ALCHIMIA Project’s Investigation of the Skills and Training Implications of Industry 5.0 (I5.0)

By Rachel Hale, Dean Stroud, Martin Weinel and Vinicio Di Iorio

The novel introduction of AI and Big Data technologies for minimising energy consumption and waste generation in electric arc furnace steelmaking will create new skill needs. The decarbonisation, digitalisation and social transformation of the steel industry, all of which are relevant to the ALCHIMIA Project, will change the skills profile and training needs of current and future workers in this sector. The ALCHIMIA Project is investigating the skills and training implications of this triple transformation of the steel industry. The project is devoting considerable effort to understanding emerging skills and training needs, which will serve as key requirements for the whole project. The project learns from the European Steel Skills Alliance (ESSA) and its Blueprint for human capital development in the steel sector within a social innovation process, involving key stakeholders: companies, education and training providers, research institutions, social partners and sector experts. A KPI for the ALCHIMIA project is a Skills Development Strategy, which includes workshops for upskilling workers and engaging workers engaged in the ALCHIMIA Training and Education Action Plan. A training package to facilitate workers’ acceptance and optimal usage of ALCHIMIA and AI innovations more broadly is currently being conceived and will be implemented before the end of the project. The skills development program will help to empower and motivate the workers to be active actors in the digital factories of the future. 

Through the human-centered design (HCD) approach of the ALCHIMIA Project, which includes ex-ante social science research, workers expectations and imaginaries are being taken into account in the design of ALCHIMIA, and in the development of a skills and training package. The skills gaps assessment is being quantitatively and qualitatively assessed and summarised in a theoretical model of green technological effects and acceptance. This will inform the final recommendations for the design and implementation of the technology and training products, based on good practice templates and existing courses. 

The exploitation plan of the social science team, which includes expertise in skills needs analysis and training development (particularly within the steel sector), is focused on skill needs analysis and the development of training recommendations and products for transitioning to the routine use of the new technologies within the use case sites and for roll-out across the metals sector.  The project is particularly focused on digital skills. ALCHIMIA will exploit analyses and training tools developed within the ESSA project for developing targeted training and upskilling measures for the considered use cases and, more in general, to favour a wide deployment of the developed system through the EU steel sector. 

The team are currently working on an ALCHIMIA Project deliverable (report) which will detail an ALCHIMIA skills and training package by the end of the year.  The report is focusing on the following areas:

• Digitalisation and transformations in the European Steel Sector
• Best practice in continuing professional development
• AI skills/ competences in the workplace (for non-specialists)
  – Directly required new skills/ competences
  – Indirect competence requirements
  – Core Elements of an AI in Manufacturing Training Programme
• ALCHIMIA-specific training to operate ALCHIMIA optimally
• Digital Transformation Manager skills’ requirements
• Wider training requirements due to digital transformation of metal production
  – Transversal Skills (Individual Personal Skills, Social Skills, Methodological Skills, Green Skills)
  – Digital Skills

In July the social science team lead (Dr. Dean Stroud) discussed how ESSA and the ALCHIMIA project is contributing to skills’ development for 21^st century steelmaking at the Sustainability in Steel (SUSTAIN) Conference 2024 at Swansea University (UK).