A strategic investment in people and knowledge
The copper industry is evolving with digitalisation, sustainability, and circular economy practices. To stay competitive, it needs a workforce equipped with modern skills. The SkiComCu project, co-funded by EIT RawMaterials and coordinated by Halcor, copper and alloys extrusion division of ElvalHalcor, addresses this need by creating an industry-certified lifelong learning curriculum for upskilling and reskilling across the copper value chain. Through SkiComCu, Halcor actively supports the EU’s priorities for strengthening skills and competitiveness in critical raw materials and strategic industrial value chains.
SkiComCu Project: European Funding for a Skilled Workforce
SkiComCu is a 36-month initiative with a EUR 1 million budget, bringing together 9 partners from Greece, Bulgaria, Poland, Spain, and Portugal. The project responds to industry-identified skills gaps and delivers training that is modular, flexible, and directly applicable to professionals’ daily work.
Key Objectives:
- Training for all occupational levels, from operators to engineers and managers.
- Integration of Industry 4.0 & 5.0, sustainability, and circular economy principles.
- Hybrid learning solutions via the EIT RawMaterials Academy.
- Promotion of inclusivity by engaging women and young professionals.
The program combines XR tools (Extended Reality tools), hybrid delivery methods, and train-the-trainers guidelines to ensure flexibility and scalability.
Recent Developments
As coordinator, Halcor organised the first SkiComCu training sessions at its facilities: 22 September (Copper Tubes Plant) and 2 October (Brass Plant). Delivered by the National Technical University of Athens (School of Mining & Metallurgical Engineering, Laboratory of Metallurgy), the sessions involved more than 50 Halcor employees.
The training addressed the copper supply chain and the development of soft skills, marking the first step toward a sustainable training ecosystem for the copper industry.