Final Conference of the European Steel Skills Alliance (ESSA) - A Sectoral Blueprint cofunded by the European Commission (Erasmus+ Program)
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ESSA at a Glance
steeluniversity have joined ESSA, the European Steel Skills Agenda, to develop a Blueprint for a sustainable steel industry and coordinated European steel skills agenda. As the learning and training program of World Steel Association, we are working into this project to develop an industry driven pro-active skills strategy
The partnership comprises 24 European steel partners:
The challenges faced by European steel sector, as detailed in the sections above, make the identification and anticipation of skill needs necessary for the continued competitiveness of the European Steel Industry. The Blueprint for the industry driven long-term skills strategy, as the principal outcome, is expected to facilitate steel companies and VET institutions efforts to transition the workforce and meet future needs for, for example, the deployment and implementation of new technologies, the material and environmental optimisation of the production process, energy efficiency improvements, high-performance materials development, and so on. In meeting the emerging demands of the industry the basis for highly skilled employment is established and the foundations for attracting and retaining talented people to the steel sector laid down, thus keeping jobs in Europe and fostering smart, inclusive and sustainable growth.
18th December 2020
ESSA End of the Year 2022 Newsletter
As ESSA is focussing on a European Steel Skills Alliance it will focus also right from the beginning on a rollout of the Blueprint to the steel making and processing member states at the end of the project. This will be garuanteed by the project consortium of 24 organisations from 10 EU countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and UK) and by the additional associated partners from France and Sweden.
ESSA started its cooperation activities right from the beginning, concentrating on central organisations and events of the European Steel Industry: e.g. European Steel Technology Platform ESTEP Focus Group People, Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee on Steel (SSDCS), the EUROFER Social Affairs Committee (SAC) and the cooperation with the COSME/EASME Blueprint "SteelSectorCareers".
Project Coordinator:
Cover ESSA Blueprint Steel Factsheet
Within the ESSA project, it became clear time and again that *image and talent management are among the most pressing issues* in the European steel sector. The *poor image of the steel industry* as a declining industry that pollutes the environment and offers hard physical work leads to low participation of young people in technical schools and is seen as one of the main causes of recruitment problems. At the same time, it is precisely skilled young personnel which is urgently needed to implement the digital and green transformation in the steel industry. Therefore, coordinated "campaigns" are needed to change the image and to develop and disseminate a *new narrative that highlights the sustainability and transformation efforts of the steel industry*, while at the same time seeing the steel industry as a solution to climate change and attracting and inviting (especially young) talent to participate in the transformation. Creating new access channels to the sector (e.g. through greater use of social media) and a stronger presence in schools and universities is also a helpful measure to connect young people to the industry in particular and change the public perception in general. However, it is not only young people who are to be recruited: In fact, a *higher integration of women*, who have so far been underrepresented in the industry, also plays a major role in the steel industry. Attracting female talent can be done by developing a communication strategy to involve current women to encourage other woman to work on steel, by more incentive for their involvement, by valorising the female perspective, and by promoting the application of Industry 4.0 technologies that can help in gender equality. In line with this, *Image and Recruitment Materials* from different steel companies and other steel organisations that were collected during the ESSA project are collected on this page to serve as best practice examples. Furthermore, this page also shows links to current *European Recruitment Events*[/essa/image-and-recruitment-repository/european-recruitment-events/] that stand in connection with the steel sector and other energy-intensive industries.