also aimed to raise policymakers’ awareness of 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 create training programs for AM workers, and for relevant national agencies to give priority to AM skills. The paper also calls to promote VET and to increase funding at the disposal of VET institutes for the purchase of necessary technical equipment in the field of AM.