In order to speed up the delivery
of solutions to societal challenges and
to remain competitive, the European
chemical industry needs the right workforce,
prepared to push innovation forward.
1
The right workforce
for tomorrow’s innovation
In the final report of the European Commission’s High Level Group on the Competitiveness
of the European Chemical Industry published in July 2009, three recommendations were made
in the area of human resources.
In order to address these recommendations, in September 2009 Cefic initiated a study
which aimed to investigate the critical – business, personal, scientific and technical –
skills that scientists and engineers will need to boost innovation in the European
chemical industry of the future.
Additionally, suggestions for changes in higher educational curricula and
life long learning programmes were formulated.
3
1
Business skills
to turn ideas into sustainable markets
2
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Understanding suppliers and
customers will be essential to
develop the right products for society.
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cumulative rating*
Innovation management will be
key to generate new business and
remain competitive.
20
Most important business skills for future engineers
oje
cumulative rating*
30
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Strategic & visionary management
skills will be critical to create new
innovations and to define long-term
focus areas.
40
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Innovation management from
research to sales is complex but will
be crucial to generate new business
based on innovative ideas.
Well structured project management
abilities will be essential for
engineers who have to turn innovative
ideas into profitable and
cost-effective business.
50
Int
Since innovative ideas must be
protected by patents or other
intellectual property rights in order
to lead to competitive advantage,
Intellectual Property law skills will
remain the most important business
skills for future scientists.
For engineers…
Most important business skills for future scientists
Pr
For scientists…
3
Personal skills
for successful collaboration
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Problem solving skills entailing
analytical and reasoning skills, will
remain essential for future engineers.
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As interaction with different disciplines
will be required, team work will be
critical to support innovation.
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Most important personal skills for future engineers
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With projects getting more complex and
the involvement of a wide spectrum
of different disciplines to develop
solutions, team work skills will be
key to foster successful innovation.
50
cumulative rating*
High-quality communication skills
will be required to ensure effective
collaboration between scientists
from different disciplines and also
with business people.
Communication skills will be
crucial for engineers who will have
to promote ideas both internally and
externally towards customers and
business partners.
60
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Creative thinking will remain the
most important skill for scientists
who will have to generate new ideas
contributing to new business.
For engineers…
Most important personal skills for future scientists
cumulative rating*
For scientists…
5
Scientific & Technical skills
for breakthrough solutions
PROCESS MODELLING & SIMULATION
Industrial biotechnology
Particle Science & technology
Biocatalysis
For future scientists…
catalysis, nanotechnology, formulation chemistry, sustainable chemistry,
interface chemistry, biochemistry and white biotechnology
have been identified as some of the most important technical skills.
Nevertheless, basic chemistry related skills such as organic chemistry and
polymer chemistry will remain important.
For future engineers…
process modelling and simulation, scale-up, reaction engineering,
and process design are considered the most critical scientific and
technical skills. Process intensification, biochemical engineering,
safety engineering but also particle science, sustainable chemistry,
materials chemistry, and nanotechnology are seen as essential.
Advanced fluids dynamics
Nanotechnology
Polymer chemistry
Catalysis
Cost engineering
Health, safety & environment
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Photochemistry
Process control and optimization
Because innovation often happens Inorganic chemistry
at the interface of disciplines,
scientific interdisciplinarity is key for innovation
and the future of the chemical industry
Environmental & sustainable chemistry
Organic chemistry
Interface chemistry
Process Systems Engineering
Biochemistry
Catalytic process design
SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY
Solid-State chemistry
Supramolecular chemistry
Metabolic engineering & Modelling
Formulation chemistry Computational chemistry & modelling
Toxicology & pharmacokinetics
6
Material engineering
Electrochemistry
Reaction Engineering
7
Improving
higher education and training
To be further developed in higher education curricula
The most important initiative to improve innovation will be to provide future engineers
and scientists with a multidisciplinary and broad skill set. This would require students
to acquire understanding of different scientific and technical skills, as well as business
and personal skills that will allow them to easily adapt to new tasks, job functions or even
different scientific areas and will lead to efficient interdisciplinary work.
30
Scientists
Engineers
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A better balance between theory and practical training, more focus on cultural skills and
cultural awareness (especially for emerging markets) and better project management
skills are some of the other suggestions which should contribute to enhance innovation
in the European chemical industry.
10
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A greater focus on financial and business skills will be required in scientific curricula in
order to effectively turn ideas into business.
cumulative rating**
20
9
The chemical industry is continually evolving due to
scientific and technological breakthroughs, emerging
markets, changing legislation and sustainability
requirements. Engineers and scientists will need
to develop a wide range of skills in order to adapt
to this fast changing world and to respond
to these new challenges.
These aspects should be reflected in education
as well as in life long learning programmes,
which should always be tailored to individual needs.
10
Dialogue
with Higher Education
Future human resources needs of the chemical sector and higher education
curricula must be better aligned in order to enhance innovation.
This study investigating the critical skills that scientists and engineers need
to enhance innovation in the future European chemical industry is a first step.
The next crucial step is to ensure an effective collaboration between
the chemical industry and academia, and to respond to the identified needs
through tailored, concrete actions.
Issues such as integration of business and related skills in scientific curricula,
or broadening the scientific multidisciplinary skill base have to be addressed
in order to ensure innovation can successfully complement research.
11
All the results of this study were obtained by use of structured telephone interviews
with 16 high-level industry representatives involved in the long-term strategy
of their company. These interviewees represented 12 chemical companies
with a total workforce of more than 300 000 employees in Europe.
The complete Cefic study on Skills for Innovation
is available on request ([email protected])
* The consolidated order of importance of skills as mentioned in the charts are based on the answers of the interviewees who were asked to indicate which will be the five most
important skills for engineers and scientists for their chemical sub-sectors in 2015 and beyond. A scale of 5 to 1 was applied with 5 for the first most important skill, and 1 for
the fifth most important skill. In practice, the skills as listed in the questionnaire submitted to interviewees were not considered as exhaustive lists. If appropriate, additional
skills which were not listed in the predefined list of skills could be included by the interviewees.
** The interviewees were asked to provide 3 suggestions on what universities or other higher educational institutions could do to ensure chemical related sciences and
engineering graduates will be able to contribute effectively to improve innovation in their sector. The consolidated order of importance of skills improvement to be addressed
in higher education, as mentioned in the chart, is based on the answers of the interviewees. A scale of 3 to 1 was applied, with 3 for the most important recommendation
and 1 for the third most important recommendation.
12
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www.cefic.org
Cefic – The European Chemical Industry Council
Chemistry making a world of difference
Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, is the Brussels-based organisation of the chemical
industry in Europe, representing 29,000 large, medium-sized and small companies that employ 1.2 million
people and account for one third of the worlds’ chemicals production.
© Cefic – October 2011 / Dépôt légal D/3158/2011/5
Cefic aisbl
Av. E. van Nieuwenhuyse 4
B - 1160 Brussels
T +32 2 676 72 11 – F +32 2 676 73 00
[email protected] – www.cefic.org