It is estimated that, by 2030, 14% of the global workforce may have to switch occupation due to advances in digitization, automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Within the aviation sector, these advances will inevitably lead to new scenarios and will have an impact on the knowledge, skills and competencies that will be required in order to succeed in the workplace. It is therefore critical that we try to predict and understand the changes that will occur in order to be able to future-proof the aviation workforce.
To address this challenge, the Institute of Aerospace Technologies at the University of Malta is collaborating with 11 partners from industry and academia in a new Erasmus+ project called skill-UP: Skilling, upskilling and reskilling in the future Air Transport. The project was launched in January and is three years long, with a total budget of €888,105. It is being led by Deep Blue Srl, with partners from Italy, France, Portugal, Turkey and Malta.
Skill-UP will focus on four key target groups – air traffic controllers, airline pilots, airport operators and drone operators – and will address the needs of new entrants, professionals, employers and training providers. The role of the University of Malta in skill-UP will be to: analyse the transition from education to work; contribute to the identification of future work scenarios; design and develop a training module; and disseminate the results of the project.
In May, the University of Malta will be organising a scale-up event where it will introduce skill-UP to the key stakeholders of the local aviation sector. Further information about this event will be communicated in the coming months.