On 27 November, EARLALL – LCAMP’s communications team took part in the REBOOT Skills Final Seminar. The REBOOT Skills project – dedicated to boosting digital upskilling and reskilling across sectors – aligns closely with LCAMP’s mission to support VET providers, learners and industry in adopting advanced, digitally enabled manufacturing practices. As LCAMP continues strengthening Europe’s manufacturing skills ecosystem, we actively follow EU-level initiatives that accelerate the digital and green transition.
The seminar opened with a welcome from Minna Isomursu (University of Oulu, Finland), who introduced the consortium of six training providers, four higher education partners – UOULU (FI), ULIME (IE), LTU (SE), KU Leuven (BE), and four professional associations: Flanders (BE), MADE (IT), Skillnet (IE) and DIMECC (FI). She presented the project’s impressive outcomes: 50 courses delivered (double the target), 1,443 learners trained, 1,197 full learning paths completed, and an excellent 90% positive feedback rate.
Martin Hayes (University of Limerick, Ireland) reflected on the project’s broader achievements, noting strong participation across Europe: 345 female learners, 1,302 course completions, and 419 SMEs engaged. He highlighted successful new training offers, such as additive manufacturing (metal), jointly delivered cybersecurity courses, data analytics masterclasses, Design Thinking, and AI Leadership. Hayes stressed that short courses are effective only when micro-credentialled, stackable and aligned with labour-market needs, showcasing Design Thinking in an AI World as a case example. He closed with a clear message: national governments must invest in skills with the same ambition shown by the European Commission through Digital Europe.
Laurent Declercq (Flanders Make, Belgium) presented the project’s impact assessment. Drawing on feedback from 714 respondents, he reported high satisfaction and strong learning gains. While some participants noted challenges related to technical difficulty or employment relevance, the overall findings confirmed that REBOOT delivered meaningful, applicable skills development – insights that will help refine future learning pathways.
A panel on Collaborative Training for Companies, moderated by Ward Rottiers (KU Leuven, Belgium), brought together voices from learners and industry. Dipanjan Das (FI) shared his positive training experience, while Aleksi Arpiainen (TT Gaskets, FI) emphasised the value of accessible, high-quality training for SMEs. Merete Nørby (MADE, Denmark) highlighted the importance of strong industry–education collaboration for innovation and workforce development.
After lunch, the seminar turned to the question “The perfect training – does it exist and how do we get it?”, with contributions from DIMECC (Finland) and Skillnet Ireland. This was followed by two sessions on manufacturing industry needs, presented by Abdel Bey-Temsamani (Flanders Make, Belgium) and Antonella Belfatto (MADE SCARL, Italy), and summarised by Fiona Fennel (IBEC, Ireland).
The final panel, “How do we go forward? Focus on AI and Cybersecurity”, moderated by Martin Hayes, brought together experts including Fiona Fennel, Antonella Belfatto, Abdel Bey-Temsamani, and Kimmo Halunen (University of Oulu). Their exchange underscored a shared commitment to continuing the momentum built by REBOOT Skills.
The event closed with wrap-up remarks, concluding a day rich in insights, case studies and collaborative reflections – reaffirming Europe’s determination to advance digital skills for a competitive, innovative and resilient manufacturing sector.
