News

KETs skills priorities to be incorporated in new Work Programmes for Horizon 2020

The complementary study launched by DG RTD aims to provide the Commission with the analysis and recommendations on skills in the NMBP areas (Nanotechnologies, New Materials, Industrial Biotechnology and Advanced Manufacturing Technologies). The study aims to tackle the growing skills imbalances, both from the Horizon 2020 and from policy perspectives.

The results of the study will be primarily used for fostering skill-related activities in research-based projects, while also considering an opportunity to embed the skills aspects into the monitoring activities of such projects. Another intention is to expand the variety of H2020 project beneficiaries and include other relevant groups of stakeholders, not previously included. The work on the study was commissioned to PwC Europe.

The study aims to address the issue of skills within the following four thematic areas: (1) Technical skills; (2) Mobility (including rotation of KETs employees between different KETs, application areas and phases of the value chain); (3) Entrepreneurial skills; and (4) HR management skills. The analysis within the four thematic areas will be based on desk-research combined with in-depth interviews with the relevant stakeholder groups including both academia and industry, and particularly SMEs, as well as supporting structures and other relevant organisations. The results of the study are expected to become available in the summer 2015.