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Are you developing skills that won’t be automated?

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“Humans an edge over robots”

With Industry 4.0, many jobs will be automated in the next decade. We will lose human power in jobs that are repetitive and routine. Employers say that they are looking for candidates who have other skills such as “soft skills”.

These sought-after abilities fit perfectly with the sorts of things that people can do well but are and will continue to be difficult to automate. Therefore, our educational system should concentrate not simply on how people interact with technology, but also on how they can do things that technology will not be doing soon.

Find out more about what skills won’t be automated in this article published in the Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2019/09/are-you-developing-skills-that-wont-be-automated?ab=at_art_art_1x1

TRAIN THE TRAINERS online workshop for Sky 4.0 SOFT SKILLS

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How can we upskill to ensure the soft skills development that is customized for Industry 4.0 and help current and future aviation workers go through the digital changes of tomorrow? We were working hard to answer this question with trainers and aviation HR employees during one week of training moderated by Aviation Valley – the Sky4.0 project leader.

Over 30 participants took part in the SKY4.0 5-days international blended learning event from 28.06.2021 to 2.07.2021. Six sessions were dedicated to the following soft skills: Analytical Thinking, Change Adaptability, Critical Thinking, Initiative, Intellectual Curiosity, and Cognitive Flexibility.

The aim of the meetings was to deepen the participant’s knowledge of the didactic means that could be used in teaching these soft skills. The presentations were followed by fruitful discussions with some extraordinary and useful conclusions such as:

  • Before you start training – take into account the type of organization you are going to work with and try to understand their problem first!
  • Do not give answers – inspire to find ones!
  • Use exercises such as Socratic Questions blended with other techniques, be creative, make it active for the participants!

We hope that after our training week the trainers are able to identify key soft skills components of our training program for Industry 4.0 and describe a range of teaching methods and resources, with the advantages and disadvantages of each.

ASSESSING INDUSTRY 4.0 READINESS

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Industry 4.0 holds the promise of a new era of globalization. Yet the latest survey identifies companies successfully implementing Industry 4.0 technologies, many senior executives remain less less prepared than they think they are.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution enables an increasingly globalized world, one in which advanced technologies can drive new opportunities, diverse ideas can be heard, and new forms of communication may come to the fore. But how are leaders adjusting? The recent survey suggests many who think they are ready may still not be as prepared as they need to be. But the good news is leaders seem to be gaining a much deeper understanding of Industry 4.0, are increasingly aware of the challenges before them, and are viewing the actions needed for success more realistically. Today there are several established models for a company Industy 4.0 readiness available, sucha as Self- Check for Businesses(VDMA) or Advanced Manufacturing company Scan (ADMA). They allow companies to assess their overall status in. If you would like to check out and assess your company status: https://www.industrie40-readiness.de/?lang=en (VDMA- Industry 4.0 Readiness Online Self-Check for Businesses) https://www.surveymonkey.de/r/YSYDV9Y (Advanced Manufacturing Company Scan) For more information you can check: https://hbr.org/sponsored/2019/03/how-leaders-are-navigating-the-fourth-industrial-revolution

Join us for Sky4.0 project final webinar!

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Join us for Sky4.0 project final webinar:  SOFT SKILLS for Industry 4.0 in Aviation – implementing CHANGE on the 1st of July 2021 at 11:00 CET (Poland, Spain), 10:00 Portugal, and 12:00 Turkey. For 3 years, the Sky4.0 Erasmus+ project has aimed to help aeronautical meeting the challenges of Industry 4.0 by improving the soft skills of their human resources. Now we would like to share the project results with you and your company or school!

The project partners and guests will be presenting and discussing our three main outputs:

1) INDUSTRY 4.0 Soft Skills Text & Work Book:

  • Training Curricula for trainers and teachers
  • Information & Training Packages for current aviation industry workers

 2) INDUSTRY 4.0 Soft Skills Students Text & Work Book

  • Sky 4.0 Lessons and Moodle interactive courses for future aviation industry workers

3) INDUSTRY 4.0 SOFT SKILLS WHITE PAPER with guidelines for the aeronautical companies and schools

Join trainers, HR managers, aviation companies representatives, current and future aviation industry workers and learn first-hand, how these skills will support you and your professional path in aviation. Let’s learn the basic steps to get ready for Industry 4.0 by improving: Critical Thinking, Cognitive Flexibility, Intellectual Curiosity, Change Adaptability, Analytical Thinking, and Initiative.

Please register for our event when Sky 4.0 Team will be hosting you online from Poland! The registration is open until the 29th of June.

REGISTER HERE: https://forms.gle/78c9Uy6y3ydKbnDJ7

SOFT SKILLS for Industry 4.0 – Implementing change!

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Every aviation company, especially production companies, aims to improve Industry 4.0 readiness. We know how important is to support managers in identifying strategic actions to reach this goal. And we are certain that key soft skills are necessary to reach maximum benefits from the adoption of I4.0 paradigms, especially higher competitiveness.

The transformation of the companies aiming to be effective within the Industry 4.0 frames requires not only a clear vision and strategy of change but also an effective communication of the strategy to the company employees.

Assessing Industry 4.0 readiness does not mean only measuring how much technical skills the employees have or to what extent a company adopted the key Industry 4.0 technologies such as Augmented Reality, Autonomous Robots, or the Internet of Things. For the long-term benefit of the company, we need to adapt our way of thinking.

The development of 6 soft skills defined by Sky 4.0 makes possible open dialog with the company staff in search of creative solutions to the new and specific problems. The guidelines for the aeronautical companies regarding Industry 4.0 implementation in the SOFT SKILLS for Industry 4.0 WHITE PAPER will hopefully open door to implement this change in practice.

Sky4.0 project final International Conference is around the corner!

Please save the date for the 1st of July 2021 at 11:00 CET when Sky 4.0 Team will host trainers, HR managers, aviation companies representatives to attend the event. Join current and future aviation industry workers and learn more about our key 6 soft skills. Learn first-hand, how these skills may support implementing the Industry 4.0 change in your company.

THE ONLY THING CONSTANT IN LIFE IS CHANGE!

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The COVID-19 turned our world upside-down! In a matter of days, our lives changed dramatically, in all aspects: family, friends, leisure, work… We were “trapped” in our houses, and after a while, with almost anything to do… Initially, we blocked and embraced a sedentary life where the main activity of the day was watching movies on the sofa, and that could have lasted for the whole past year… BUT, that was not our story! We reinvented ourselves, we adapted new forms to work, new forms of having fun, new forms of communication with others, and new forms of enjoying life! And that is the beauty about humankind when facing challenges, we evolve, we grow, we CHANGE!

In the past years, change adaptability had been considered a crucial skill that employers look for and promote in their employees! The current pandemic situation highlighted its importance! Accordingly, to the World Economic Forum (2020), when top employers were questioned about important trends for 2025, one of the main skills highlighted as critical to be developed until 2025 was CHANGE ADAPTABILITY! The urgent need for workers resilient and flexible to change is even more evident in technological sectors, where innovation is a constant, as the Aviation Sector!

In Sky 4.0, we acknowledge the societal and technological challenges the Aviation Industry regularly faces and included Change Adaptability as one of our six soft skills essential to effectively deal with Industry 4.0 in the Aviation Industry.

Moreover, Sky 4.0 consortium developed training materials and curricula for change adaptability not only for Aviation companies that want to support the evolution of their current workers but also for Future Workers, who want to be prepared to enter the aviation market with the best version of themselves!

Soon we will share all our training resources about Change Adaptability and the other Sky 4.0 soft skills! Keep tuned, and most important keep open to CHANGE because the only thing constant in life is CHANGE!

Pilots, engineers and aviation operation specialists put a spotlight on soft skills in the aviation sector!

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The Learn & Fly ERASMUS+ project team completed elaboration of the Careers KIT describing 60 different aviation professions: from designing, through manufacturing to air transport and flight operations. The young generation, mainly 15-17 years old students, were also engaged in aircraft construction projects. The challenge here was to inspire them to follow the carrier within the aerospace sector. That is why, as a project team, we had asked aviation professionals to provide testimonies for different occupations and their career paths. This way students could learn more about the real work environment.

Back then, we wanted to know what matters most for these professionals in mostly technical professional experience. We were also curious what message they would like to pass on to young future industry workers – youngsters, students, and interns. Now, reviewing these testimonies again, we were genuinely stroked by how often our respondents talk about…soft skills!

Is it surprising? Maybe a little bit, because in the survey we have not mentioned any social or personal soft skill nor even have asked about social or personal development. The questions we had asked were as follows: a. What do you like most about your professional work? b. What surprised or pleased you the most at work? Why would you recommend this career path to others? c. What difficulties did you encounter at work and how did you deal with them? d. Which part of the educational path was the most important? e. Other interesting experiences related to the industry?

In Poland, we have gathered 25 complete testimonies of Polish professionals working in diverse positions and with different specializations in Aviation Valley companies. The majority – 17 out of 25 of respondents mentioned soft skills as a part of their professional experience and as important as their technical and operational knowledge.

Many of the respondents described ABILITY OF ADAPTATION TO CHANGE as typical for the aviation sector:

  • I was surprised by the rapid rhythm of work and changes of priorities – you have to make decisions dynamically. Metallurgist
  • It requires you to focus, be flexible, and be responsible. It is [working in aviation] full of challenges, but you also would not be bored here. Junior Metallurgist
  • Continuous risk identification, process risk management, and keeping it at an acceptable level. Safety Manager

Others underlined the importance of COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY and TEAM BUILDING SKILLS:

  • I was positively surprised by how warm I was received by the employees who were willing to help and teach me. It is worth trying your hard at aviation, but it is a job that requires knowledge and openness to new challenges. Junior Constructor
  • Professional work also allows me to improve on what I have learned before as well as get to know and develop new solutions and technologies. Working in an aviation company also allows me to meet new people, cultures.Mechanical Engineer of Aircraft Engines
  • The most interesting aspect of the work is creativity, the ability to implement and verify your ideas, continuous development, and direct contact with highly specialized industries.Construction Engineer of Special Tools (Director of the department)
  • Interpersonal skills and creativity in the introduction of new solutions, good practices, or instructions for conduct are of great importance in my work. – Quality Control Engineer
  • There are several advantages to working at the airport, including the ability to work in English, communing with airplanes and other aircraft, the ability to prove yourself in emergencies requiring quick decisions, and acting under time pressure. – Airport Operational Officer

But that were pilots who expressed how INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY and  complexity of skills required for the job is important:

  • For me, the most important part of the educational path was self-improvement and goal realization (…).Commercial Pilot (F.O. Airbus A320/321)
  • The implementation of the aviation task is associated with the involvement of all skills, abilities, attention – in one word – all resources.Rescue and Military Pilot (Major Rank)
  • In pilot education the most important are: fluency in English, spatial orientation, and the ability to the permanent acquisition of information and skills. The last is very important for processing this information for decisions to be made.Commercial Pilot (First Officer)

ANALYTICAL AND CRITICAL THINKING was also an important part of at least 10 testimonies such as:

  • The aviation industry is very demanding, which means that all tasks should be carried out very conscientiously and accurately. (…) Together with our colleagues, we create a well-coordinated team that solves the task together and help each other.Intern in Strength Analysis Department

Aeronautics requires mostly skills in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and the challenges related to them are well-defined and ambitious and give most of our respondents a strong feeling of purpose in their work. Nevertheless, coming changes related to Industry 4.0, are primarily the transition to a different level of communication between the organization and its environment. Therefore the Qualification Map for the aviation sector will need to include more and more soft skills. The industry workers already give these skills the importance which is going to grow stronger in coming years.

The National Multiplier Events: “A flight around the world”

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During these last months, three out of four Sky4.0 partners held national multiplier events where they presented interactive materials and introduced future aviation employees to online courses focused on developing soft skills. Each country specialized its focus to a particular soft skill:

  • Poland: Cognitive flexibility is an important skill for a job interview in the aviation sector – pilot workshops in Aviation Valley!

The pilot training for future aviation industry workers in Rzeszów, Poland was organized on the 11th   of March 2021 by INNpuls Sp. and Aviation Valley, in cooperation with Podkarpackie Centre of  Innovation. The workshop focused on soft skills at work for Industry 4.0 in the aviation sector, especially cognitive flexibility.

Engaging exercises and active discussion, carried by an expert in areas of management and coaching, trying to find an answer to the following questions: What kind of employees does Industry 4.0 need? Intrapersonal skills at work – can this be learned? How to use intrapersonal skills for interpersonal communication?

The event supported sharing and introducing the future generation of aviation employees to online courses and interactive materials helping in the development of soft competencies.

There were 71 participants taking part in the online event including 45 students from technical universities in Rzeszów, poznań, Wrocław, Jasło, and Oxford, 15 students and teachers from VET schools, and 11 representatives of aviation companies. Additionally, the workshops were streamed live to two class groups of students at Technical University in Rzeszów. The positive feedback and active participation in the Q&A session of students showed us that they understand the need for soft skills starting from the first step such as a recruitment interview for any post in the aviation sector.

  • Spain: Testing the Sky4.0 Moodle on Analytical Thinking

The event took place on the 1st of October 2020 in the online format through a Teams session. The main objective of this international event was to present and test the Sky 4.0 Moodle course on analytical thinking.

The group invited to the Sky4.0 session consisted of students from the Master of Aerospace Engineering at the UPM and a reduced team of Erasmus students from the ETSIA (École Supérieure des Technologies Industrielles Avancées, Bidart, France). In total,  the meeting counted with the participation of 37 students and 4 teachers.

During the meeting, the students were briefed about the contents that have been developed for each one of the soft skills, and they were invited to experiment with the course on analytical thinking. The course was settled locally into the Moodle server of the university so the student could access it like they usually would access their academic courses. After the students explored the course, an open discussion of 30 minutes took place to get some constructive feedback.

The students found the course easy to follow but considered that having the possibility to interact with a teacher and other students during the course would be useful. They did find Moodle important for developing soft skills, incorporate soft skills in their lessons, and facilitate everyone to streamline their routine tasks. Also, they pointed out that a key to success is to make user-friendly courses and activities.

The overall feedback about the course was excellent. Some minor improvements to the layout and corrections of errors were suggested. In general, the students found the duration of the course appropriate and considered the activities useful and interesting. And even though the participants were already familiarized with the idea of analytical thinking, the concepts tackled by the course and the approach of the course were new to them.

Turkey: Pilot workshop for future employees of aviation sector – Critical thinking

The Turkish National Multiplier Event took place on the 15th of April 2021 and was hosted in the online format from İzmir, Turkey using the Webex platform.

This event main objectives were designed to:

  • Give information about the Sky4.0 project and the critical thinking soft skill;
  • Introduce the moodle platform and inform the students how to use that platform;
  • Give a brief definition and develop a basic understanding of critical thinking and problem-solving;
  • Get feedback from students by performing some activities.

The group invited to the Sky 4.0 NME consisted of students from Ege University Aviation Higher Vocational School. In total, the meeting counted with the participation of 34 students and 1 ACA member company consultant.

During the meeting, the participants were informed about the project’s objectives and given a short explanation about soft skills and industry 4.0. To increase public participation some questions were explored using the Padlet platform. The comments and discussions were very effective and helped to create a clear understanding of the subject.  Before closing up, there was a Q&A session where was collected the students’ points of view regarding soft skills and the course itself.

The overall feedback was excellent! The students were very interested in the concept and stated their willingness to take the course soon. The attendees shared some thoughtful suggestions of improvement about the moodle platform for blind and hearing-impaired people. Also, some minor improvements were suggested.

  • Portugal: intellectual curiosity

The national event is planned to happen in May 2021, we will soon come back with the news about the session!

Time to “Soften” your skills!

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The Sky4.0 partners have worked relentlessly to prepare a set of resources that are top-notch material to ignite your soft skills growth!

BOOSTING YOUR SOFT SKILLS!

With industry 4.0 revolutionizing the way companies and industries operate, soft skills are an aspect that should not be overlooked! Within Sky4.0 a set of training materials for self-development but also curricula for training have been developed that can support the individuals´ needs but also the companies´ needs to elevate the soft skills of their human capital! With direct target Aeronautical companies, the materials are accessible to everyone, and the majority of them have been designed transversally so can easily apply to your case as well! Let the training start!

⇒ Check out the amazing set of resources prepared by Sky4.0 partners HERE !

Testing the Sky 4.0 Moodle course on Analytical Thinking

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Because “practice makes perfect”, a group of Spanish and French students of Aerospace engineering with very promising results and a high level of acceptance has tested the Sky 4.0 Moodle course on analytical thinking.

The event took place on the 1st of October 2020 in the online format through a Teams session. The main objective of this national event was to present and test the Sky 4.0 Moodle course on analytical thinking.

The group invited to the Sky4.0 session consisted of students from the Master of Aerospace Engineering at the UPM and a reduced team of Erasmus students from the ETSIA (École Supérieure des Technologies Industrielles Avancées, Bidart, France). In total,  the meeting counted with the participation of 37 students and 4 teachers.

During the meeting, the attendants were briefed on the project and its objectives and outcomes. A brief explanation was made on the relevance of soft skills for future workers in the aerospace industry, and on the soft skills that have been found more relevant by the project. Students were also briefed about the contents that have been developed for each one of the soft skills, and they were invited to experiment with the course on analytical thinking.

This course was settled locally into the Moodle server of the university so the student could access it like they usually would access their academic courses. They went through the course and tried to do each activity for two periods including individual work with the platform, and interactive workshop. After that, an open discussion of 30 minutes took place about the course to get feedback from the students.

The overall feedback about the course was excellent. Some minor improvements to the layout and corrections of errors were suggested. In general, the students found the duration of the course appropriate and considered the activities useful and interesting. Even though the participants were already familiarized with the idea of analytical thinking, the concepts tackled by the course and the approach of the course were new to them.

Moreover, the students found the course easy to follow, without any teacher support or guide, but consider that having the possibility to interact with a teacher and other students during the course will be useful. Students did find Moodle important for developing soft skills, incorporate soft skills in their lessons, and facilitate everyone to streamline their routine tasks. Finally, they pointed out that a key to success is to make user-friendly courses and activities.