About this Research Topic

Background

The World Economic Forum stated in its 2023 “Future of Jobs” report that 44% of workers' skills will change in the next five years. Additionally, six out of ten workers will require training before 2027, and only half will have adequate training opportunities. With this in mind, the three most pressing challenges currently facing the Continuing Engineering Education (CEE) community include:

1. The shifting skill requirements dictated by the job market. Engineering roles in various sectors are evolving, demanding a mix of Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) that is difficult to predict with certainty. In addition, the pace of Digital Transformation will highly influence these requirements.

2. The climate change mitigation and adaptation. Engineers must reskill and adapt to changing sustainability requirements, and educational programs must support this transition.

3. The underrepresentation of minorities. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, and individuals with disabilities face disparities in opportunities, mentorship, and inclusion.

The Research Topic “Continuing Engineering Education for a Sustainable Future” aims to bring together researchers – from different fields of higher education, industry, private and public companies, and governments – in a discussion forum to answer the following questions:

What are the characteristics of CEE programs that successfully train the workforce to face the challenges of the imminent Industry 5.0?

What professional development practices are more suitable for the ongoing acquisition of sustainable competencies?

How can academic, industry, and government decision-makers collaborate to promote DEI environments for the future workforce?

In “Continuing Engineering Education for a Sustainable Future,” we invite contributors to delve beyond the technical aspects and deliberate on the broader implications for education leadership. We encourage you to contemplate how the insights and innovations discussed in your contributions can resonate within education, influencing leadership practices, guiding educators, and shaping curriculum development. Let us collectively explore how continuing engineering education can contribute to leadership strategies, educational frameworks, and institutional policies that align with the imperative of fostering a sustainable future. By incorporating this broader perspective, we aim to illuminate continuing education's pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of sustainable engineering practices.

This Research Topic welcomes original research, research-to-practice, and innovative practice articles employing quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method designs, empirical case studies, experimental approaches, survey findings, systematic reviews of the literature, and conceptual-comprehensive analysis papers. Possible topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:

- Education meeting the demands of a technology-based labor market

- Reskilling and upskilling workers for a Sustainable Future

- Emerging trends and approaches in DEI and Social Justice

- Future Skills and Industry 5.0 in Organizations

- Advocacy actions related to continuing education leadership

- Diversity, equity, and inclusion perspective in the workforce

- Quality Assessment tools in professional development programs

- Academic–industry partnerships and CEE sustainability

- Underrepresented workforce: Women; Older & Younger People; Immigrants; and Refugees

Keywords: Continuing Education, Sustainability in Organizations, Professional Development, Lifelong Learning, Advocacy actions related to sustainability, Upskilling and Reskilling, Educational Innovation, Multicultural and Inclusive Perspectives, Future Skills in the Workforce and the Workplace, Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0, Education Leadership

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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