About the project

Alliance for Strategic Skills addressing Emerging Technologies in Defence, ASSETs+

Currently, more than three-quarters of companies in the European Union report difficulties in finding workers with the necessary skills, while only 37% of adults participate in regular training. The Defence sector is no exception to this trend. The rapid pace of technological evolution is drastically changing the labour market.

Developing educational content for the workforce of the near future is essential.

Furthermore, many misconceptions surround defence activities; however, this industry consistently operates at the forefront of innovation, offering the most advanced technologies and a highly international and multidisciplinary environment.

The ASSETs+ project aims to dispel the myths and biases associated with the defence sector while designing new courses and challenges that effectively capture students’ attention.

What is ASSETs+

The Alliance for Strategic Skills addressing Emerging Technologies in Defence (ASSETs+) was launched in January 2020, for a four-year period.

ASSETs+ is an Erasmus+ project, the European Union’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe.

Coordinated by the University of Pisa (Italy), the project is built on close collaboration between the Defence Industry, sectoral organizations, Higher Education Institutions, Vocational Education and Training providers and research centres, with 30 partners from 8 countries and a broad ecosystem of stakeholders.

  • PROJECT TYPE:

    Erasmus+ Sector Skills Alliance for implementing a new strategic approach (Blueprint) to sectoral cooperation on skills

ASSETs+ employs a blended, iterative approach that integrates data-driven analysis with human expertise

ASSETs+ aims to build a sustainable human resources supply chain for the European Defence Industry, that boosts innovation by both attracting highly-skilled young workers and upskilling its employees. Complementary education & training programmes are addressing the following main technologies: Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, C4ISTAR* and Cybersecurity.

[*] C4ISTAR is an acronym for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Information/Intelligence, Surveillance, Targeting Acquisition and Reconnaissance

Core activities of the project:

  • Develop a Defence Technology Roadmap, mapping key enabling technologies and defence-related applications. This activity entails:
    1. conducting a big data analysis of technical and scientific documents on skills for emerging technologies in defence, which will inform the design of education and training programmes;
    2. organising holistic and future-oriented brainstorming sessions, leveraging the expertise of our partners;
    3. obtaining validation from industry experts to ensure alignment with the sector’s needs; and
    4. performing annual iterations to monitor current skillsets and identify emerging ones.
Download the ASSETs+ Booklet

ASSETs+ is member of the Pact For Skills

The Pact for Skills is a shared engagement model for skills development in Europe, whose objective is the development of competences and abilities, thus becoming, together with other participating actors, a key role in the action of European social policies.

Through the Pact for Skills , the European Commission is bringing together companies, workers, national, regional and local authorities, social partners, cross-industry and sectoral organisations, education and training providers, chambers of commerce and employment services to create a culture of lifelong learning at work.

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The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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