There is an assumption that a transition to a Circular Economy (CE) in the Nordic region will create demand for new skills within engineering and the general STEM sector. However, there is currently very limited shared knowledge of which STEM skills will be needed for the transition and if these skills are already taught in the current educational and professional STEM environments. Assuming there will be a future skills gap in the STEM sector, the Association of Nordic Engineers (ANE) working group on circular economy (CEWG) requested an analysis highlighting the specific competences that the circular transition requires and describing the future need for STEM and engineering skills.
The analysis presented in this report enables the creation of knowledge-based recommendations on how to bridge this skill deficiency before it becomes an issue holding back the transition to circular economies in the Nordic region. The analysis was conducted by Ethica, a circular economy consultancy based in Finland. The analysis is based on 11 expert interviews (interviewees listed at the end of this report), a brief literature review and Ethica’s experience in the sector. The experts were selected from all Nordic countries to represent academia, industry and industry advocacy organisations, research and innovation organisations, and circular economy and sustainable development advocates.
