MOULVET project aims at developing and validating Open Educational Resources (OER) stemming from the knowledge of experienced professionals to complement Vocational and Educational Training (both I-VET and C-VET) in the mould sector. According to the study by the European Commission 'Advancing Manufacturing - Advancing Europe' - Report of the Task Force on Advanced Manufacturing for Clean Production, it has been identified the need of strengthening the links between the industry and education/training communities. The document also affirms that there is a mismatch between the skills acquired through training and those required by companies. Furthermore, learning, whether formal, non-formal or informal is very important to ensure the supply of skilled labour.Apart from the general skill shortages and gaps in European manufacturing industries and the need for stronger links between industry and education communities, the European mould sector also suffers from the loss of implicit knowledge due to retirement of experienced workers, a shortage of motivated young people willing to work in the mould sector and difficulties for a generational renewal (Revista da CEMAFOL, Associaçao Nacional da Industria da Moldes, July 2015, ISSN 1647-6557).Furthermore, European mould sector is formed, in general, by a set of SME with limited human resources which makes it difficult the provision of the necessary specific training.In view of all above, MOULVET seeks to develop OER material based on knowledge of experienced staff that will complement the formal or non-formal training with engaging training material, providing students or workers with work-experienced guidance, knowledge and advice to enrich their knowledge. This OER will be available in existing relevant OER platforms (Eg: OpenEducationEuropa.eu) and additionally, a specific platform and an Augmented Reality app will be also developed to maximise the accessibility of this work-experienced OER. The project will capture knowledge from moulding professionals in different European countries and will make work-experienced learning material (OER) available to trainees (students and workers) according to current industrial practices.MOULVET outputs will contribute to: Reduce the mismatch between the skills acquired through training and those demanded by companies (mismatch between supply and demand for skilled labour). Retain experienced knowledge that otherwise would be lost due to retirement. Establish a closer link between industry and training through the strategic cooperation in 3 representative countries in the manufacture of moulds (Germany, Portugal and Spain), in order to improve the development of workers. Supply quality learning content (OER) Promote the use of ICT in training (OER platforms, Augmented Reality app).The MOULVET platform will be an Open Educational Resource (OER). It will include:- Work-experience case studies and training materials for the design and manufacture of moulds.- Practical study case for the design and manufacture of moulds.- Development of tools to access OER.- Study on trends in training the field of design and manufacture of moulds.The potential end user of the MOULVET project outputs will be vocational training students and inexperienced workers in mould sector, universities, formal and non-formal training centres, both public and private, and teachers of these centres. Other beneficiaries will be experts on design and manufacture of moulds, associations and technological centres related to the sector, etc. A significant number of companies within the sector have shown, through letters of support, their availability to contribute to the development of the project activities. Please see the list in section “H.1. Impact”.MOULVET consortium comprises organisations which provide training in mould design and manufacturing. Consequently, all partners are interested in including MOULVET outputs in their respective training activities to complement and enhance them. The project will be led by AIJU, Asociación de Investigacíon de la Industria del Juguete, conexas y Afines (Spain) with the support of companies and training centers with experience and knowledge in the industry of mould from different European countries: CENTIMFE, Technological centre for the mould making (Portugal); WI-SWF Werkzeugbau-Institut Südwestfalen GmbH (Germany); Gemeinnützige KIMW Forschungs-GmbH (KIMW-F) (Germany) and CEIV, Cluster Empresas Innovadoras del Valle del juguete (Spain). All of which play a key role in terms of specialised mould training in their respective countries.
Several studies carried out in the international mould industry identify the mismatches between the training offer and the growing demand for specialisation in the labour market for moulds. In addition to skills shortages in European manufacturing industries and the need for stronger links between business and education, the European mould sector also suffers from the loss of implicit knowledge due to the retirement of experienced workers from the labour market and a shortage of motivated young people willing to work in the mould sector, with the consequent difficulty for an adequate generational replacement. The main objective of the MOULVET project has been to minimize the generational problem detected due to the lack of certain skills demanded by the companies from the mould sector to students and inexperienced workers. MOULVET has developed Open Educational Resources (OER), based on the knowledge (gained through experience) of workers with experience in the mould sector, which complements the formal and non-formal training of students and inexperienced workers in the sector. This training, aimed at enriching the knowledge of these groups, reduces the mismatch between the skills acquired through existing training and those required by companies. This is the main objective of this initiative, retaining the knowledge of experts in the sector, which has allowed to establish a closer link between industry and training and promotes the use of ICT through the OER platform and the application of augmented reality (as a way to engage new generations also). The MOULVET consortium has brought together a multidisciplinary and complementary team made up of five organisations from three different countries (Germany, Portugal and Spain), all leaders in the manufacture of moulds, namely: AIJU, with more than 30 years of experience collaborating with companies to improve their mould design and manufacturing processes. It has a team of experts in 3D, design, animation, augmented reality programming and game development. It also provides training and collaborates with professional training centres and universities to improve the skills of students and young workers in the sector. CEIV, has extensive experience in disseminating different national projects. In addition, it has provided a solid framework to guarantee the quality and adequacy to the established objectives of the project, its dissemination and exploitation. In addition, CEIV, as an association, provides sector companies interested in improving this type of training as stakeholders. CENTIMFE, whose main objective is to support the technological development of the mould and plastic sectors in Portugal. It also develops education and training activities in the sector. It contributed its technical knowledge on mould design and manufacturing to extract the information from the experts and to propose the structure and content of the case studies and to contribute its vision in the design of the practical cases. KIMW-Q. The activities of this education and training centre (for moulds and plastics sector) are practice-oriented. Its vision on the characteristics of must meet the type of training that has been developed in the project, created the baseline on which the OER was developed. WI-SWF is an expert organisation in the research and development of tools for industry, including moulds. Its main task is the transfer of new technologies between industry, manufacturers and the University of Applied Sciences. The project has been structured in five main blocks: 1. MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION 2. QUALITY ASSURANCE AND EVALUATION 3. DISSEMINATION AND COMMUNICATION 4. EXPLOITATION STRATEGY 5. INTELLECTUAL OUTPUTS The main result of the project has been the development of the MOULVET platform containing the three project outputs or results. Each of the results of the project is listed below: O1: In which the student learns the most frequent errors and the causes that produce them in the design and manufacture of moulds. O2: In which, the student tests his knowledge and learns about the causes of the most common defects that can occur during the process of mould design and development. O3: The MOULVET platform, which contains the OER developed during the project and some extra material. The augmented reality MOULVET app offers access to the platform. Thanks to MOULVET, students and inexperienced workers in the design and manufacture of moulds can acquire new knowledge (which come from years of experience) that complements their training and allows their skills to match those requested by companies in the sector.