<< Background >>Over the past few years, civil applications of Drones or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) technologies have been transitioning from purely industrial applications to commercial ones and their impact on transport operations can no longer be ignored. The concept of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has been coined to describe a new type of air traffic at very low altitude over populated areas. Despite the readiness of the technology, the multidisciplinary employee teams of Local Authorities are not prepared for its integration in transport plans. There are no Training Programs for employees of Local Authorities to cultivate the required knowledge and skills to manage UAM, especially from the position of authorising, implementing and controlling UAM operations. Previous experience of Local Authorities with innovative transport services has indicated that early engagement and training of employees constitutes a key factor for the efficient integration of new technologies in transport systems.<< Objectives >>UAMschool4cities addresses in a timely manner this need and opportunity, aiming at the creation of a Training Programme for Local Authority employees to get familiar with the UAM concept and acquire necessary skills to deal with the uptake of UAM services following the recent approval of the U-Space (urban airspace) by the European Commission (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/664; effective from 26 January 2023) that allows the provision of drone services in urban environments. In order to foster employability, socio-educational and personal development, our curriculum will also be suitable for young Professionals not yet familiar with UAM. In particular, UAMschool4cities aims to create a MOOC program for building the capacity of future employees of any background interested in entering the Public Administration sector to enable them to (1) familiarize with UAM concepts and key technologies, (2) keep up with relevant UAM regulatory frameworks while determining the challenges and for Local Authorities (3) include UAM in their urban development agendas and (4) start developing responsible and socially acceptable UAM services for the benefit of their citizens.<< Implementation >>Our project will develop partnerships between Cities, Training Institutions, ICT, Drone companies and VET providers aiming at promoting and providing initial and/or continuing training to their staff in order to help people gain skills and effectively integrate these career pursuits into their work setting which is in line with the VET priority: Enhancing access to training and qualifications for all. To achieve this objective, a concrete methodology including the following activities will be applied:a) Conduction of a current needs’ analysis in skills mismatches in UAMb) Preparation of a Training Course for “UAM for Cities Certificate”.c) Development of a Training programme for ‘’UAM for Cities Certificate”.d) Implementation of the curricula to relevant personnel and certification.<< Results >>Through these activities, it is envisaged that, by the end of the project, people in a minimum of 10 cities will be trained and awarded an “UAM for Cities Certificate” By developing a new learning framework for “UAM experts”, the project´s impact will be achieved through:a) Enhanced employability through skills and competences strengthening and access to training and qualification on equal termsb) The establishment of a coherent methodology with specific tools that will enhance the provision of transport services covering emerging needsc) the establishment of a mechanism that will provide cities with skilled and qualified UAM experts, increasing standardization of servicesd) the design and delivery of a comprehensive framework for UAM experts to national and EU administrationse) A coherent multi-level dissemination strategy to reach target groups, ensure that project results´dissemination and sustainable, specific and measurable exploitation specific, while maximizing its reach and impact to relevant stakeholders and beneficiaries.