<< Background >>EQ-WOOD project-European Quality qualifications for the Woodwork and furniture industry-aims to contribute to the development of innovation capacity and competitiveness of the European wood and furniture industry, by designing and providing the Curriculum of a new vocational profile, Innovation Advisor. The curriculum is offered both as a Full Qualification, aimed primarily at young people, and as a set of independent learning modules aimed at the continuous professional development of workers.<< Objectives >>EQ-WOOD aims to boost the innovation and the competitiveness of the traditional woodworking and furniture sector at Eu level, facing the skill mismatching and the progressive ageing of the workforce. A new training path and an online platform have been developed to train young students, workers and unemployed people, able to generate innovative, sellable and production effective new products. At the same time, EQ-WOOD aims to create a sound sectoral network to exchange good practices.<< Implementation >>After a deep analysis of the sectoral training needs , a new Curriculum has been developed, identifying the KSCs, required to the new professional profile of the Innovation Advisor for the furniture sector. The Curriculum consists of 5 interactive learning units, tested by approximately 270 workers and students and promoted trough several Country events and through a final conference with institutional representatives and innovation experts. The training course is online, free and attractive.<< Results >>The new CV of the Innovation Advisor for the wood and furniture sector. The curriculum consists of 5 units useful for training the new figure who will manage innovation within companies. The e-learning platform and the innovative training course are available to everyone, free and without barriers. The course is entirely online with multimedia content and accessible insights. The project has created a stable network that will continue to cooperate in the future to develop other new training path

The project has developed a European learning dimension in the vocational training system (FP) and in the productive world of Brianza territory through the realization of mobility for different target groups in the manufacturing sector (wood-furnishing, mechanical, electrical). It has been chosen to invest in this sector as, in addition to being a key lever in the Brianza and Lombard economy, manufacturing has been identified by the European Union as a food engine to reduce the unemployment rate and give European growth back.Aims:- increasing the employment opportunities of young people in the territorial labour market through the enhancement of key competences (education for active citizenship in Europe, motivation for language learning, development of responsibility and autonomy);- encouraged the innovation of training processes and developed the skills of operators;- encouraged the knowledge of different cultural and professional contexts and promoted the transition and integration between training and productive contexts (continuous comparison between FP institutes, trade associations and industry companies);- Promote a European network of training institutions for the implementation of ECVET.In order to achieve these objectives, the Consortium has made it possible to strengthen territorial relations already active locally, as well as to develop them in an international dimension. In the project the Consortium is composed of:- the proposing and coordinating subject has gained experience through mobility projects;- training agencies (sending agencies) operating in the three manufacturing sectors in Brianza (wood-furnishing, mechanical, electrical), with numerous direct contacts with the business world;- trade associations (intermediary bodies) representing the companies in the sectors concerned;- companies chosen for their ability to represent the sector in its local peculiarities.The international network was made up of 7 partners, of which Italy is the inviting country and 6 host countries: France, Germany, Latvia, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Spain. These partners have been identified because they are competent in the professional sectors involved and interested in developing synergies that can organize mobilities also for the future.The project developed over a 24-month period and enabled mobility to be targeted at 3 target students: FP students, graduates and trainers for a total of 100 mobilities.Specifically, with respect to FP students, there were 84 foreseen for 66 mobility, while numbers for new graduates (6) and trainers (10) remained unchanged.FP student internships (3/4 weeks) were integrated into training courses and were recognized as training credits by the sending organizations.The mobility of neo-graduates was accomplished over a period of 6 months and has allowed them to increase their skills as well as to facilitate new employment opportunities in Europe. 4-day trainers' mobility has allowed the exchange of good practices related to new methodologies and tools for non-formal and informal competence certification, as well as the recognition and equivalence of titles.The activities envisaged for each of the project phases were repeated for each of the 2 years of development. The implementation times were different according to targets.1) Planning. Appointment of the Steering Committee which involved all national partners and signed the Collaboration Protocol; formulation of the notice to beneficiaries and definition of selection criteria and tools. 2) Selection. Inform the beneficiaries; collected the nominations and selected the candidates; selected beneficiaries; an agreement has been signed to share the objectives and the commitment to follow a preparatory course. 3) Preparation. Defined, with the sending organizations and with the category associations, the contents evaluated and recognized; preparation of socio-cultural knowledge and workplace related to the host country; shared the didactic / educational goals; defined logistical and training aspects. 4) Realization. Invited participants in the context of the host country; managed the stay and internships. 5) Monitoring. Evaluate and recognize acquired learning (for pupils); record the learning outcomes; issued EuroPass-Mobility certificates.The project had implications for beneficiaries (skills development) and organizations (organizational and training innovations). In the long run, it has created continuity of collaboration in Europe and the creation of synergies in the formative and productive sectors.

SmarTrain joins VET providers and Research and Technology Organisations from the Woodworking and Furniture Manufacturing Industries to challenge and broaden the horizons of European VET systems. The project will detect the core changes required to include new SKCs (Skills, Knowledge and Competencies) in the official curricula of VET, aligned with the current and future demands of the wood&furniture sector. Hitherto it addresses a major TRAINING GAP between VET curricula and companies’ real needs for transformation. Acknowledging that 40% of workers does not have sufficient digital skills (Eurostat 2015), SmarTrain fosters the EVOLUTION OF ENTERPRISES TOWARDS THE INDUSTRY 4.0, exploiting previous initiatives aimed to facilitate this undeniable new industrial revolution for both companies and their future workers. The main objective is the acquisition of SKCs about CIRCULAR ECONOMY, ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING and INTELLIGENT FURNITURE, which require new (soft) skills in this digital era: digital literacy, curiosity and imagination, critical analysis of information, entrepreneurship, collaboration in networks, agility and adaptability, critical thinking and problem solving. SmarTrain is a collaboration of RTOs, an European umbrella organisation (AIDIMME, COSMOB, INNOVAWOOD) and 3 VET centres (CIPFP Catarroja, ENAIP Lombardia, WOODWIZE), paired by countries. SmarTrain composes a network fostering VERTICAL (between sectoral and VET centres), HORIZONTAL (between centers of the same typology) and MULTIDISCIPLINARY links for exchange and collaboration, all of them forming a CIRCULAR CONSORTIUM in touch with the labour market and the educational sector.The initiative includes the development of three IOs:• IO1: Innovative open training material on Circular Economy and Digitisation (AdditiveManufacturing, Intelligent Furniture) including e-Learning, ready-to-use for VET-learners in the wood&furniture sector.• IO2: Cross-cultural course for VET students & teachers consisting of 3 cooperative VET school projects (Project Based Learning and Co-creational Learning).• IO3: Open Education Handbook and Best Practices for VET stakeholders: from VET students to hiring companies.Both students and accompanying teachers will acquire fundamental SKCs and new soft skills, and will participate in National MEs to expose their final pieces of furniture as prime showcases for INNOVATION MANAGEMENT incorporated into current VET systems. SmartTrain promotes fellowship, collaboration, support and synergy, and above all, Smart Attitudes.Therefore, the initiative will give much room for the INCLUSION of participants ‘with different skills’. All our students are going to join forces and talents. In every student there are for sure hidden aptitudes, expertise and genius to be offered to the rest of the group.We aim at the participation of some 30% of students with lesser chances, students that are particularly, facing difficulties and obstacles to participate in international projects. They will participate in the same activities as the rest of students, coming from other VET Centres. All of them will perfectly complement each other, fitting as the pieces of a puzzle in order to make the most of this project: development of a piece of furniture from scratch, applying innovative elements of CIRCULAR ECONOMY and DIGITISATION. In total, max.10 students + 3 teachers coming from the wood and furniture VET institutions will be trained within the SmarTrain framework.The METHODOLOGY carried out will be as follows:•TRANSFER of knowledge from RTOs to VET centres.•COOPERATIVE APPROACH, which will aim to organise activities into academic and social learning experiences, leading to structuring positive interdependence. Students will work in groups to produce a furniture collectively toward academic goals.•Active and INDUCTIVE learning methods, such as PROJECT BASED LEARNING, paired with the ever-growing technology access available in the facilities of the European VET centres will ensure a deeper comprehension and understanding of new technologies. •Gathering of feedback from the VET stakeholders in this experience. After all, in the European labour market, a gradual upward movement of the increasingly specific and high-profile competencies is occurring. Companies are demanding professionals to deal with digital transformation. However, people looking for jobs rarely meet the ever-demanding requirements of industry 4.0. The ability to work as a team according to the methods of collaboration of less hierarchical and structured working environments, MORE TECHNOLOGICAL and DYNAMIC becomes fundamental. What must be clear, however, is that the 4th Industrial Revolution is about people, not machines. SmarTrain bets on the provision of this skilled workforce in the wood and furniture sector and the development of the competencies demanded by the companies, thanks to the establishment of a circular network of SKCs provision and reception.

ROSEWOOD4.0 builds on the well-established ROSEWOOD network of Regional Hubs connecting multiple actors along the forest value chain to reinforce the sustainability of wood mobilisation in Europe. The new action will especially reinforce and enlarge the links with Eastern Europe by creating a new Eastern Hub including new countries (Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine). Secondly, the action puts special emphasis on digitalisation (forestry industry 4.0) and digital tools (social media, platforms, e-learning) for training and coaching, enabling practitioners to share know-how with much wider impact. The focus on ICT addresses the two main challenges in wood mobilisation: 1) better access to resources through defragmentation of forest owners and 2) increased volume to the market and higher transparency. The project’s extensive dissemination of best practices, technological and non-technological innovations and research results feeds directly into national and regional Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) in forestry and builds an efficient interface with the EIP-AGRI and the EIP Raw Materials, supported by the European networks EFI and InnovaWood. The multi-actor action closes knowledge gaps, connects and transfers tangible knowledge and best practice between forestry practitioners across the whole Europe. In an open innovation environment, the coordination of Regional Hubs facilitates also new opportunities for exploitation of near to market innovations and fosters business partnerships between stakeholders, aligned with local and regional development plans, to complement existing or initiate new Operational Groups within the EIP-AGRI. ROSEWOOD4.0 will contribute to enhanced competitiveness of the forest industry and to vital development in rural areas within the European Bioeconomy by responding to the imminent need for broader sharing of ICT-driven solutions in forestry.