EUROPE: The Skill Training Alliance For the Future European Rail system partnership of 32 organisations from across the transport, policy and education sectors has been launched to address the rail industry’s current and emerging skills and training needs.
The consortium aims to work with the industry and educational and training institutions to design curricula to improve employability and career opportunities in the rail sector.
The STAFFER partners hope that this will lead to the formation of ‘cross-European mobility programmes’ and work-based internships for students, apprentices and staff.
The initial four-year long partnership is being funded through the EU’s Erasmus+ programme led by the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport & Culture. The Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency is the contracting authority and will monitor its implementation, while industry directorate DG Grow and transport equivalent DG Move will examine the sector policy aspects of the project.
‘STAFFER will be instrumental as it will set the framework for strategic co-operation among key stakeholders of the rail sector, particularly in the context of the upcoming European Year of Rail 2021’, commented General Co-ordinator Angela Di Febbraro, Professor of Transportation Engineering at the University of Genova, when the initiative was formally launched on November 30.
‘Under the umbrella of our alliance, businesses, education and training institutions, professional associations and other partners will develop and implement together strategies to address skills gaps and shortages, by developing occupational profiles, vocational programmes and qualifications, as well as designing a long-term action plan to be rolled out at European, national and regional levels.’
