Since its beginning, the 3D printing industry has experienced significant growth, evident in Wohlers Associates’ yearly reports (Wohlers Report 2019 ISBN 978-0-9913332-5-7). Behind this growth is a talented workforce. But, as with most disruptive technologies, the sector growth happens much quicker than the pace of learning, leading to a talented workforce. This lag has created what is commonly known as the 'Additive Manufacturing (AM) Skills Gap'; the notion that there are simply not enough talented people to fill jobs and thus meet the needs and demand from the AM employers. To help fill the skills gap 3D printing programs at all grade levels need to developed and widely offered. This will open up jobs for educators who can teach the technical and business aspects of 3D printing. Regarding the skills that will be needed by workers in new age technology fields, there are three basic skill fields. First, there are cognitive skills, which include digital literacy, as well as advanced problem-solving and creative and critical thinking skills. Second, there are social and behavioural skills like conscientiousness, grit, and openness to experience. Third, there are job- or occupation-specific technical skills, in this case related to robotics systems and 3D printing. Thus skills and knowledge at the intersection of 3D printing and these areas will also be in future demand. In terms of education, jobs for educators who can teach such skills, both regarding 3D printing itself and interdisciplinary connection and intersections with other fields and subject areas, will become another emerging job opportunity. Such teachers will be needed in the Arts as well as the Sciences, and stay current with the latest trends and technologies that the various industries and fields will adopt. To achieve the project’s aims and objectives we will develop and produce a ‘3D Printing Toolkit’. The Toolkit will have 3 elements: 1. INTRODUCING 3D PRINTING: The Partnership will produce a guide on how to introduce 3D printing in adult education e.g. type of equipment required, 3D printers ‘best buys’, how to virtual 3D modelling in a PC and how to export the models to the 3D printer how to maintain the equipment, where to buy the materials, general ‘tips on tricks’, links to support groups in Europe – this Phase of the project will include the development of an on-line ‘Support Group for Adult Educators’ whereby they can contact each other and support each other e.g. include best practice, good/bad experiences etc. 2. TEACHING MATERIALS FOR TRAINERS: The Partnership will create a training programme on 3D printing for trainers, in order to provide them with the needed knowledge tools to develop a teaching programme on 3D printing in adult education. 3. PROGRAMME ON 3D PRINTING, PEDAGOGIC GUIDE FOR TRAINERS: The Partnership will develop a teaching pack to enable adult educators to learn more about 3D printing and provide course materials for their adult students e.g. assignments, quizzes, general learning materials. The results of our THREE-D-Print project is to provide support for the educational and training challenges related to equipping the future workforce with relevant and needed skills to participate in the 3D printing revolution. The key focus of the project is on providing an entry-level, easily accessible courses that could motivate adults with fewer qualifications. In THREE-D-Print we see the (introductory) knowledge and (basic) use of 3D printing as a tool that can motivate, enable and empower adult learners. In terms of motivation and inspiration, it allows the user/learner to experience a rapid and easy materialization of the envisioned objects, it enables the production of parts that can be used in robotics training and ultimately empowers the user to master the skills that will be relevant and needed in the field of New Age Technologies. Finally, it can be used to foster creativity, innovation, experimentation and a DIY maker mentality that can be usefully employed in an entrepreneurial as well as an industrial setting. This is an important opportunity to give adult learners the expertise and competencies needed for societal development and individual development. We anticipate that over 1,000 institutions and adults will benefit from the outcomes of the project.
From an educational perspective training institutions are looking to 3D printing as a point of exposure for students within the arts as well as scientific areas of study. Teachers will need to have a background in the 3D printing industry. They will also need specific skill sets to teach specialized courses and stay current on the latest trends. 3D printing presents new business opportunities as well as new (including social) entrepreneurial models based on transforming digital data into physical objects in remote locations, independent of centralized production and industrial areas by using "printing hubs". In addition to enabling the creation of a greater range of products than would be possible with conventional manufacturing, it presents the possibility to democratize design and empower communities by decentralizing production and promoting innovation and creativity. Unfortunately, there are still several barriers that are preventing all adult education establishments from investing in 3D printing technology – from access to trainer awareness to funding. The objective of this project was to address these barriers and provide training materials and support information to assist trainers in teaching 3D printing.
The spread of the coronavirus pandemic has caused disruption in many plants, broken supply chains and prevented production at many industrial factories. In a time of global crisis, it forces most companies to review their current working methods and consider implementing new tools and technologies...... Such as 3D printing (Additive Manufacturing (AM)). This project was motivated by the current pandemic and Eurostat data (2018) that indicated that the use by enterprises of 3D printing in EU countries ranges wildly from very low use in Cyprus to very high use in Finland. The EU-28 average was only 27%. There is therefore a need to undertake an integrated European approach to this issue to ensure ‘Training Consistency '. As the 3D printing industry booms, what does it mean for job seekers? What good are these jobs if no one has the qualifications to fill them? To help fill the skills gap 3D printing programs at all grade levels need to develop and widely offered. This will open jobs for educators who can teach the technical and business aspects of 3D printing. The possibilities and opportunities that 3D printing is creating in education is endless.