The copper industry is undergoing profound change as digitalisation and sustainability reshape production systems and workforce expectations. In response to these twin transitions, the SkiComCu project – supported by EIT RawMaterials – developed and validated the Sectoral Qualifications Framework for the Copper Industry (SQF-Cu). This framework defines the knowledge, skills, and social competences required from EQF levels 3 to 8, spanning mineral exploration, mining, ore processing, and recycling. Digital and green competences are embedded across all stages, reflecting the sector’s ongoing technological and environmental transitions. The SQF-Cu was designed through an iterative process involving literature review, comparison with existing sectoral frameworks, and validation with experts from academia and industry. Consultations confirmed the framework’s clarity, relevance, and practical value for education, training, and workforce planning. By linking learning outcomes to real industrial practice, the SQF-Cu helps align curricula and competence assessment with the evolving needs of the copper value chain. It also promotes a shared understanding of qualifications consistent with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles, circular-economy goals, and Industry 4.0 and 5.0 technologies. In doing so, the framework provides a foundation for lifelong learning and a more adaptable resilient workforce in one of Europe’s key raw-materials sectors.

Copper is a strategic raw material for the European economy, while the sector’s ongoing green and digital transformation is creating new competency requirements and intensifying workforce development challenges. The objective of this study was to identify and analyse competency gaps among selected occupational groups considered strategic for the sustainable development of the copper sector, with a specific focus on European countries covered by the Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS). A mixed-methods research design was applied, combining desk research, a computer-assisted web interview (CAWI) survey and focus group interviews (FGIs). Six strategic occupational profiles covering EQF levels 3–7 were identified through desk research and expert input from industrial partners. The quantitative survey comprised 250 complete responses from employees and managers of copper-sector companies in Poland, Greece and Bulgaria, while the qualitative stage involved focus group interviews with employees representing different organisational and occupational groups in the same three countries. The findings indicate that the analysed occupational profiles require a combination of specialised STEM knowledge and skills with competencies related to modern automation and digitalisation, including VR/AR/XR and artificial intelligence. The identified competency gaps concerned both professional skills, including the use of digital technologies, information processing and technical documentation, and transversal skills, particularly problem solving, adaptability, communication, teamwork and analytical thinking. The findings provide an empirical basis for identifying priority areas for upskilling and reskilling and for developing targeted lifelong learning solutions for the occupational profiles and industrial contexts examined in the study.