Schemes for the Developing Enhancing Skills

One key outcome of the CCAM-ERAS projects will be to develop and provide schemes and actions to support the development of educational plans and activities and reskilling efforts to contribute to solutions for the short to long term demands for updated skills in the CCAM and associated industries. These schemes and actions will help build human capital to meet labour market and social challenges from CCAM developments. In turn, this will support the broad deployment of CCAM solutions and unlock their full benefits.

With the schemes and actions we can on the one hand boost the potential of CCAM-development and on the other hand mitigate the undesired labour market effects of CCAM development.

First insights

Earlier stages of the project highlighted that the shift towards CCAM is driving a rising demand for new skills within the transportation sector. As CCAM technologies gradually become more widespread, they are expected to reshape the industry landscape affecting jobs, tasks, and skills across multiple sectors. The extent of these changes are likely to differ across sectors: some roles may become automated, others could be significantly redefined, and new opportunities may open up alongside them. As we being this stage of the project, we take a first look at how these developments could affect the current educational landscape, explore the evolving demands on jobs and skills, and look at the steps forward.

Understanding the evolving demand for skills

In previous stages of the project, our consortium has established that the demand for new skills is rapidly rising as the transportation sector shifts towards CCAM. During our interviews it was pointed out that transitional roles, such as safety drivers who intervene when automated systems face unexpected scenarios, are already emerging. Moreover, interviewees noted the emergence of new roles, such as remote supervisors who monitor and manage fleets of connected vehicles. A recurring theme was the digital skills gap among many workers in traditional transport roles, especially with the growing integration of CCAM technologies like V2X communication and cybersecurity. This gap poses a challenge, as it can make it harder for people to adapt, but it also creates an opportunity to develop targeted training that helps them move into new roles.

Challenges in current CCAM education

Interviewees observe that formal educational pathways dedicated specifically to automated driving or CCAM do not yet exist. Much of the current training is fragmented, delivered by individual companies that have built in-house expertise. This leads to inconsistency and limited scalability and it underlines the need for broader, cross-sector cooperation. Another layer of complexity is the inherent uncertainty around how CCAM will ultimately develop. Because the shape of automated driving in real-world contexts is still evolving, it is difficult for universities and training providers to create fixed curricula. As one interviewee put it, there is still a lot of “learning by doing.”

Towards more flexible and inclusive education

Suggestions for how education could evolve were practical and incremental. Rather than full degree study programmes, interviewees propose modular training formats such as short courses, seminars, or micro-credentials covering elements like traffic management, remote operations, and digital safety systems. Involving industry experts in the design of these materials is seen as essential. Equally important is the call to include CCAM topics within education on broader subjects such as urban planning, sustainability, and public transport management to help contextualise technological change and its social impacts.

Shaping a transition, not a displacement

Looking further ahead, several interviewees emphasise the importance of actively involving those whose roles may change because of automation. Rather than designing new systems and roles in isolation, a more inclusive approach would keep current workers engaged by helping them transition, for example, from driving roles to remote supervision or support functions.

Next steps

These insights are part of the first round of interviews conducted for our study on schemes to develop and enhance skills for CCAM. In the next phase, we organised design thinking sessions to co-create educational initiatives and reskilling strategies addressing both short- and long-term skill needs. The outcomes of these sessions will be further developed in the coming period. As this item of work evolves more information and resources will be made available on this page.

If you are interested in contributing your perspective to this process, we warmly invite you to please contact us at [email protected].