The following is a list of the overall project objectives related to the project: -Training vocational education and training professionals in the implementation of courses related to the STEM/ICT field, with a particular emphasis on coding; -Facilitating the entry into the labour market for young vocational education and training (VET) learners; -facilitating the matching between labour demand and labour request for youth; -reducing the inequality gap connected to low-skilled professions, displacement, and disinformation.
The COVID-19 epidemic highlighted the need for more advanced technology and digital solutions in all sectors of the economy and society. The COVID-19 pandemic had expedited the digitalization and automation of many organisations worldwide, altering non-tech jobs due to the need to learn digital technology. "The future of jobs report 2018" (World Economic Forum, 2018) envisioned a future where digital technologies are adopted in manufacturing or vertical industries, deploying new automation and robotics features and ICT devices. In Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and solutions required new digital skills in the workforce, requiring humans and machines to co-work (Bughin & van Zeebroeck, 2018), which led to more computer programming positions. Thus, new vocations demanding advanced digital tools and solutions included programming and computer programming logic mastering (ITU, 2020). CODE's 24-month strategic collaboration for innovation in vocational education and training targeted 14-30-year-olds to fill the gap between digital skills requirement and demand in the market. The project taught VET students STEM/ICT skills, especially coding, to improve their comprehension of programming logic and paradigms.