Apprenticeships in the digital era Erasmus Project

Project Title

Apprenticeships in the digital era

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Overcoming skills mismatches (basic/transversal)

Project Summary

The joint Cedefop/OECD symposium on apprenticeships in 2019, highlighted the importance of digitalization of apprenticeships (Flake, Meinhard & Werner, 2019). According to the study, one third of the companies providing VET training have not yet addressed the issue of digitalization.The study showed that 32,2% of company trainers need more support concerning digital teaching and learning approaches and 50,1% need further training offers for trainers.
Transforming education and facilitating its transition to the digital era, has been a priority in the EU for the past years. The Digital education Action Plan (2020) identified 2 priorities and set out measures to help education institutions address the challenges of digital transformation. It acknowledges that a very high percentage of young people, fail to reach a basic level of digital skills and also that less than 40% of educators and trainers felt ready to use digital technologie. So we can conclude that there is a real need for the modernisation of apprenticeships through digitalisation.
The aim of DigiGo is to support the acquisition of digital skill of VET students, during apprenticeships and to decrease the skills mismatch of VET students.
The specific objectives of the project are:
To enhance the digital competences of company trainers and mentors
To support VET teachers/ trainers and company trainers/ mentors to develop apprenticeship programmes (traditional and virtual) for enhancing digital competences to students.
To train company trainers and mentors on how to enhance digital competencies of apprentices in the workplace and through smart working
To raise awareness of VET teachers and trainers, on the possibility to use apprenticeships, for the development of digital skills of VT students
To engage more companies in providing quality apprenticeships that enhance digital skills of students

The project will produce two intellectual outputs:
O1 E-learning programme: Apprenticeships in the digital era
The elearning programme will be open and freely accessible and will target company trainers and mentors. The main aim of the programme will be to enhance the digital competences of trainers and mentors and assist them in organising apprenticeships for the development of the digital skills of VET students.
O2 Apprenticeships in the digital era: Success stories
In this output, a methodology will be developed and will focus on the development of the digital competences of students during the apprenticeships. The methodology will target both VET teachers and company trainers and its main aim will be to assist them in organising apprenticeships in the digital era (face to face or virtual). Additionally, an ebook with successful stories will be created from the organisation of the pilot apprenticeships. In addition to the ebook, a series of videos will be developed and published, presenting the success stories.

The above outputs will lead to the achievement of five main results:
– Close the gap between digital skills of students and those required by the companies in the workplace. The development of digital skills will be in parallel with the development of the qualification-specific technical skills , following the DigiComp framework.
– Capacity building of VET teachers and trainers, in order to develop apprenticeship programmes for enhancing digital competences to students. Capacity building of VET teachers and trainers will be achieved through the elearning programme, the methodology proposed in our project and through the learning activity that will be organised in Malta.
– Capacity building of company trainers and mentors to enhance digital competencies of apprentices. This result will be achieved mainly through the development of O1 E-learning programme: Apprenticeships in the digital era for company trainers.
– Engagement of companies in providing quality apprenticeships that enhance digital skills of students. The project dissemination activities and the organisation of seven multiplier events will contribute to the awareness of companies of the potential of work-based learning, to develop a digital skilled workforce and will contribute to the engagement of more companies and increase of offer of quality apprenticeships. The organisation of virtual apprenticeships will also be promoted and companies will be introduced to the benefits that these forms of apprenticeships have to offer.
– Strengthening the collaboration between Vet institutes and companies in the field of apprenticeship and especially, regarding the development of digital competences of students.

Seven Partners from 6 EU countries compose the consortium of DigiGo: CDE PP , SABA, Friesland Inqubator, Eurodimension, IDEC, IEK Delta and CECOA. The competence, the expertise and the resources of each partner will contribute efficiently to the production of the project outputs. The partners have strong project specific competences and skills and dispose qualified staff.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 242766 Eur

Project Coordinator

CDE Petra Patrimonia & Country: FR

Project Partners

• Eurodimensions
• CENTRO DE FORMACAO PROFISSIONAL PARA O COMERCIO E AFINS
• IIEK DELTA
• AINTEK SYMVOULOI EPICHEIRISEON EFARMOGES YPSILIS TECHNOLOGIAS EKPAIDEFSI ANONYMI ETAIREIA
• SABA
• STICHTING INCUBATOR