Dr Graham Small, CPD Training Manager, AMRC, University of Sheffield

The 3DPRISM project is funded by the European Union’s ERASMUS+ programme and has the objectives

• To support VET provision on 3D printing skills with guidelines, resources, OERs and a hands-on training methodology.
• To identify new occupational profiles in the manufacturing sector, to facilitate & accelerate the integration of new skills and qualifications in VET.
• To contribute to the implementation of EU policies on qualifications, transparency, mobility and a European industrial renaissance, creating secure & sustainable jobs.

The project is led by the UK’s University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre Training Centre (AMRC) with consortium members from Belgium (CECIMO), Spain (FLORIDA), Greece (EXELIA) and Italy (CIMEA). It is scheduled for completion in February 2018.

Using a methodology developed early in the project, an extensive survey was made of the requirements of industrial end-users across Europe. Personal interviews, focus groups, on-line questionnaires and desk research were used to define occupational profiles for technicians operating 3D Printing technologies at entry level and experienced level. Skills, competencies and knowledge required by these two categories of technician have been defined as a basis from which to prepare suitable training materials to be used by VET providers across Europe. These requirements have been evaluated against existing EQF & ESCO frameworks.

In late 2016 a survey was made of all existing training materials and other documentation suitable for the preparation of on-line e-training modules to meet the needs identified in the earlier training requirements survey. These materials are now being used to construct a full suite of e-training modules covering the wide range of additive manufacturing processes, materials, software and hardware variants currently used in industry. These modules will be incorporated into a massive open online course framework (MOOC) by August 2017. A programme of demonstration / evaluation workshops is foreseen in the UK, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Greece & Germany in the final quarter of 2017.

For further details of the 3DPRISM project please visit our website at http://3dprism.eu