The objectives of the project were for participants to: - gain an overview of the German education system with a particular focus on Vocational Education and Training (VET) and the dual system model - gain an insight into the policy direction at a national and regional level in relation to the digitalisation of VET - see the implementation of the digitalisation policy at work in VET colleges - ask questions, observe practice and gain a wider perspective on the digital agenda in VET Based on the learning acquired during the visit, the expectation was for middle and senior leaders from FE colleges in Wales to inform policy in this area and to help shape the post-16 education sector in Wales. This project application was submitted in February 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent reliance on online/digital teaching and learning across all education sectors globally. Therefore, the focus on digitalisation and its impact on teaching and learning in the VET sector was more topical than we had originally thought at application stage, and this brought a wider perspective to the discussions in Wales around digitalisation. CollegesWales has produced a written report on the visit, and this will be used to share our findings more widely in Wales and to progress with some of the recommendations to improve provision in Wales.
CollegesWales applied for this project to give Vocational Education and Training (VET) managers and practitioners in Wales an opportunity to reflect on the vision, aims and objectives of Digital 2030, Wales' strategic framework, by learning about another country's digitalisation policies and strategies for VET. We chose Baden-Wurttemberg, a region in South-East Germany, following conversations with government officials in the regional government at Baden-Wurttemberg about its digitalisation strategy and innovative pilot projects that were in place in some of its VET colleges. The main programme was put together by Andrea Bernert-Bürkle from the Association of Adult Learning in Baden-Wurttemberg. The aim of Wales' Digital 2030 strategic framework is to ensure that post-16 learning providers will seamlessly integrate digital technology into delivery; and encourage innovation in using inclusive, accessible and bilingual approaches to enhance the learner experience. Based on an awareness of the digital skills needed to support the Welsh economy, providers will need to equip learners and staff with the digital capabilities and confidence they will need to succeed in everyday life and in work. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the VET sector's use of digital technologies for teaching and learning purposes. This provided us with a timely opportunity to compare and contrast Baden-Wurttemberg's response to the impact of the pandemic to Wales' response particularly in relation to online teaching and learning and the upskilling of practitioners. Fortunately, we were able to explore the impact of this in the adult education sector in Baden-Wurttemberg as well as in the VET sector. In addition to the focus on digitalisation, CollegesWales was also eager to ensure that the VET sector in Wales didn't become isolated from developments in Europe as a result of the UK leaving the EU. When the application for this project was submitted, the UK was preparing to leave the EU and we were unsure of the UK's future position in relation to Erasmus+ and the wider cooperation that we'd benefitted from through networks such as European Qualifications Framework (EQF), European Credit Transfer System for VET(ECVET) and European Quality Assurance in VET (EQAVET). CollegesWales wanted to ensure that the VET sector in Wales continued to engage with Europe to provide overseas professional development for staff and to ensure that VET provision in Wales can continue to compare itself with our international counterparts.