EU Projects
Ongoing projects
Erasmus+ Programme (Key Action 2) - "ChemSkills: enabling the green and digital skills transformation of the chemical industry"
Start date: September 2023
End date: August 2027
Project partners: 33 full project partners and 2 associated partners
Objectives:
-
The main goal of the project is to respond to the current green and digital skills needs for the chemical industry, alongside developing competencies to produce “safe and sustainable chemicals by design”.
-
To identify gaps between the industry needs and the currently offered education programmes.
-
To develop new curricula, education and training programmes for all levels of education (EQF 3 - 8), as well as for the up-/re-skilling of the workforce on the basis of industrial developments and future skills needs expectations.
-
To cover most of the “subsectors” of the energy-intensive ecosystem, all parts of the chemical industry, namely 1) consumer chemicals, 2) petrochemicals, 3) pharmaceuticals, 4) rubber, 5) plastics and 6) fertilisers.
Erasmus+ Programme (Key Action 2) - "Skills4Eii: The Skills Alliance for the Green, Digital and Social Transformation of the Energy Intensive Industries"
Start date: January 2025
End date: December 2028
Project partners: 27 full project partners and 5 associated partners
Energy-Intensive Industries (EIIs) face growing challenges in sustainability, digital transformation, and workforce upskilling. Skills4EII builds on previous initiatives (ESSA and SPIRE-SAIS) to address evolving industry needs across multiple sectors.
Objectives:
-
Identify and adapt skills gaps at national and regional levels, addressing both cross-sectoral and sector-specific needs.
-
Develop a common framework to continuously adjust the skills demands of the energy-intensive industries in line with evolving requirements.
-
Build on two prior projects like ESSA (skills in the steel sector) and SPIRE-SAIS (skills for industrial symbiosis), where ECEG played a key role in representing the chemical sector.
-
Establish a broader alliance to bridge skills gaps for sector-specific needs while leveraging synergies for cross-sectoral initiatives.
Social Prerogative and Specific Competencies Lines - "Just Transition Leadership – Actions and Best Practices for Sustainable Management of Just Transition towards Climate Neutrality in the European Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Rubber and Plastics Industry"
Start date: May 2024
End date: April 2026
Project partners: 3 full partners and 1 associated partner
One of the challenges in all industry sectors in the European Union and globally is the green transition towards a climate-neutral economy.
For the social partners in the European chemical, pharmaceutical, rubber and plastics industry it is a high priority that the green transition towards a climate-neutral economy is also a »Just Transition« so that nobody working in the sector is left behind.
The project partners FECCIA, ECEG, Lederne and Ledarna representing sectoral social partners in the chemical, pharmaceutical, rubber, and plastics industry within the EU 27, have initiated this project with the objectives below.
Objectives:
-
Identifying actions and best practices for Just Transition in the chemical, pharmaceutical, rubber, and plastics industry.
-
Identifying sustainable leadership skills and tools for managers and employers needed to implement sustainable Just Transition initiatives now and in the future.
-
Giving all managers across the industry access to Just Transition leadership tools.
-
Developing a joint Strategic Framework on Just Transition Leadership for employers and managers.
EU Social Dialogue Programme: "AI@work: How artificial intelligence contributes to competitiveness and workforce planning"
In cooperation with the European Employers Institute
Start date: May 2025
End date: April 2027
Project partners: 1 coordinator and 3 co-partners
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a high priority at the European level and worldwide. The project aims to support European (and national) sectoral employers’ representatives in getting a better understanding of the impact of AI on people and business management. It provides an overview of employers’ positions on the topic, as well as business cases for AI to be used appropriately when running a business. Furthermore, the project helps develop a common understanding of the opportunities and risks associated with the use of AI in the world of work, and, if relevant, aligns them with guiding principles to ensure the appropriate use of AI for workforce planning and management.
Objectives:
-
Offering an in-depth analysis of the effects of AI on employers and their workforces.
-
Assessing the main challenges and opportunities posed by AI in the business environment.
-
Providing employers, trade unions and policymakers with valuable insights into the current use of AI through case studies, thereby supporting a fact-based policy approach.
-
Receiving first feedback from employers on the adoption of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (2024).
EU Social Dialogue Programme: "Mind@work: Mental Health in the Workplace: The Employer’s Perspective in Europe "
In cooperation with the European Employers Institute
Start date: February 2026
End date: January 2028
Project partners: 4 full partners and 4 associated partners
Mental health challenges affect nearly one in two Europeans, representing a growing socio-economic concern. In the workplace, the impact is particularly significant: stress, depression, and anxiety are the second most common work-related health problems in the European Union.
Mind@Work responds to this urgent need by recognising the pivotal role employers play in safeguarding psychological well-being. The project equips organisations with the knowledge, tools, and policy guidance necessary to prevent and manage psychosocial risks effectively. By strengthening employers’ capacity to act, Mind@Work contributes to the broader European objective of integrating mental health into employment and social policy frameworks.
Objectives:
-
Research involving stakeholders to identify existing best practices and regulatory frameworks.
-
Thematic webinars including topics on regulatory frameworks, digitalisation & mental health and inequalities in the workplace.
-
Action brief building practical guidelines to improve mental well-being in diverse work environments.
Past projects
Erasmus+ Programme (Key Action 2) - "Skills Alliance for Industrial Symbiosis - A Cross-Sectoral Blueprint for a Sustainable Process Industry (SPIRE-SAIS)"
Start date: January 2020
End date: June 2024
Project partners: 34 project partners
Objectives:
-
The project aims to develop an industry-driven and proactive skills strategy.
-
To assist the wider implementation and exploitation of industrial symbiosis and energy efficiency across the energy-intensive industrial sectors represented in SPIRE: chemicals, steel, engineering, non-ferrous metals, minerals, water, cement, and ceramics.
-
To develop educational modules, tools and to identify new skills, including digital skills.
-
To anticipate the skills requirements of the industry and to allow proactive practical activities to meet the future skills needs of the energy Intensive Industries in Europe and beyond.
“On the Road to Climate Neutrality 2050 – the Role of Social Partners in the Decarbonisation of the Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Rubber and Plastics Industries”
Start date: February 2021
End date: May 2023
Project partners: industriAll European Trade Union (main applicant) and ECEG (co-applicant)
Objectives:
-
To develop scenarios regarding technological pathways and their impact on companies and workers in the decarbonisation of the industries.
-
To identify main topics for social partners in this context.
-
To develop tools and recommendations for social dialogue in this context.
-
To increase the level of trust between social partners and enhance the quality of social dialogue by working and developing scenarios and solutions together.
VP/2019/001 Support for Social Dialogue entitled “Identifying and Meeting Digital Skills Needs in the European Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Rubber, and Plastics Industry – Social Partner Initiative to prepare the Sector now and for the Future”
Start date: January 2020
End date: October 2022
Project partners: ECEG, European Federation of Managerial Staff in the Chemical and Allied Industries (FECCIA) and Ledarna (Swedish Federation of managerial staff in the chemical industry)
Objectives:
-
To identify advanced and specific digital skills currently needed. To anticipate skills-sets for the future on all levels of the workforce (workers, managerial staff, employers).
-
To develop new skills’ profiles, amend the existing ones and devise general frameworks for upskilling trainings on the basis of above mentioned analysis.
-
To develop strategies that would help to amend existing curricula of universities and Vocational Training Institutions.
Curricula Framework for Academia and Vocational Traning Institutes: [EN], [DE], [ES], [FR], [HU], [IT]
Curricula Framework for Employers: [EN], [DE], [ES], [FR], [HU], [IT]
Curricula Framework for Managers: [EN], [DE], [ES], [FR], [HU], [IT]
Curricula Framework for VET Courses for Workers: [EN], [DE], [ES], [FR], [HU], [IT]
Start date: January 2018
End date: December 2019
Project partners: ECEG (main applicant) and industriAll European Trade Union (co-applicant)
Objectives:
-
To identify the maturity of the digital transformation in the chemical sector across the EU based on the EU-wide research survey and expert interviews.
-
To identify the impact of innovation and digital transformation in three domains: skills, working patterns and health & safety.
-
To draft joint recommendations based on the survey results.
-
You can find the research study here.
Start date: December 2015
End date: December 2017
Project partners: ECEG and industriAll European Trade Union and FECCIA
Objectives:
-
To encourage young workers who look for employment opportunities in the chemical industry to increase their mobility to seek job opportunities across Europe.
-
To offer qualified support through a dedicated mentoring network, supported by both employees and employers
-
To help them to improve their working life.
-
The project included a Mobility Mentoring Portal (MMP), a collation of current mobility patterns, an E-handbook for mentors, four Mobility Mentoring Workshops (MMW) and two international conferences.
Start date: December 2014
End date: December 2016
Project partners: ECEG and industriAll European Trade Union
Objectives:
-
To develop a joint framework of actions, the Roadmap 2015 – 2020.
-
To re-evaluate & follow-up on the “European Framework Agreement on Competence Profiles for process operators and first line supervisors in the chemical industry.” Originally signed in 2011.
Start date: December 2012
End date: December 2013
Project partners: ECEG, European Federation of Managerial Staff in the Chemical and Allied Industries (FECCIA) and industriAll European Trade Union
Objectives:
-
To carry out a sector specific demographic study in the chemical industry. It revealed that there was a large unutilized potential of female workers in the industry.
-
To develop strategies for combining training opportunities, jobs and careers with raising children and the increasing need to look after elderly parents and other family members.
Setting up a European sector council on employment and skills needs for the chemical sector, 2012
Start date: December 2011
End date: December 2013
Project partners: ECEG, EMCEF and FECCIA
Objectives:
-
To develop strategies to counteract the negative effects of demographic change in the chemical industry in Europe through the promotion of active ageing. These strategies ranged from attractive jobs and increasing the employment quota of older employees to sustainable age management.
-
The project results included a survey of age management practices (“Active Ageing in the European Chemical Industry”) and an Age Management Toolkit which includes a demographic QuickCheck and a Demography Compass for chemical companies to assess the age structure and qualifications of employees within the company or to launch a detailed age structure analysis.
The study can be found here.
Start date: December 2009
End date: December 2011
Project partners: ECEG, EMCEF and FECCIA
Objectives:
-
To provide the first ever sector-specific study into how demographic change effects the European Chemical Industry in seven major countries: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.
-
To provide a demographic overview and to analyse the national and regional demographic developments in each of the countries.
-
To investigate the national labour supply for the chemical industry and to project these onto the demographic structure in 2030.
The Impact of Demographic Change on the Chemical Industry in Europe is available here:
Further information:
You can find further information by visiting the library which comprises work programmes, agendas, minutes and other documentation from the sectoral social dialogue committee.
LINKS
CONTACT
European Chemical Employers Group (ECEG)
Rue Belliard 40, PO 7
1040 Brussels
Belgium
