Lifelong learning is a key factor for the development of a sustainable workforce. Recognized qualifications, such as engineering, alongside with transversal skills enhance individual employability. The authors aim to explore the rationale of one outof- school and hands-on program, Project 4×4InShools (4×4IS), as one of the pillars for the development of engineering and technical skills aiming to develop a positive vision of industrial and technical careers. The long-term objective is to raise awareness and knowledge of industry, industrial processes and its impact on everyday life towards industry and future engineering or technical career development. Namely careers in the metalworking sector or related industrial clusters. 4×4IS it's an international project with countries from five continents. This paper will focus on the Portuguese experience that encompasses youngsters from 15-18 years. The lack of qualified industrial technicians and engineers, and consequently the lack of a qualified workforce has been on the agendas of governments worldwide. This issue gets more pronounced since Europe faces an aging workforce. This work rests on the belief that the promotion of technical and industrial skills is an important tool for vocational education and lifelong learning in consideration for sustainable development practises. The "new" industry must compete by adding value to industrial processes and products. These assets are made possible by innovative engineering and countries with innovation inputs related to human resources training and development (engineering education) directly linked with higher competitiveness standards. Thus, 4X4IS main objective is to bring youngsters closer to industry, believing that everyone can make a difference for individuals, countries and economic prosperity.
Author Keywords
Index Keywords
