ChemSkills
ChemSkills
Project ChemSkills
ERASMUS-EDU-2022-PI-ALL-INNO
Type of action: ERASMUS-LS
Proposal number: 101103234
Proposal acronym: ChemSkills
Duration (months): 48 (9/2023 - 8/2027)
Proposal title: ChemSkills: enabling the green and digital skills transformation of the chemical industry
Activity: ERASMUS-EDU-2022-PI-ALL-INNO-BLUEPRINT
Abstract:
The chemical industry is currently undergoing a quadruple or double twin transition. It encompasses green and digital transformation alongside circularity and
the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS). The initiative “ChemSkills: enabling the green and digital skills transformation of the chemical industry” is to
respond to these challenges and to identify and develop green and digital skills, in addition to skills to produce “safe and sustainable chemicals by design”
within the low-carbon energy intensive ecosystem.
The project will cover several sub-sectors of the chemical industry:
- plastics
- consumer chemicals
- fertilisers
- rubber
- pharmaceuticals
- petrochemicals.
It will map the already existing skills and develop emerging occupational profiles and related qualifications covering upper and post-secondary VET levels
(EQF levels 3 to 5) and tertiary levels (EQF levels 6 to 8).
The project will bring together stakeholders to jointly implement strategies to address skills gaps in the above mentioned sub-sectors. The key stakeholders
include social partners, business representations, research institutes, education and training providers, universities and public authorities, amongst others.
Assoc. Prof. Greguš represented our faculty at the ChemSkills consortium meeting in Milan
Milan, Italy – October 20–22, 2025
Last week, representatives of the ChemSkills project gathered in Milan for a two-day consortium meeting followed by a public conference hosted at Federchimica, the Italian Federation of the Chemical Industry. The meetings, held from October 20 to 22, 2025, brought together academic, industrial, and policy stakeholders from across Europe to discuss the progress of the ChemSkills project, funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme.
Our faculty was represented by Assoc. Prof. Greguš, who participated in discussions focused on developing innovative training modules, sectoral skills intelligence, and new educational approaches for the chemical industry.
The consortium meeting (October 21) was moderated by Anni Siltanen, ChemSkills Project Manager from Kemianteollisuus, and featured working sessions on project deliverables (WP5–10), training development led by the University of Twente, and sectoral skills intelligence coordinated by VSB – Technical University of Ostrava. Partners also reviewed progress on dissemination activities and upcoming project impacts, led by Newton University.
The subsequent public conference on October 22, moderated by Maria Xanthoudaki from the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan, provided a platform to present preliminary project results. Highlights included presentations on roadmap development, initial training modules, and contributions from leading European companies such as Intercos, Unifarco, Sun Chemical, and Richter Gedeon.
The final panel discussion, “Shaping Future Skills in European Industry,” brought together experts including Anni Siltanen and Jakub Stolfa from the Automotive Skills Alliance, who shared insights on aligning education with emerging industry needs.
Assoc. Prof. Greguš emphasized the importance of connecting academic excellence with industrial practice, underscoring our faculty’s active role in promoting innovation and skills development for Europe’s green and digital transitions.
Michal Greguš Represented Our Faculty at the ChemSkills Consortium Meeting in Brussels
On 01–02 April 2025, our colleague Michal Greguš actively participated in the ChemSkills consortium meeting, hosted at the European Plastics Converters (EuPC) offices in Brussels, Belgium.
The two-day meeting gathered partners from across Europe to discuss the latest developments within the ChemSkills project, aiming to boost skills development in the European chemical industry.
Key highlights from the meeting included:
• Urgent Action for Competitiveness: Frans Stokman from Petrochemicals Europe emphasized the need for swift measures to preserve the European chemical industry's global competitiveness. He introduced major political initiatives such as the Antwerp Declaration for a European Industrial Deal and the Clean Industrial Deal.
• Administrative Insights: Naïs Habermacher, Project Officer at the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), outlined the administrative and financial reporting requirements due in autumn 2025, linked to the second pre-financing payment.
• Advancements in Sectoral Skills Intelligence: Simona Jursova (VSB-Technical University of Ostrava) presented merged findings from Work Packages 5-10, invited feedback by the end of April, and announced the launch of the second project survey with a deadline of 30 June 2025.
• Communication and Dissemination: Tereza Šimčíková (Newton University) encouraged partners to strengthen project visibility through regular contributions to ChemSkills’ social media channels and requested feedback on skill card posts.
• Training Development: Leaders of Work Package 4 (University of Twente) showcased a strategy for developing modular training programs, highlighting best practices to support training creation among partners.
• Improved Coordination Recommendations: The Advisory Board, represented by Elisa Hensel (BAVC) and Andreas Bücker (FECCIA), proposed bi-monthly meetings for task leaders and two additional online meetings annually to ensure smoother communication across work packages.
The meeting concluded with an open discussion on future steps and management feedback.
The next ChemSkills consortium meeting and public conference is scheduled for 20–22 October 2025 in Milan, Italy.
We are proud of Michal Greguš's contribution to the project and look forward to seeing the impact of the ChemSkills initiative on enhancing skills and training in the chemical sector.
