The project “VACIDE - vocational action competence in digital enviroments” is implemented by 4 partners from Slovenia, Italy and Germany, who are supported by various associated partners. The digital transformation of work and production processes places new demands on the skills of specialists. Problem solving, self-learning skills or dealing with complexity as well as process understanding are skills that are required in addition to the technical knowledge and skills to master the challenges. The EU has made recommendations and action plans such as the action plan for digital education (SWD (2018) 12 final) outlined strategies for action in order to use vocational approaches to master the above-mentioned challenges. In all three partner regions and among the partners themselves, there is a need for vocational pedagogical approaches that enable and support the necessary process and action orientation. Learning tasks are required that make the provision of company services a subject of learning and enable the learners to acquire the knowledge required for competent task management. Digital sequences are desirable for the acquisition of digital skills (COM (2018) 22 final), also in order to provide the learning tasks at all participating learning locations. In this context, the partnership "VACIDE" decided to classify the project in the educational area-specific priority "developing partnerships aimed at promoting work based learning in all its forms". To promote work based learning • Developed and tested inter-company learning projects for the acquisition of vocational skills for trainees in a digitalized world of work, • supports teachers in creating digital content and using it appropriately for didactic purposes, • Strengthen learning location cooperation between companies and vocational training institutions by exchanging tried and tested instruments using digital media. On the basis of the instructional design model, teachers at different learning locations are enabled to use process-oriented methods to promote the ability of learners to act in the digitalized world of work. The basic idea of the learning projects enables joint learning based on a business process. The aim of the project is to reach 60 teachers and 75 apprentices in the metal and electrical fields as well as in commercial and administrative professions. The results should include be applicable for the following apprenticeships: • Electrical engineer (SLO / I) or electronics engineer in FR industrial engineering (D) • Mechatronics technician (SLO / D) or mechanical engineer (I) • Tool mechanic (D) or toolmaker (I) • Secretarial, administrative and tourism specialist (I), industrial clerk (D) and commercial specialist (SLO) After the end of the project, the tried and tested learning projects are expected to be used by the network partners and in their networks, at the level of use in training processes and in the development of additional learning projects based on the pedagogical skills acquired by the trainers. For the partners, an increased process orientation in their own teaching and learning processes is expected due to the experience they have experienced in developing the IO's based on the division of labor. Along with this, increased flexibility in the educational processes is expected, which is a requirement of the digital transformation for those involved in vocational training. Expressing this new flexibility can be the rapid provision of work-related learning projects or the independent development of explanatory video sequences that are developed and made available in accordance with the “VACIDE blueprint”. Furthermore, the strengthening of workplace-oriented learning through the successful completion of project tasks and the available products is expected. The effect is triggered by the processing of a (constructed) customer order, from which workplace-oriented learning projects and digital sequences are derived and made usable for learning location cooperation. The intellectual outputs resulting from the strategic partnership VACIDE can represent a "blueprint" at all levels, which enables actors in vocational training to develop and implement learning projects themselves. This is associated with the expectation that the measures proposed by the EU Commission in its recommendations and action plans, such as Support the promotion of innovation and digital skills in all educational institutions. This also applies to the implementation of the national measures proposed in the context of Economy 4.0, such as process orientation, labor market relevance or cooperation between learning venues in vocational training.
From the above needs situation, VACIDE derives the development, testing and dissemination of 1, workplace-oriented learning projects, 2, digital learning sequences to explain and accompany the associated learning processes, 3, the description of the successful use of the learning projects and digital sequences at different learning locations. as central objectives. Teachers at different learning locations are enabled with a work-based approach to promote the action competence of learners in the digitalised working world with process-oriented methods. The basic idea of the learning projects enables joint learning based on a business process. This business process was the (fictitious) customer order "Building a robot arm" as the basis for the intellectual outputs. The intellectual outputs (IOs) are provided in the vocational fields of metal (SLO), electrical (D) and business and administration (I). The IOs address trainers at the participating partners as well as other teachers who are reached at cooperating vocational schools, companies and educational institutions as direct target groups.
The digital transformation is changing processes in almost all sectors in the EU to a great extent. Characteristics of this are the smart networking of work, resources, objects and information, the digital mapping of processes and the use of sensor technology along the entire process chain to plan, operate and maintain them. This transformation places new demands on the skills of skilled workers. Problem-solving thinking, self-learning skills or dealing with complexity as well as process understanding are cross-cutting skills that are needed in addition to technical knowledge and skills to meet the challenges. The EU has identified strategies for action to contribute to overcoming the above challenges through vocational education and training approaches. The national vocational training systems are following suit and are gradually amending the vocational training regulations. In all three partner regions, there is a need for vocational pedagogical approaches that enable and support the necessary process and action orientation. Learning tasks are needed that make the provision of company services the subject and enable the necessary knowledge to be acquired.