Loading
Industry 4.0 is changing the world as we know it, requiring a higher level of digital literacy across all roles and industries. Vocational education is a key element of lifelong learning systems, which equip citizens with knowledge, skills, and competencies. To meet the demands of the changing labour market, VET educators must also undergo some changes since they play a crucial role in appropriately skilling the workforce of the future, through the development of their digital literacy. However, we are currently experiencing a unique state of affairs, in which students often have greater digital competence than some educators. So far, VET education has mainly been characterized by face to face and Work-Based-Lessons, thus this imbalance was partially concealed. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic has made this gap strikingly apparent, with many excellent teachers struggling with technologies that young people are already familiar with. The whole educational procedure is forced to rapidly and drastically adapt to the new circumstances of delivering training from distance utilizing the vast wealth of digital educational tools. In this context, it is imperative not to leave VET educators to face the problem on their own, but support them in acquiring the digital skills needed to smoothly continue to provide their educational work. The solution to the problem is to design, develop, and implement a structured training path on acquiring and strengthening digital skills in which the target group will be the VET educators. To achieve the aforementioned goal of the implementation of a structured training path, a consortium made up of 7 participants will constructively cooperate, everyone, contributing by its experience and expertise. The participants of the consortium are mentioned below briefly:1.Panepistimio Ioanninon (Greece) is a large Higher Education Institution.2.Transport and Telecommunication Institute (Latvia) is a modern university of applied science.3.Sistemi Formativi Confidustria (Italy) is a joint-stock option consortium.4.Cleantech (Bulgaria) is a business network focused on clean technologies, innovation, and sustainable development.5.Styrian Technology Park (Slovenia) is a non-profit organization. 6.Diavalkaniko Kentro Epicheirimatikis Anaptyxis AE (Greece) operates in continuous education and training since 2006 7.The Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (KRIB) has the status of the national representative organization for the Bulgarian business.The implementation of the project includes a variety of activities being carried out. The project has been structured in 7 phases, closely connected to the development of the intellectual outputs, which will be carried out through the 24 months project period. The phases are as follows: 1.Developing and distributing an assessment tool for VET educators’ digital competence.2.Designing and implementing the training path for the strengthening of VET educators’ digital skills.3.Study of the current situation in the Green Economy sector, creation of the syllabus of the Green Economy courses, that will be used in the pilot testing, and didactic material design and production.4.Development of the VOOC platform, integration of the learning content, and quality assurance of the platform5.Train the trainers intensive workshop, that will be addressed to representatives from all partners, who will be familiarized with the environment of the e-learning platform and will acquire basic skills on digital technologies, so when they go back to their home countries to be able to train their VET educators to utilize the VOOC platform, as well as to act as multiplier factors for the dissemination and sustainability of the INGENIOUS project.6.The final release of the platform and the implementation of pilot testing from VET educators.7.Evaluation of the effectiveness of the whole project. The goal of the project is to develop an innovative training model for detecting and assessing the digital skills of VET educators and offering a well-structured training platform and program which can enhance their digital competence. In that sense, by adopting DOL methodologies, the smooth continuity of the VET educational system in relevant emergencies like the one we live at present is secured. Besides, the whole process of VET educators’ digital skills acquisition that constitutes a constant demand for fully implementing the vision of Industry 4.0 is accelerated. The implemented training platform will be freely accessible by the educational community to use and constructively contribute in order to ensure its sustainability, efficacy, and functionality. We envision that the outcomes of the project will act as a legacy for the future and motivation for undertaking similar actions.
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
document.write('<div id="oa_widget"></div>');
document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="https://beta.openaire.eu/index.php?option=com_openaire&view=widget&format=raw&projectId=erasmusplus_::db7e80e796d0424b59d0f6aa7245887a&type=result"></script>');
-->
</script>