To achieve its objectives, the project will carry out three major actions: a study of training needs, the definition of a sector strategy in relation to the circular economy model, and the identification of good Industry 4.0 practices at the European level.

The training initiative aims to identify the actual training needs of the plastics industry in the Valencian Community. To this end, the existing training offerings will be analyzed, and a comprehensive training program will be designed and negotiated with training centers interested in participating in specific training activities.

This project will identify strategic guidelines for ongoing training that will help increase the competitiveness of companies and their adaptation to current and future challenges in the sector. It will also gather information on the main needs, motivations, and obstacles encountered by current and potential participants in sector-specific training programs and analyze their resources.

All of this will allow the design of a complete training program suitable for the training of future professionals in the plastics sector and the provision of a training program for dialogue with public and/or private training centers interested in carrying out the training actions derived from the project.

Circular Economy and Factory of the Future
Regarding the sector's sustainability, the project aims to establish the strategy for the Valencian Community's plastics sector in relation to the Circular Economy model. To this end, the EU Plastics Strategy, corresponding to the Circular Economy package, will be presented to the industry, along with its implications for competitiveness and regulations, and a regional action plan will be designed.

Regarding the introduction of the Factory of the Future, or Industry 4.0, among companies in the sector, the project stems from a survey conducted by AIMPLAS in 2017, which indicates that only 36% of companies are aware of and have a strategy for transforming to Industry 4.0. This places the Valencian plastics sector slightly below the Spanish intersectoral average of 38%, according to a 2016 study by Roland Berger and Siemens. Given this situation, the project aims to raise awareness among plastics industry leaders about the importance of transforming the sector to the Industry 4.0 model and offer them a comprehensive overview of the various enabling technologies of the Factory of the Future. To this end, European success stories will be identified and analyzed, and a significant effort will be made to disseminate them.

This project is financed by the Ministry of Sustainable Economy, Productive Sectors, Trade and Labor through subsidies intended to promote industrialization actions and improve the competitiveness and sustainability of the industrial sectors of the Valencian Community within the first phase of implementation of the Strategic Plan of Valencian Industry (PEIV).

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