Online courses made available for workers affected by shutdowns in automotive sector In response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two Blueprint Alliances for automotive skills DRIVES and ALBATTS joined forces and have launched a platform to make free online courses available to workers affected by shutdowns of automotive production plants. © seyephoto / Shutterstock With these courses, over 1 million Europeans employed in automotive manufacturing, who are temporarily out of work, can make the best out their situation and learn skills that will serve them well, once production will take up again. The online courses that allow auto workers to upgrade their skills from home are free of charge and can be found online. Background The Blueprint for sectoral cooperation on skills, proposed in the Skills Agenda for Europe 2016, is the strategic approach of the European Commission to improve skills intelligence and address skills shortages in specific economic sectors in the European Union. The blueprint alliances DRIVES and ALBATTS began their work in January 2018.