Irish Manufacturing Research | SAM - Sector Skills Strategy in Additive Manufacturing

Context

SAM is an Erasmus+ project comprising of 16 partners across Europe with the European Welding Federation as the technical lead. The project Sector Skills Strategy in Additive Manufacturing (SAM) started in January 2019 and will run for the next 48 months years (until 31st December 2022).

As Europe seeks to retain its leading position in industrial competitiveness, there is an urgent need to establish a platform for AM skills at European, National, and Regional levels.

Aim

Advanced Manufacturing is one of the key enabling industries for sustainable economic growth, being Additive Manufacturing (AM), more commonly known as 3D printing, widely used in a wide range of industrial applications (new products and services). The Wohlers Report 2018 on 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing states that the overall additive manufacturing industry grew 21% in 2017 as the industry expanded by more than €1 thousand million. The demand for AM and related services has increased in the last years and is expected that in 2020 the market volume reaches €10 thousand million (Ernst & Young).

As Europe seeks to retain its leading position in industrial competitiveness, there is an urgent need to establish a platform for AM skills at European, National, and Regional levels. To meet this challenge the project Sector Skills Strategy in Additive Manufacturing (SAM) started in January 2019 and will run for the next 48 months years (until 31st December 2022).

SAM’s Main Features

A Skills Strategy in Additive Manufacturing providing solutions capable to foster and support the growth, innovation, and competitiveness of the AM sector;
A methodology for a sustainable and continuous assessment of current and future skills needs in AM trough the Observatory in Additive Manufacturing, providing just in time mapping and monitoring of the AM industry technological trends, skills shortages and mismatches, policies, and figures;
Design, review, and deployment of relevant qualifications in the AM sector, built with a learning outcome approach and linked with EU Frameworks and Tools such as the EQF, e-CF, EntreComp, ECVocational Education and Training (VET), and ECTS;
Promotion of the attractiveness of the AM sector as a career choice for primary, general education, Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university’s student’s Awareness Campaign in the field of AM;
One online Qualifications Catalogue to continuously update and enlarge the European AM Qualification System, integrating all the developed and to be developed sectoral qualifications.