A European Union funded project to facilitate skills for a marine industry green transition has been launched.
TECoNaut will be implemented over three years by a consortium made up of industry associations, institutions, academics and SMEs from seven countries: Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Greece and Turkey.
The project aims to promote the use of sustainable composite materials in the construction and repair of boats.
Project leaders estimate the boating industry is made up of 32,000 companies across Europe, directly employing more than 280,000 people.
They say most of the fleet is built using around 72,000 tons of non-recyclable materials and besides the implementation of recycling solutions, the use and implementation of new, sustainable fibres and resins for boat building is needed.
Sustainable solutions
The project will also encourage a new generation of workers to implement and apply sustainable solutions in boat building.
“As an Industry we want to focus on reducing the environmental impact across the lifecycle of the boats,” says Philip Easthill, secretary general of European Boating Industry. “Using more sustainable composites materials is an essential element of our industry.”
He added: “We are excited to be part of the TECoNaut project to create the skills our industry needs.
“We are delighted that, together with our partners, we were able to attain EU funding for a key industry priority.”
The TecoNaut project will follow a strategy based on four objectives:
Comprehensive identification of skills gaps, aligned with the multilingual European classification of skills, competences, qualifications and occupations.
Development of a course for Vocational Training on sustainable composite materials.
Design of an internship programme for higher education students who will work on the application of deep tech skills and sustainable materials in companies.
To awaken the entrepreneurial mindset of students and future workers in the sustainable boat building.
