EO/GI Sector Skills Strategy

It proposes a concrete vision, mission and goals that will be used in the definition of a long-term action plan (LTAP) to address short- and medium-term skills needs in the areas of skills, knowledge and competences. Specific actions to be taken by a diverse group of stakeholders are described, in order to establish an ongoing dialogue between the EO4GEO partnership, external stakeholders and entities within the EU directories (specially the European Commission DG on Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG-EMPL) and DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG-GROW)) and Member States through their Ministers of Education.

In this report, a first version of the strategy is outlined, aiming to reduce the gap and eliminate the mismatch between the supply of and the demand for education/training in the Earth Observation (EO) and Geographic Information (GI) sector taking into account wider technological, societal and policy developments. The LTAP which will be created based on the Sector Skills Strategy recommendations outlined within, and discussions stemming from, will then be updated as appropriate to take account of lessons learnt throughout the EO4GEO project, open discussions with stakeholders and also future technological, societal and policy developments.

The VISION of the Sector Skills Strategy is to foster the growth of the European EO/GI sector ensuring a workforce with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time.

The MISSION of the Sector Skills Strategy is to ensure the strategic cooperation among stakeholders on skills development in the EO/GI sector (Sector Skills Alliance). This cooperation will support growth, diversity, and flexibility of the sector by providing harmonized and improved educational offers at a range of different learning levels including VET and academic training and the development of new occupational profiles for the EO/GI sector.

By adopting a forward-looking perspective, the following GOALS have been identified for the successful implementation of the Sector Skills Strategy. These goals might not be fully reached during the EO4GEO project but are recommended to be followed up as part of the LTAP:

• A strategic collaboration between the skills alliance, private sector, government and “end user” sectors is established.
• A political commitment at EU level (DG-GROW and DG-EMPL) to stimulate innovative skills development policies is ensured.
• A coordinated effort to improve competitiveness and to penetrate other sectors through market intelligence across stakeholders is created.
• The EO/GI awareness of and engagement with “end user” sectors is improved leading to increased uptake of Copernicus data and information services.
• Harmonised curricula and training offers (including workforce mobility) at pan-European but also international levels are improved and developed.
• A standard for describing key qualifications is promoted.
• The use of EO/GI services as an inspiring and innovative context for learning across all age groups and value chains is encouraged and supported.

Skills needs are mapped to better define teaching supply, with a focus on flexible learning pathways. This document presents the strategic views under the Space-Geospatial Sector Skills Strategy

More info at www.eo4geo.eu and Space Geospatial Sector Skills Strategy

Author: EARSC