Human beings are at the center of knowledge-intensive manufacturing processes. They must be qualified and flexible to meet the requirements of their working environment. Training new workers in these processes is time-consuming and costly for companies. Industries such as Italian textile sector are suffering from shortage of skilled workers caused, for example, by demographic change. A second challenge for the manufacturing sector is constant competition of high-quality products. COALA will address both challenges through innovative design and development of a voice-controlled digital intelligent assistant for manufacturing sector.

Together with KAEFER Isoliertechnik GmbH & Co. KG, the ITB is carrying out a project in which a digitally supported, work process-oriented and competence-promoting training concept is being developed and implemented in training practice for the professions of "industrial skilled worker" and "industrial insulator".

In many countries like Romania (RO) and Portugal (PT) Vocational Education and Training (VET) is considered as second choice; as an educational pathway for those who failed in reaching Higher Education (HE). One of the main reasons of this rather poor image of VET is that it often must be considered as a “dead-end” educational pathway; once you started a “blue collar” job; no or only few options of career opportunities in terms of Continuous Vocational Education and Training (CVET) exist. Thus, more challenging occupations like working for the Quality Assurance (QA), Design or Production Planning departments are reserved for colleagues with an educational background from HE. But even in countries with established CVET-programmes like Germany (DE), where the qualifications of an industrial or handicraft foreman or technician are country-wide acknowledged and have a very good image, the academic drift is obvious. For our sector (industrial shoe production) a worrying indicator is: In the last two years, when the only industrial foreman course for this occupation was offered, not enough participants (countrywide only six needed) applied – and the courses had to be withdrawn.

The JoinMe2 project aims to (further) develop the competencies of teachers at universities with regard to an equal and diversity-sensitive approach to students. For this purpose, the attitudes of teachers and students towards different aspects of diversity will be investigated by means of a questionnaire survey and country-specific overviews of the current state of research will be compiled. Subsequently, training materials for the development of a difference-sensitive attitude and critical diversity competence will be created and tested. During the entire project period, an online portal will also be developed, which will contain a literature and material database that teachers and students can access on a long-term and sustainable basis.

The project "IMMO-TEC: Development of action-oriented and competence-based teaching/learning arrangements for vocational training of real estate agents in the field of climate and energy efficiency" is to be assigned to the strategic future field “space” - project family: "climate-friendly construction". In relation to the region of the Rhenish mining area new requirement profiles for construction industry and thus also for real estate industry will be necessary in everyday professional life and associated action-oriented competencies of employees.

The SteBs project pursues the overarching aim of structurally strengthening and further expanding vocational teacher training in Bremen and thus contributing to the Bremen vocational training dialogue. On the basis of a cross-phase and cross-subject cooperation between the actors involved in vocational teacher training, concepts for the promotion of professional competence in line with the didactical paradigm of a complete action of teachers are developed and tested.

Das Entwicklungsprojekt Berufswahlpass 4.0 (BWP 4.0) hat zum Ziel, ein bundesweit und schulformübergreifend eingesetztes E-Portfolio zur Unterstützung des selbstgesteuerten Lernens im Rahmen der Beruflichen Orientierung von Schülerinnen und Schülern (SuS) zu entwickeln und zu erproben.

Challenge and Objectives: In the German-speaking countries, there are various research strands regarding the internationalization of vocational education and training (VET) cooperation in the fields of development research, transfer research, European VET cooperation, service research, corporate research and network research. MP-INVET focuses on establishing a network of research and development activities from the "Research for the Internationalization of Vocational Education and Training" funding initiative and the systematic analysis of the results to strengthen the visibility and international connectivity of the new research program in the long term.

TiQusA includes three sub-projects, in which further training concepts will be developed for the areas of youth welfare, living together in the neighborhood and working with young people.

The "reflective practitioner" has been regarded as an ideal image of a skilled worker in vocational education and training for years - but this concept has rarely been transferred to the field of teachers for vocational education and training (VET). The ERASMUS+ project DT4VET regards DESIGN THINKING (DT) as a key method for triggering reflective practices among VET teachers. DT has the potential to foster transversal skills in particular, such as thinking creatively and critically, taking initiative or working collaboratively. Seven partners from four countries (Turkey, Finland, Italy and Germany) are developing, testing and evaluating a training seminar for vocational school teachers on Design Thinking.

Work-process-oriented learning plays a fundamental role in successful vocational training: it enables trainees to learn the skills and competences needed in real-world workplaces. In addition to trainees, the key players here are skilled workers accompanying training, who are also referred to as mentors, tutors or training officers, depending on the context and sector. In contrast to teachers and full-time or part-time trainers, however, these mentors have no or only marginal pedagogical qualifications. This is where the ERASMUS+ STEP UP project comes in: Based on examples of good practice from the four participating countries Germany, Italy (IT), Lithuania (LT) and Spain (ES), further training units are developed, implemented and evaluated which further develop the teaching competences of the mentors, particularly in the context of new technologies.

Context: The transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) cuts across all economic and social sectors, including education. There are particular implications of AI for vocational education and training and changes within workplaces that require transformation in education and training, both for those in work and those seeking employment. Aim: There is an urgent need for young people to be equipped with knowledge of AI in order to better operate in the future world of work. In order to prepare young people for this task, further training of teachers and trainers is essential to be able to initiate new teaching/learning arrangements.

Das Projekt E-learning Einheit zum Thema „Gute wissenschaftliche Praxis“ wird uni-intern im Rahmen von „Win a Tutor – Didaktische E-Learning Anwendungsszenarien“ gefördert. Da im August 2019 die Neuauflage der Leitlinien zur guten Wissenschaftlichen Praxis der DFG veröffentlicht wurden, soll im Rahmen dieses Projekts eine E-Learning Einheit zur „guten wissenschaftlichen Praxis“ erstellt und erprobt werden. Die Einheit wird aus einem interaktiven Kursteil sowie einem Onlinetest bestehen. Der folienbasierte Kursteil soll Erklärvideos zu aktuellen Fallbeispielen enthalten und durch Lernerfolgskontrollen und Übungsbeispiele ergänzt werden.

In the KoRA project, a teaching-learning concept is designed to develop and promote competencies in field of collaborative robotics and design of human-robot collaboration in vocational education and training. This is implemented with a mixed reality learning software in which complex assembly problems are solved in form of learning and work tasks. In the context of development, necessary haptic feedback for the target groups is being investigated in parallel. Through transfer into virtual reality, work process can be experienced and designed detached from the real operational process. Thus, project-based and action-oriented learning is possible.

Many high school graduates are spoiled for choice after graduating from high school. Hundreds of apprenticeships and thousands of courses are open to them. It may be difficult to make the right decision. School as a central location for the early career orientation of young people faces the challenge of actively helping to shape the individual professional orientation process of students.

Das Projekt ProSoKom zielt darauf ab, Sozialkompetenzen von Auszubildenden des Kfz-Handwerks und von Jugendlichen im Übergangssystem zu fördern, indem aktuelle Problemlagen im Bereich der Sozialkompetenzen aufgegriffen werden und als Grundlage für die Entwicklung und Implementierung eines arbeitsprozessorientierten Konzeptes zur Kompetenzentwicklung zu nutzen, das auch in geeigneter Form und angemessenem Umfang digitale Medien einsetzt. Die Maßnahmen zur Förderung der Sozialkompetenzen beziehen insbesondere die Zielgruppe der Geflüchteten und Jugendlichen mit Migrationshintergrund ein.

The O4YEL project aims at developing, implementing and evaluating innovative strategies and practices to orient and guide young people at risk of leaving the formal (general and vocational) education system before completion, i.e. without leaving certificates. In particular, tutorial measures are developed and implemented which are capable of promoting the inclusive education of young people and contributing to the prevention of dropping out of school and/or training. Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, British and German partners are working together in the project consortium.

Im KofeBS-Nachfolgeprojekt wird die Kompetenzfeststellung von an- und ungelernten SGB II- und SGB III-Leistungsempfängern sowie Beschäftigten ohne Berufsabschluss auf weitere Ausbildungsberufe ausgeweitet und evaluiert. Des Weiteren wird geprüft, ob sich Kompetenzfeststellungen und Weiterbildungsmaßnahmen nachhaltig an berufsbildenden Schulen implementieren lassen. Das Projekt wird vom Europäischen Sozialfonds (ESF) gefördert und unter dem Dach des Landesprogramms „Weiter mit Bildung und Beratung“ der Senatorin für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Europa durchgeführt.

A major reason for the different quality and appreciation of vocational education and training in the countries of Europe and beyond lies in the teachers. Selection, training and further education as well as the working conditions of vocational school teachers differ considerably. PRO-VET project focuses on the development of respective uniform teacher training objectives in Serbia and Russia and online-supported materials to achieve them. The methodological approach is "policy learning", i.e. the aim cannot be to export European solutions (which do not exist in this form anyway), but to further develop the existing teacher training systems in Serbia and Russia with reference to examples of good practice in selected EU countries.

Im Projekt wird die Entwicklung und Erprobung eines E-Portfolios zur Begleitung des Prozesses der Beruflichen Orientierung von Schüler*innen der Gymnasialen Oberstufen im Land Bremen als Teil eines „Sonderprogrammes zur Berufsorientierung leistungsstarker Schülerinnen und Schüler“ im Rahmen der Bund-Land-Vereinbarung „Bildungsketten“ fokussiert. Basis für diese Entwicklung und Erprobung ist ein bereits am ITB entwickeltes E-Portfolio-Konzept in der Berufsorientierung (Projekt: Berufswahlpass.online)