Erasmus+ Sector Skills Alliance 2019 Work programme. Call for proposals for the 3rd wave of the Blueprint for 2019
An interesting funding opportunity under Erasmus+ to address skills needs in the energy sector.
The "Blueprint for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills" is one of the key actions of the New Skills Agenda for Europe launched last in June 2016.It is a framework for strategic cooperation between key stakeholders (e.g. business, trade unions, research, education and training institutions, public authorities) in a given economic sector. The aim is to develop concrete actions to address skills needs to support the overall sectoral strategy. The selected projects are funded through an Erasmus+ call.
The sector "Energy value chain – digitalisation" has been included in the draft Erasmus+ 2019 Work programme as eligible to apply for 3rd Wave Blueprint support through an Erasmus+ Sector Skills Alliance.
The call will be published at the end of October and projects must be presented by the end of February.
The Alliance must include at least 2 of the following areas:
• Digitalisation of energy transmission and distribution networks including smart grids and smart metering systems;
• Information and communication systems (ICT systems) for the energy sector including data management and cyber-security;
• New energy services including demand response and other energy data related services;
• Transition and digitalisation of energy supply and generation.
Background Information on Last Call for 2018:
The general Erasmus+ Call for Proposals 2018 EAC/A05/2017 was published in the Official Journal. Immediately after, the Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2018 (Sector Skills Alliances) was published by DG EAC on the Europa Server and the Sector Skills Alliances were presented on the website of the Education, Audio-visual and Culture Executive Agency, together with guidance and supporting documents facilitating the application for a grant. In the Erasmus Plus Programme guide for 2018 (attached) you will find the general procedural rules and information on eligibility. This year's call for 2019 will be very similar.
Sector Skills Alliances aim at tackling skills gaps with regard to one or more occupational profiles in a specific sector. They do so by identifying existing or emerging sector-specific labour market needs (demand side), and by enhancing the responsiveness of initial and continuing vocational education and training (VET) systems, at all levels, to the labour market needs (supply side).
The following activities were supported:
• Lot 1 - Sector Skills Alliances for skills needs identification will examine the skills situation in a sector and provide clear and detailed evidence of what the needs and gaps are.
• Lot 2 - Sector Skills Alliances for design and delivery of vocational education & training will work to design and deliver training content for vocational programmes for one or several related profession/s in a sector, as well as teaching and training methodologies.
• Lot 3 - Sector Skills Alliances for implementing a new strategic approach (“Blueprint”) to sectoral cooperation on skills will develop a sector skills strategy. They will be implemented in six sectors experiencing severe skills shortages: Additive manufacturing, Construction, Maritime shipping, Paper-based value chain, Renewable energy & green technologies, Steel industry.
The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at a maximum of 28 Mio €. Depending on the Lot, grants will amount between € 330.000 (Lot 1) and €4.000.000 (Lot 3). It is expected to fund around 15 proposals. An online Info session took take place on 1 December 2017 to provide interested potential applicants with further information on the Call.
For further information see the attached links.