Eight hundred thousand. It is the number of specialized technicians for the manufacturing sectors that German companies need. And the situation is not so different in Austria.
Despite the "Industrie 4.0" plan - launched four years ago by Germany itself as a German vision of the future of manufacturing - and the significant technological advances that are changing the face of traditional industry, the "gap" of competencies between business needs and qualifications of workers.

Digital skills, ability to work in increasingly robotic and automated work environments, where all profiles (from skilled workers to designers) are increasingly configured as "operators" in command of intelligent machines. But to be able to respond to these challenges it is necessary to completely rethink the ecosystem of services to support businesses.

This is the theme of the AIM Advanced Manufacturing Ecosystem Improvement project - funded by the European Horizon2020 program, in which Friuli Innovazione organized two days of exchange and sharing of knowledge at the highest levels in the field of advanced manufacturing technologies, with the presence of experts from the research institute Joanneum Research in Graz and the TGZ technology center in Bautzen. At the center of the meetings the evolution of technological scenarios in manufacturing and the new trajectories of European industrial research in the sector.

The AIM project is aimed at identifying good practices and services for the improvement of an ecosystem that supports the adoption of advanced technologies for the manufacturing sector by European SMEs. The final objective is to lay the foundations for the creation of a European Hub network - in which Friuli Innovazione will be part - dedicated to advanced technologies for manufacturing that can support SMEs on technology transfer, adaptation of skills and new models of business related to the processes of Industry 4.0 sharing experiences and results.

"The entrepreneurs of Friuli Venezia Giulia, especially small and medium-sized manufacturing companies, can find useful support in ways of comparison and support for Industry 4.0 and digital transformation - says Fabio Feruglio, Director of Friuli Innovazione -. The European projects allow us a direct comparison with the best countries of leading countries in the field of the most innovative technologies for manufacturing and therefore to learn from their experience and make it available to our territory and our businesses ".