CONTEXT The digital transition alters requirements for employees across all steps of the value chain– from development on through production to sales and brings the need of completely new skills in employees. According to the New Skills Agenda for Europe “Work in industry at all levels from operators to engineers and administrative staff will increasingly consist of designing, maintaining and supervising intelligent machines that assist in the performance of tasks. This will require different skill sets. Future jobs will require an appropriate mix of basic, soft and technical skills, notably the digital and business-specific skills that education and training systems are not yet fully addressing. Industry has an active role to play in the definition and training of the key skill sets and competences.”(COM(2016) 381final) According to PwC Global survey, 2016 regarding Industry 4.0 among SMEs, respondents report their biggest implementation challenge isn’t choosing the right technology, it’s the lack of digital culture and skills in their organisation. As Industry 4.0 solutions would vary depending on the type of manufacturing, in order to acquire the necessary skills, employees have to be trained in the work place–work-based learning (WBL). Yet, “SMEs face particular challenges in engaging with WBL, given their smaller workforces, limited resources and lack of familiarity with the WBL regulatory and administrative framework.” (2013, EC, WBL in Europe, Practices & Policy Pointers) Furthermore, as mentioned the industry needs to be active in the definition and training of these key skills, not yet addressed by training and educational systems, which can only happen through the development of partnerships between business, VET and other stakeholders (social partners/chambers, policy makers, etc.) aimed at promoting WBL in the field of Industry 4.0 with regard to preparing employees for the “factory of the future”. AIMS&OBJECTIVES INDUCE 4.0 is aimed at establishing sustainable VET business partnerships aimed at promoting work-based learning on the topic of Industry 4.0, with special attention to apprenticeship training, by involving social partners, companies and VET providers. The specific objectives of the project are: +creating flexible learning package for work-based learning aimed at providing fundamental technical knowledge on the topic of Industry 4.0 +creating thorough methodology for WBL current and future (VET students/ apprentices) SME employees on the topic of Industry 4.0 and thus boosting SMEs’ capacity for transition by nurturing the necessary skills for the “factory of the future” TARGET GROUPS INDUCE 4.0 addresses the needs of the following target groups: +Managers of manufacturing SMEs +Heads of departments (production, logistics, etc.) in manufacturing SMEs +Future employees of manufacturing SMEs (vocational students/apprentices), graduates from technical specialties +VET providers/trainers/consultants INTELLECTUAL OUTPUTS The project employs life-cycle methodology, which implies a sequence of activities for planning, executing and disseminating the project results. In the lifetime of the project, the following intellectual outputs will be developed: O1. State-of-the-art analysis on the knowledge & skills gaps on the topic of Industry 4.0 and the requirements on WBL O2. INDUCE 4.0 training course O3. INDUCE 4.0 Practical methodology for WBL TRANSNATIONAL DIMESION INDUCE 4.0 project aims to address the changes that are brought by the 4th industrial revolution which will inevitably affect the manufacturing sector of all EU members. Hence, to ensure adequate response to these changes, a pan-European effort is needed. The consortium’s complementary expertise, background and experience in the field of automation and robotisation, ICT and VET will result in a flexible interdisciplinary teaching materials and WBL methodology on the topic of Industry 4.0 that can be used by SMEs on EU level and thus “induce” their successful transition to the factory of the future. IMPACT The overall long-term impact sought by the project is to contribute to diminishing the skills & knowledge gaps between skills provided by VET and the ones sought by employers in the manufacturing sector for the factory of the future, through the creation of sustainable VET-business cooperation.