Training

Projects

AEROFUSE

An alliance for the Future of the AEROnautics and Upstream segment Skills Evolution

Challenge

The European Aerospace and Defence (AS&D) ecosystem is undergoing a critical transformation driven by digitalisation, sustainability imperatives, and geopolitical tensions. Despite its role as a pivotal engine of innovation, the industry is hindered by a significant skills gap and mismatches. Current initiatives fall short of providing a clear identification of future skill requirements and necessary training programmes; furthermore, they lack comprehensive coverage of essential technological domains such as aircraft production, satellite manufacturing, and airport infrastructure, thereby undermining the sector’s long-term resilience and competitiveness.

Solution / Main Objective

AEROFUSE establishes a strategic cooperation network between academia, industry, and public entities to bridge skills gaps within the European Aerospace and Defence (AS&D) ecosystem. The project employs a reactive approach in its initial phase, followed by a proactive strategy to identify current and future skill requirements, leveraging previous experience to develop innovative educational methodologies and tools. Its core objective is to align Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training (VET) curricula with emerging professional profiles, ensuring that the European workforce possesses industry-relevant and transferable skills.

Objectives, Activities and Expected/Achieved Results

Develop a Strategic Approach to Sectoral Cooperation on Skills
SO1: To foster sustainable collaboration between stakeholders for legacy skills/trainings and innovative developments to build new skills reports and training courses
SO2: To create Sectoral Skills Intelligence with current and future skills/job roles’ shortages
SO3: To analyse available training offer alignment with sector needs
SO4: To create a strategic plan to support sector needs and workforce development
SO5: To ensure stakeholder participation for continuous improvement and validation of project outcomes

Design and deliver European actor wide core curricula
SO6: To design and deliver VET training courses to address urgent skills needs (reactive response)
SO7: To design and deliver new VET/HEI curricula recognised according to European standards (proactive response)

Design a Long-Term Action Plan for the progressive roll-out
SO8: To build and implement a communication and dissemination strategy for AEROFUSE, including long-term strategy.
SO9: To formulate a comprehensive long-term strategy that amplifies results through a detailed exploitation plan and thorough impact assessment.

Project Reference

Grant Agreement No 101246263

Funding

Intervention Region

Europe

IPN Investment

313.328,10

Total Eligible

4.997.654,54

EC Funding – Total

3.998.123,63

EC Funding – IPN

250.662,48

Duration

48 months

Start Date

01/12/2025

End Date

30/11/2029

Approval Date

2025-07-24

Consortium

Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN)
QUASAR – Human Capital, Lda
Associacio Cluster de Aeronautica y Espacio Del Pais Vasco
Gip Emploi Roissy GDG
Gisig Geographical Information Systems International Group Associazione
Airport Regions Council
Aviaspace Bremen EV
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Laurea – Ammattikorkeakoulu OY
Politechnika Rzeszowska Im Ignacego Lukasiewicza Prz
Fondazione E. Amaldi
Drillster BV
Fundacion Para La Formacion Tecnica En Maquina – Herramienta
Ege University
Azulchain, Lda
Universidad de Sevilla
European Federation For Welding Joining and Cutting
FDC SARL
European Forum of Technical and Vocational Education and Training
QB Lda
Space Y
GEO SAT
Center For Sikkerhedsindustrien I Danmark
Space Skills Ltd

Keywords

Identification of skills needs;
Entrepreneurship;
Digital skills;
Skills intelligence;
Skills strategy;
Aerospace and defence;
Green Skills;
ECVET, ESCO, Work-based Learning;
Vocational Training;
Sectoral Cooperation;
Curriculum Design and Development.