Sowing a Seed for Digital Skills for Agricultural Workers AIM of project The aim of this two year project is to develop a digital tool, the “AGRI-Worker learner APP”, for developing basic digital skills for low-skilled agricultural workers. The stakeholders consist of a strong partnership of trade unions in Poland, Austria, Germany and Denmark and the vocational school of Køge Business College. Background The rapid digital development in all sectors is changing work and daily life requiring an increased level of digital skills of all Europeans. The European Commission is estimating that the demand for digital technology processionals has grown by 4% annually. At the same time, estimated half of the population lack basic digital skills, with around 20% of the population having no digital skills. (“Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition” European Commission 2016). This project is thereby supporting the New Skills Agenda for Europe (2016), and is inspired by the recommendations of The European Commission’s “Upskilling Pathways: New opportunities for Adult”. The project offers an opportunity for raising of digital skills of the lowest educated in Europe in close collaboration between social partners and Køge Business College. Target group: Migrant Agricultural Workers on Stake With few basic digital skills and with no or little local language skills, seasonal and migrant workers in agriculture in Denmark, Germany and Austria face serious problems in several ways. They are often deprived and alienated from general services like e-government, e-health, e-banking, e-trade union services. They have difficulties attaining knowledge and information about their worker’s rights and have low enrollment in LLL. This leaves these migrant agricultural workers very vulnerable to social stigmatization, exploitation in the country of work with no or very limited possibilities to gain information about their worker’s rights, consequently developing skills relevant for their job-security and mobility. Concept AGRI-Worker learner APP: Reaching out for the least motivated The target group are mainly Polish agricultural workers over the age of 35 who belong to the group of the European population that are not “digital natives”. These can be working abroad in the neighbor countries of Poland, or potential migrating agricultural seasonal workers in Poland. By designing an e-tool directly and a hand-on training for the target group, this project proposes alternative strategies and methods to develop the digital skills of low-skilled adult agricultural workers and who are not native web-users and therefore excluded in the digital revolution in education, production system and society. This project is unique in the following ways: • Development of an e-learning APP for target group where few e-learning alternatives exists • Development of an e-learning tool • The AGRI-worker learner APP represent development of new methods and practices to reach low skilled target groups concerning e-learning and digital skills. • Transnational cooperation of social partners is ensuring development an European tool to reach low skilled – also transferrable to other branches • The engagement of the social partners ensures the implementation of the new outcomes in the partners working field – with the possibilities of transferring to related branches and target groups. • Access to the target group – and A “hand-on” instruction of the APP in the workplace (or local union), securing a safe learning environment for the participants • Contribution to include e-learning in trade union activities • Explorative approach Further outreach As the APP is a European digital tool, the APP will not only be applied for the target group in the countries of the project holders. The APP can be a tool for all agricultural workers in the project countries as well as to workers in other European countries. Furthermore, the tool can be included in the general training programs of shop-stewards in the partner-countries. Least but not last, the APP may be of inspiration to other branches with high no. of low-skilled workers with limited digital skills, and level of seasonal and migrant work. Therefore, the APP will also be translated into Romanian and will “sow a seed” for the development of an European tool for upgrading of skills for a broader group of low-skilled workers – including refugees working in agriculture.
Over the project-period all objectives and activities described in the application have been undertaken according the application. The aim of this 24 months project was to develop a digital tool, the “AGRI-Worker learner APP”, for developing basic digital skills for low-skilled agricultural migrant workers, and to provide a manual for and train a corps of trainers to instruct the target group of the APP. Moreover, it was the intention to implement the use of the APP in the daily work for the project partners. The project partners have been trade unions, social partners and NGOs in Poland, Austria, Germany and Denmark working with migrant agricultural workers, and the vocational school of Køge Business College. Background of the project The project was inspired by the recommendations of The European Commission’s “Upskilling Pathways: New opportunities for Adult”. The rapid digital development in all sectors is changing work and daily life which requires an increased level of digital skills of all Europeans. Estimated 20% of the European population had no digital skills according to the European commission in 2016. (“Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition” European Commission 2016). Target group: Migrant Agricultural Workers The no of migrant workers in agriculture in Northern Europe has been increasing. Alone in Denmark, 33% of the workforce in agriculture were foreigners in 2016. This number has increased since. It was the assumption of the project that migrant workers in agriculture have few basic digital skills and that due to little knowledge of the local language, they face serious problems in several ways. The migrant workers have difficulties attaining knowledge and information about the country of work, their workers’ rights. Furthermore, they have low enrolment in LLL. This leaves these migrant agricultural workers very vulnerable to social stigmatization, exploitation in the country of work with no or very limited possibilities to gain information about their rights, consequently developing skills relevant for their job-security and mobility. Concept AGRI-Worker learner APP: Reaching out for the least motivated Focusing on workers that are not “digital natives” and over 35, the target group of the project was aiming at mainly Polish agricultural workers, or potential migrating, working in the neighbouring countries of Poland. However, it became very clear early in the project that also Poland is attracting many foreign workers from Russia and Ukraine. Also, there are many Romanian agricultural workers working in Austria, Germany and Denmark. The target group of migrant workers is therefore diverse in national background, hence the different language versions on the APP. By constructing an e-tool (the AGRIworker APP) directly for the target group, and with the help of the manual and training a corps of trainers, the project was intended to develop alternative strategies and methods to develop the digital skills of low-skilled adult agricultural workers. According to the application our ambitions were to: • Create an alternative learning offer for the target group; • Gain new knowledge on adult digital pedagogics for low-skilled workers; • Developing new methods and practices to reach low skilled target groups for e-learning and digital skills; • Developing secure and safe learning environment for the target group • Providing a tool of empowering workers with knowledge and skills. The project aimed to be innovative in the following ways: • Development of European e-learning APP for the target group where few e-learning alternatives exist which is transferrable to other branches and target groups • Developing new methods and practices to reach low skilled target groups concerning e-learning and digital skills. • Strengthen transnational cooperation of social partners and NGOs • Transfer of the new outcomes in the partners’ working field – with the possibilities of transferring to related branches and target groups. • Access to the target group – and A “hand-on” instruction of the APP in the workplace (or local union) The project has worked in a structed way in developing the two products: a) the AGRIWORKER APP which is provided in several languages and b) a training manual for our key- and app-trainers. To reach the target group, the key- and app-trainers were trained to carry out outreach work for the target group. This introduction and training in the use of the APP was to take place in different settings: at the local union, in the field or more formal training. It was the hope that approximately 500 agricultural workers should have been trained or introduced to the learner app in 2019. To ensure further outreach of the project, the project partners were to consolidate the project at European level through our European network of EFFAT (European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions) ensuring transfer of knowledge about the project to other branches and projects.