SMARTRAIN joins VET providers and RTOs from the Woodworking and Furniture Manufacturing Industries to challenge and broaden the horizons of current VET systems. The project will detect the core changes required to include new SKCs (Skills, Knowledge and Competencies) in the official curricula of VET Education Systems, aligned with the current and future demands of the wood and furniture sector. Hitherto it addresses a major TRAINING GAP between VET curricula and companies’ real needs for transformation. Acknowledging that 40% of workers do not have enough digital skills (Eurostat 2015), SmarTrain fosters the EVOLUTION OF ENTERPRISES TOWARDS THE INDUSTRY 4.0, exploiting previous initiatives aimed to facilitate this undeniable new industrial revolution for both companies and their future workers.

The main objective is to promote the acquisition of SKCs about CIRCULAR ECONOMY, ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING and INTELLIGENT FURNITURE, which require new (soft) skills in this digital era: digital literacy, curiosity and imagination, critical analysis of information, entrepreneurship, collaboration in networks and leading by influence, agility and adaptability, critical thinking and problem solving. SmarTrain is a collaboration of RTOs and network organizations AIDIMME, INNOVAWOOD, COSMOB) and three VET centres (CIPFP Catarroja, Fondaizione ENIP Lombardia, WOODWIZE), paired by countries. SmarTrain composes a network fostering VERTICAL (between national RTOs and VET centres), HORIZONTAL (between centers of the same typology) and MULTIDISCIPLINARY links for exchange and collaboration

The initiative includes the development of three intellectual products:

IO1: Innovative open training material on Circular Economy and Digitisation (Additive Manufacturing, Intelligent Furniture) including e-Learning, ready-to-use for VET centers in the wood&furniture sector.

IO2: Cross-cultural course for VET students & teachers consisting of 3 cooperative VET school projects (Project Based Learning).

IO3: Open Education Handbook and Best Practices for VET stakeholders: from VET students to hiring companies.

In SMARTRAIN, both students and accompanying teachers will acquire fundamental SKCs and new soft skills, and will participate in National Multiplier Events to expose their final pieces of furniture as prime showcases for INNOVATION MANAGEMENT incorporated into current VET systems.