The EU manufacturing output stands for 15% of the overall member states’ GDP and EU has declared that the goal is to increase this level of 20% by the year 2020. However, since 2008 over 3.4 million jobs have been lost in the metal industry. These data proves that a new phase of EU economic growth cannot come without the involvement of metal and mechanical industry. Industry 4.0 is a new production system resulting from the application of new technologies to manufacturing and is a game changer affecting all the activities linked to manufacturing, from planning to processes, from products to work organisation.
The project Industry4EU aims at bringing together social partners and institutions from Italy, Germany and Slovenia in an effort to identify concrete actions to turn Industry 4.0 challenges into opportunities. It tries to build a new development model to deal with the skill mismatch arising from the digitalization of production of Industry 4.0 and drive innovation and technological development.
Specific objectives of the project include:
• To raise the awareness of employers’ associations about challenges and opportunities resulting from the automation of production of Industry 4.0 and about effective actions aimed at both aligning industrial strategies with labour market policies and promoting inclusive engagement at all levels, in the transition from the present manufacturing to Industry 4.0;
• To provide a reinforcement of employers’ associations views on their roles and responsibilities in creating human capital and high-level skills for the development of Industry 4.0;
• To support the dialogue among social partners as regards tertiary education (i.e. educational programmes, school-to-work transition programmes, etc.) in terms of skills and knowledge currently developed in training programmes;
• To analyse actions that employers’ associations are currently implementing to deal with the skills mismatch arising from Industry 4.0, thus identifying best practices, weaknesses and the kind of institutional support needed to develop successful training, internship and apprenticeship programs;
• To build a new development model to deal with the skill mismatch arising from the digitalization of production of Industry 4.0 and drive innovation and technological development.

For more information, please contact Ms Petra Flerin at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia – Metal-Processing Industry Association at petra.flerin @ gzs.si.