In 2009, the European Union identified Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) for their potential impact in strengthening Europe’s industrial and innovation capacity [COM(2009)512 final]. In particular, KETs were recognized, as playing increasingly vital role in developing the required industrial and technological base indispensable for the delivery of smart, sustainable and inclusive European Growth [SEC(2010)1276 final, COM(2010)614 final].In order to exploit KETs technological fields and their industrial dimension, new skills and competencies are necessary. Particularly, the future of innovations calls the students to acquire understanding of different scientific and technical skills, as well as business and personal skills that will allow them to easily adapt to new tasks, job functions or even different scientific areas and will lead to efficient interdisciplinary work.Involving employers in the design and delivery of the university programmes, supporting staff exchanges and including practical experience in courses can help attune curricula to current and emerging labour market needs and foster employability and entrepreneurship [SEC(2011)1063 final]. This was particularly highlighted in the Cefic study on “Critical Needs for Innovation in the Chemical Industry”.Cefic, national associations, companies and universities in Slovakia, Greece and the Czech Republic built up partnership that was particularly focused on entrepreneurial skills and knowledge of current and future trends in product innovations in the sectors using chemistry in manufacturing their products. The project established close cooperation of higher education institutions (HEIs) and employers that worked together on meeting the current needs through tailored, concrete actions. The overall objective of the projects was to build up Strategic Partnership between the European chemical sector and HEIs and facilitated effective collaboration in building up entrepreneurial competencies with focus on the future innovations in the sectors using chemistry for manufacturing their products, especially SMEs needed from HEIs to develop specific set of competencies in future innovators working in their companies. This has been particularly essential for SMEs operating in the EU border regions to use emerging investment opportunities in KETs to support regional development and competitiveness of the local industries populated by SMEs. The projects seek to exploited know-how available in chemical industry to enhance these competencies in future generations of scientists and engineers through the effective engagement of industry and higher education institutions (HEIs).The Innochem project led to:• Analysis of status quo in the target countries with respect of needs in innovation-related entrepreneurial competencies and analysis of obstacles in addressing these needs effectively;• Formulating roadmaps for implementing know-how and recommendations in this area developed by Cefic and partner organizations aimed at enhancing the tertiary education to include innovation related entrepreneurial competences (skills and knowledge);• Endorsement of the roadmaps by relevant authorities and organizations, including HEIs and industry with specific time frame and action plan for implementation;• Dissemination of the project results using the network of associations and companies managed by the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic).The Innochem project developed framework that:• Facilitated constructive dialogue and sharing knowledge and know-how between HEIs and employers on set of competencies needed for companies, particularly for SMEs, and current trends in product innovations to enhance academic teaching; • Facilitated constructive dialogue and exchange of ideas between stakeholders on the best way to enhance academic teaching;• Engaged with key stakeholders in European industry and academia – in particular:- HEIs that have been actively using or developing leading edge innovative teaching methods,- National Associations affiliating chemical companies, including SMEs and having strong links to downstream users belonging to different sectors and using chemistry or chemical products in manufacturing consumer good and products for professional use.

Chemical and pharmaceutical industrial production employs millions of Europeans and offers all sorts of products, from plastics and metal alloys, to fertilizer, food and medical products for humans and animals. The European chemical industry is a €673 billion industry and the world’s top exporter and importer of chemicals, with a record €43.5 billion trade surplus in 2014.As one of the largest and most diversified industries globally, the European chemical industry supplies virtually all sectors of the economy, providing innovative and sustainable solutions to today’s economic and environmental challenges. It plays a vital role in providing all manufacturing sectors. It has created wealth and employment for millions of European citizens over the years. In the EU it is the leading manufacturing sector in terms of value added per employee. Access to process operators with relevant qualifications has been a growing problem. The shortage is due to different factors, including demographic change and a general lack of up-to-date training courses for those already working in the sector, and for young, potential recruits. To meet the challenges, the European Chemical Employers Group (ECEG) and the EMCEF (European Federation of Chemical and General Workers Unions) signed a European Framework Agreement on competence profiles for operators. The Agreement has contributed to the formulation of specific requirements regarding competencies operators must develop through vocational education and training. The ChemPharmVET project was based on previous achievements towards key competences for operators in the chemical industry with the overall objective to develop innovation in vocational education and training. The project was based on the units of learning outcomes developed in the PILE UP project with the target of developing curricula for the training of operators in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry on EQF level 4.With the further development of the PILE UP project with units of learning outcomes tested by stakeholders around Europe, a new European model curriculum and training programmes for VET providers for the training of operators in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry was created. The main project outcomes of ChemPharmVET are the development of:• the Pile Up matrix extensions, including additional units of learning outcomes for operators in thechemical industry;* a similar matrix of learning outcome units for operators in the pharmaceutical industry;* VET curricula, based on the matrixes, for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries;• the pedagogical concept to implement VET model program in the different target countries;• a new learning outcome based European model for VET that can be used for country specific curricula;• tools for recognition of prior learning.Through this delivery the project has addressed the challenges recognised by the social partners at EU and national levels in VET and has contributed to:• make it easier for young people to get the right competences (skills, knowledge and general aptitudes) and to use them in appropriate jobs• contribute to employment by equipping people with the right skills for the jobs of today and tomorrow in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry;• give employees the ability to acquire required qualifications in order to adapt to change and possible shifts in their career. In doing so, the project has facilitated to meet industrial, economic and technological changes in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry and enabling future mobility and development of the workforce;• improve quality and relevance in VET for operators in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, hereby improving their employability;• improve attractiveness of the vocational education and training among young people by providing up-to-date VET programmes with perspectives of mobility;• enhance creativity and innovation of VET by promotion of partnerships between the world of VET and the labour market;• support effectiveness of the labour market through the future supply of highly qualified and competitive specialists and decreasing the mismatch of qualifications.• improve practical skills of VET learners by involving employers in the process of VET, facilitating work based learning.Several of the outcomes are presented in multilingual versions at www.skillstools.eu , with the matrix solutions for self-assessment also to be found at www.skillsbank.eu

The situation in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries with stiff international competition requires a highly skilled workforce to secure quality and productivity. The sector represents a major part of the European process industry and where the industrial production employs 3,3 million Europeans in 94.000 enterprises with a multibillion turnover (2014: 1 078 billion €). This turnover is continually challenged by investments in the development of new products, the fact that patents are time limited, down to 10 years, with immediate releases of “copy products” from other parts of the world, intensifies the need for qualified staff rapidly taking on new tasks and challenges.Laboratory functions and process operation are responding to new requirements as concerns complexity and a safe and sustainable production. This is partly due to new methods and technologies, new types of equipment and respective operational procedures, but over the last years also the emphasis on safety and security in the processes and strict environmental and sustainability criteria.To be competitive in a fast developing market, the training quality, the relevance and flexibility of training provision between schools and work based learning is of utmost importance. Laboratory personnel and process operators with their skills and competences– tacit and tangible –represent a core part of the industry’s intellectual capital. This implies also that critical skills and crucial tacit knowledge acquired in workplace settings are central in the project. Video recordings of these performance based competences will be directly linked to the respective learning outcomes in the ECVET based multilingual qualification matrixes in Skillsbank.To meet the requirements linked to the shared responsibility between schools and companies in the securing of compatible standards between the training providers and in the work based learning, the ECVET principles are basis. Using learning outcomes carefully defined and organised in logical units, the core qualification criteria will be operationally defined. For transparency purposes these qualification definitions will be developed transnationally and in multilingual versions. They will be supported by video clips as best practice examples as well as for the documentation of individual learners’ performance towards certification and employability.A standard ECVET implementation is relying on precise definitions of learning outcomes organised in structured units. When the differentiation between Competence / Responsibility and Autonomy), Skills and Knowledge is activated in the description of individual LOs, certain elements of skills and competence documentation may be lacking. These characteristics are technically labelled as tacit knowledge – “silent knowledge” which forms the parts of a learning outcome which can only be seen, experienced and documented through practical performance.In the context of the priorities of the Erasmus+ programme, the horizontal one“Transparency and recognition of skills and qualifications”, is directly mirroring the project ambitions. With the focus on work based learning the idea is to update and develop in-school training through close interaction with the industry itself. This should secure the relevance aspect, and with the video recording of individual learners’ performance as well as best practice examples the quality aspect are covered as well. This is clearly asked for in the European VET priorities “Developing VET business partnerships aimed at promoting work-based learning in all its forms” and “increasing the quality of VET provision, the establishment of feedback loops to adapt VET provision based on outcomes, including by setting up or testing graduate tracking arrangements as part of quality assurance systems in line with the EQAVET recommendation”.This project pursue the following key objectives:• Improvement of training quality and relevance implementing video technology linked to ECVET oriented learning outcomes in the chemical and pharmaceutical sector;• Enhancing the ECVET defined learning outcomes with inclusion of tacit knowledge as documentation of performance of critical skills among process operators and laboratory technicians uploaded in the Skillsbank system;• Develop VET institutions and enhancement of VET-industry cooperation through work based learning;• Promoting recognition of work based learning, including prior learning independent of arena of experience, for permeability, flexible training pathways and alternative career options within the industry.The partnership comprises 10 partners from 7 countries (AT, CZ, DE, FR, IT, NO, SK)