Harnessing the potential of new technologies

SFIVET/Ben Zurbriggen

ICT security expert, hotel communications specialist, biomedical equipment technician: These professions have only been around for a short time. New technologies are changing the professional landscape and the way the next generation of skilled workers is being trained. In this process, vocational education and training is playing a decisive role as a catalyst: The close correlation with real working conditions allows VET programmes to fully exploit the potential of digitalisation to not only adapt to but also to help shape the digital transformation.

SFIVET has also set the objective of driving this transformation process. It has drafted a position paper covering five aspects of the digitalisation of vocational education and training. It is also investing in its own digitalisation process – for example, by incorporating digital teaching methods whenever didactically appropriate in the basic training and continuing training courses offered to vocational school teachers. In this manner, it provides digitalisation support to VET actors, particularly to vocational schools through the trans:formation programme and to professional organisations.

In addition to the launch of the trans:formation programme, the year 2018 also included numerous other digital highlights, such as SFIVET’s DigitalSkills conference, publication of OBS SFIVET’s trend report on ‘Digitalisation and Vocational Education and Training’ and the creation of a new Bachelor’s degree programme focussing on digitalisation. In the pages that follow we will be providing more information about these four major digitalisation initiatives.

In addition, SFIVET pursued several research projects on the subject of digitalisation. One example is the ‘iVideo.education’ project. This is an in-house development undertaking that allows vocational school teachers and workplace trainers to use video sequences as teaching aids. SFIVET devoted an issue of its magazine ‘skilled’ to digitalisation and has included the topic in its new training concept. Considerable interest has also been shown in continuing training courses such as the CAS ‘Formatore/Formatrice digitale’ at SFIVET Lugano.