Abstract:

The AIRVET project (www.airvet-project.eu) builds on an alliance of organisations from 6 partner countries sharing common concerns regarding the training offer for workers and potential workers of the aeronautics industry (AI) especially in the fields of Maintenance and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), as these are the areas requiring a high number of qualified personnel at European level.

The AIRVET alliance, which includes bodies with aeronautics expertise, vocational education and training (VET) providers and bodies involved in the education and training system, is working to improve the adequacy and attractiveness of the VET training offer addressed at the AI. This goal entails different tasks and challenges, including those related to the design of curricula that meet current and future skills needs of the AI labour market in different countries.

In this context, one of the main aims of AIRVET is to design, develop, evaluate and disseminate adapted/new curricula and training materials in the specific AI fields of Maintenance and ICT. This aim was defined in line with relevant data pointing that:
- Aeronautics and air transport are key drivers of European cohesion, providing millions of job across Europe and requiring a highly qualified workforce.
- The AI works globally and therefore the demographic challenges (e.g. ageing population) and competition for the best workers takes place globally, which brings new challenges and requirements to the training offer in the sector.

AIRVET is committed to address new challenges in education and training. Therefore, besides ensuring that the outputs of the project result from solid evidence from labour market intelligence, the AIRVET alliance works towards the improvement of the overall performance of education and training, to ensure close cooperation among VET systems from different EU countries, to foster a better balance between initial and continuous vocational training and to make use of knowledge and skills acquired in both formal and non-formal settings.

The methodology leading to the creation and adaptation of curricula is preceded by a phase of analysis of skills needs with desk research, a survey to relevant AI actors, validation through focus groups and cross matching of offer and needs. At this stage, the intervention and feedback of relevant stakeholders including AI companies, AI workers, VET providers and VET trainers are crucial – this is being pursued through interviews and online questionnaires covering at least the 6 project participating countries.

The phase of curricula design will build on the results of the analysis of skills needs and will develop and/or adapt training curricula, including the definition of learning outcomes along with assessment and validation activities. In a future phase, training materials with multimedia resources will also be developed and assessed.

With these activities, besides contributing to the implementation of innovative ways of delivering VET (with special focus on the use of multimedia and interactive training systems), AIRVET intends to raise awareness of youngsters about possible career paths in aeronautics and foster an open dialogue and sustained interactions between the different interested parties connected to the AI, promoting also the consolidation and sustainability of a sectorial alliance for Aeronautics at European level.

Keywords:

Aeronautics industry (AI), qualified workforce, curricula design/creation/adaptation, labour market intelligence, VET systems, formal and non-formal learning.