Digital future in inter-company education and training centres

Digital manufacturing of dentures, driverless cars, intelligent building technology and intelligent energy networks (“smart home” / “smart grid”) - increasing digitalisation will fundamentally change the workplace of the future and the qualification requirements for employees. Inter-company education and training centres can play a key role in this development. They complement dual vocational education and training with an inter-company component and in this way support the ability of small to medium sized companies (SMEs) in particular to provide training. Businesses such as these are often not able to adopt the new digital technologies of the future from the start.

Applications may be submitted with immediate effect to the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) as part of the new funding programme "Digitalisation in inter-company vocational training centres (ÜBS) and competence centres” which has been launched by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). BIBB President Friedrich Hubert Esser emphasized that, “inter-company education, training and competence centres in particular represent an excellent way to deliver the basic skills for the application of new technologies and standards in the area of digitalisation to all trainees. This will ensure the long-term employability of future skilled workers.”

By funding “selected facilities” in the inter-company education and training centres in the area of digitalization, the special programme aims to contribute to modernising the education and training of skilled workers - in particular in SMEs (funding line 1). Applications may be submitted to the BIBB up to September 2019. By funding pilot projects in the competence centres and their networks, the aim is also to develop new possibilities in the design of teaching and learning processes, while taking into account the development of the media competency of both learner and training personnel. The purpose of this is to meet the requirements of an increasingly digitalized world of work and learning (funding line 2). Competence centres are able to submit outlines for projects of up to a three year duration by 31 March 2016.

In behalf of the BMBF, the BIBB is taking on coordination and implementation of the special programme, as well as providing its academic support. Projects may receive grants of up to 90% of the eligible expenses for the investment-related ÜBS facility projects under funding line 1, and for personnel and material expenses for the implementation of pilot projects under funding line 2.

Funding line 2 pilot projects should identify, in particular, the impacts of digitalization on the vocational activity profiles and also determine requirements and consequences resulting from this for the qualification of skilled workers and training personnel. The concepts and models developed as a result, and the knowledge gained will then be made available to other inter-company education, training and competence centres which are not involved. The aim of this is to ensure that outcomes are transferable, and that there is a broad range of application.

Further information about the support available from the BIBB for digitalization in inter-company vocational training centres (ÜBS) is available at www.bibb.de/uebs-digitalisierung (available in German only)

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