There is little doubt that high quality VET which provides a direct route to the labour market is an attractive option for those seeking to develop their skills and careers. Achieving high quality VET provision is however contingent on a number of factors not least being the quality of teaching available. Research shows that one of the most important factors influencing the quality of education, is ongoing professional development of teachers and educators (OECD, 2005; UNESCO, 2017). Covid-19 has brought the digital skills of educators across the full educational spectrum into sharp focus. Overnight, formal education as we know it became nigh impossible and ‘lockdowns’ in all countries heralded an almost instant demand for online learning on a scale never seen before. Beyond education provision, the full impact of Covid-19 on employment across all Member States is already significant and the progress made towards EU employment goals since the economic crash in 2008 has effectively been wiped out. Young people were once more the age group most effected and youth unemployment in the EU stood at 17% in July 2020 (Eurostat, 2020). This figure hides the high number of young workers who are currently in receipt of income or job retention supports and the figure is expected to rise significantly in the coming months as these additional supports are phased out and the full impact of the economic contraction that has taken place is felt (ECB, 2020). New plans for Europe like “The European Green Deal” proposed to make the EU's economy sustainable by turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities, and making the transition just and inclusive for all. Innovative businesses forged by a new cohort of innovative, sustainable entrepreneurs were identified as key drivers of the proposed economic and environmental progress. Now more than ever, supporting VET tutors to nurture these new entrepreneurs is critical. Entrepreneurship remains one of the main drivers of job creation and growth and the future success. The Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan published in 2013 was the Commission's answer to challenges brought by the economic crash in 2008 which until Covid-19 was the gravest economic crisis in the last 50 years. It presented a blueprint for action to unleash Europe's entrepreneurial potential, remove existing obstacles and revolutionize the culture of entrepreneurship in the EU. Seven years on, the challenge of nurturing the entrepreneurial mindsets of learners in today’s ‘socially distant’ reality places a significant burden on the digital competences of tutors. As the impact of Covid-19 on education provision continues to undermine any return to the previous dominant provision model, targeted interventions are now urgently required to ensure that the career opportunities of people today are not severely impacted and that a new cohort of innovative entrepreneurs can be supported to fulfil their potentials through high-quality online learning solutions. AGILITe addresses three key challenges simultaneously; (1) building the digital competences of VET tutors; (2) building the entrepreneurial spirit of VET tutors; (3) building an understanding of the European Green Deal and the new business opportunities it offers. AGILITe will develop a continuous professional development training programme that simultaneously addresses DigCompEdu, EntreComp and The European Green Deal, to assist VET tutors in developing innovative and engaging learning frameworks to harness the potential of nascent entrepreneurs by building their key competences. The bespoke digital training tools will be designed for access through the most popular media channels and will use a gamified approach to build tutor competences incrementally. The key outputs proposed will include: IO1: AGILITe DigCompEdu based in-service training programme presented for online use to build key digital competences of VET tutors. IO1 will comprise 6 EduZines and offer 24 hours of face-to-face instruction supplemented by and 15 hours of self-directed learning. IO2: AGILITe EntreComp based in-service training programme addressing the 5 competence areas in the 'Ideas & Opportunities' section of EntreComp to support the development of an entrepreneurial mindset within the VET community. IO2 will comprise 5 EduZines and offer 20 hours of face-to-face instruction supplemented by and 15 hours of self-directed IO3: AGILITe European Green Deal in-service training programme for VET tutors that build an understanding of the principles of circularity. IO3 will comprise 8 EduZines and offer 32 hours of face-to-face instruction supplemented by and 18 hours of self-directed IO4: AGILITe MOOC and Community of Practice: This MOOC will house all learning materials and facilitate exchange of best practice and collaboration between partners and target groups throughout appropriate phases of the project. The target group of AGILITe is VET tutors
We aimed to enhance the digital competences of VET tutors, ensuring they were equipped with the necessary skills to navigate the digital landscape effectively. This enabled them to leverage technology & digital tools in their instructional practices, creating engaging, inclusive & innovative experiences for learners. AGILITe focused also on nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit among VET tutors fostering an entrepreneurial perspective and providing them with the necessary knowledge and skills to empower and inspire nascent entrepreneurs within VET. This involved developing their competences in areas such as opportunity recognition, risk-taking, creativity, and business planning, enabling them to effectively support aspiring entrepreneurs in their educational journey. AGILITe sought to build an understanding of the EU Green Deal and emerging business opportunities through the exploration of the principles of circularity. Through this integrated approach, we ensured that VET tutors received comprehensive training, covering the necessary digital, entrepreneurial, and sustainability competences set out in the call. The project created bespoke digital training tools accessible through the MOOC incrementally building tutor competences.
The pandemic greatly accelerated the need for digital transformation of VET and as a result the AGILITe project set out to build the capacity of VET teachers to: implement online and blended teaching and learning; develop digital pedagogical competences enabling them to deliver high quality inclusive digital education; and use high quality digital content presented as EduZines putting innovative online resources and tools at their disposal. The ongoing professional development of educators plays a considerable role in ensuring the delivery of high-quality VET. Therefore, we wanted to address three key challenges simultaneously, by developing CPD programmes that promote DigCompEdu, EntreComp & the EU Green Deal. These programmes directly address the validated training and learning needs of VET tutors so that they could use and develop innovative and engaging learning resources to support VET learners. The in-service training programmes comprise toolkits of EduZines that build a competent understanding of these key skills. All resources are presented on the AGILITe MOOC and supported by the Community of Practice.