Case study: Skillman network for a strong learning society of tomorrow

Skillman is a community of practitioners, researchers and institutions engaged in TVET in the advanced manufacturing sector. Its objective is to create work-based learning solutions to respond to the challenges of skills shortages in industry.

The community operates on a participatory model and has become the largest EU multilateral network to combine a solid knowledge of skills needs and training practices with a well-organized systemic and sector-related information system. The network develops tools consistent with industry needs and relevant to the latest education challenges. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these helped TVET providers keep the doors of learning open online.

Skillman collates information from its network in its ‘Skillnet Catalogue’, thereby sharing ideas about how to deal with challenges relating to the fourth industrial revolution; green, sustainable, and inclusive development; and the ethical issues its members encounter. This stimulates peer learning and brings to the fore discussion about megatrends affecting global and national economies and societies.

This bottom-up process is rethinking what is required of TVET to meet the workforce and society’s wider concerns within the advanced manufacturing sector.