Education and skills on standards – ECOS commitment to the EU High-Level Forum on Standardisation
In 2023, the European Commission established the High-Level Forum on European Standardisation to advise on strategic political matters in this field. Ever since the Forum was created, ECOS has been championing inclusiveness and capacity building of civil society actors in standardisation.
ECOS was thrilled to see the EU Standardisation Strategy launched in 2022, recognising it as an opportunity to ensure standards work for the planet by delivering an inclusive standardisation system in support of high environmental ambition. The Strategy rightly stressed the importance of education to anticipate the need for standardisation experts – a vision now put into practice by a dedicated workstream within the High-Level Forum on Standardisation.
There is no inclusiveness without capacity building, an issue the High-Level Forum pays special attention to through its ‘Education & Skills’ work. Together with a number of organisations wishing to contribute to the education of the new generation of European standardisation professionals, in November 2023 ECOS signed a pledge committing to strengthen technical expertise and skills in standards, providing training opportunities, educational materials and awareness-raising campaigns to our network and partners.
We fully agree that the success of the European standardisation system rests on experts from industry, public administrations, civil society, research or academia to deliver on all the critical aspects of standards development. Training them, as well as securing inclusive and effective participation of civil society representatives such as ECOS and its members, will be critical to contribute towards a well-functioning standardisation system in Europe, and to ensure a pool of future experts.
As signatories of the Pledge, we will work towards (some of) the following objectives:
- Provide training opportunities for students and young graduates, such as internships. Such internships may be offered by the Forum’s members but also by the organisations or companies they represent.
- Promote the engagement of students and young graduates in standardisation-related work.
- Promote standardisation education by means of awareness campaigns. Such campaigns may address educational institutes, but also companies/organisations at different levels, including the board/CEO level.
- Develop dedicated educational modules on standardisation for business, law, or engineering degrees. Such modules may be aimed at research universities (bachelor or master level), but also at other Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Preferably, such materials are made openly available to other via a Creative Commons or similar license.
- Develop standardisation expertise through Vocational and Education Training (VET).
Raising awareness and building capacity on standardisation and the environment is a critical part of the ECOS mission. Our capacity building programme for staff, members and experts equips our network with the necessary skills and knowledge on the standardisation system and processes, allowing us to push for environmental ambition in standards-making. At the same time, through a variety of events, reports and communications actions, we mainstream the understanding of standards, and our vision of the role they play in support of the green transition.
We are very much looking forward to continue working alongside other co-signatories, as well as the European Commission, towards a successful implementation of the Standardisation Strategy, advocating greater inclusiveness and effective participation of environmental voices in the development of standards.
