Workplace-integrated learning for technical specialists with a vocational background.

Employees who started their careers with vocational training - in many countries in the form of dual education - can progress to level 6 of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). In many companies, experience shows that once established at this level, this group of employees rarely progresses professionally beyond it. However, such development may correspond to a desire for advancement, but it may also be a necessary reaction to changes in the world of work (e.g., "digitization," "Industry 4.0"), in which tasks for the middle qualification level are often lost. However, the next higher positions are usually filled by people who have higher academic qualifications; in the case of technical professions, these are usually engineers.

The aim of the project is therefore to develop qualification paths and strategies for the target group of technical specialists with dual training that enable them to develop at an academic level without having to apply for a full course of study. Instead, the aim must be to design and implement workplace-integrated ways of developing competencies. Concepts for this approach are to be developed and tested, which will then be disseminated in the partner countries and beyond. In the long term, this should open up additional avenues for professional development.

All learning maps for self-organized learning on project leadership can be found on our open learning platform:

The project "Workplace Integrated Learning for Technical Professionals with Vocational Background (ALTEF)" was made possible by an EU grant from the ERASMUS+ Strategic Partnership Program and is accompanied by the "National Agency Education for Europe at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training" in Germany.