Skills for Key Enabling Technologies in Europe : a state-of-play, supply and demand, strategy, recommendations and sectoral pilot

This report represents the Final Report for the "Vision and Sectoral Pilot on Skills for Key Enabling Technologies" (hereafter "KETs Skills Initiative") prepared by PwC EU Services for the Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (hereafter "DG GROW") of the European Commission (hereafter "the Commission"). The report outlines the results of all three Phases of the KETs Skills Initiative including state-of-play analysis of specific skill requirements for KETs, developing Vision Paper, as well as preparing and organising sectoral pilot. KETs have been defined by the European Commission as knowledge intensive technologies associated with high R&D intensity, rapid innovation cycles, high capital expenditure and highly skilled employment. KETs enable process, goods and service innovation throughout the economy and are of systemic relevance. KETs currently include the following six areas of technology: micro-/nanoelectronics, nanotechnology, photonics, advanced materials, industrial biotechnology and advanced manufacturing technologies. The growth potential of KETs heavily relies on both the quality of skills possessed by the current and future employees, as well as the number of people qualified, available and willing to work in KETs. Therefore, skills imbalances in KETs are likely to significantly diminish KETs growth potential and employment effects. To this end, the High-Level Expert Group on Key Enabling Technologies invited the EU to engage in a radical rebalancing of resources and objectives in order to retain critical capability and capacity in KETs.