LIKA 4.0 – Digitally supported, cooperative learning on behalf of customers; sub-project: Development and testing of the overall didactic concept

Development, testing and consolidation of digitally supported further training in the skilled trades for the work process and competence-oriented design of in-company training with the aid of a training management system.

The German training system with its dual structure is still highly regarded in international comparison. The duality of theory and practice is intended to ensure a balanced qualification of future employees. However, the German craft sector in particular, as one of the supporting pillars of the dual system, is confronted with far-reaching developments and changes in society. Summarised under the keyword "Labour 4.0", digitalization in particular stands out as a trend that needs to be successively taken more into account. In times of digitalization, a fundamental further development and reorientation is required not only in terms of work and business processes, but also in the context of training in the skilled trades. Vocational education and training 4.0" is currently being discussed extensively.

Todays trainees are the customer service technicians, the project managers, sometimes even the bosses of tomorrow. They are not only expected to be competent in their trade, but also to have an overview of work and business processes and to be able to increasingly operate in digitalized environments. This is where the research project LIKA 4.0 comes in, whose goal is to implement a work and business process-oriented, digitally supported training concept in craft practice. In order to reach the trainees, the concept must address the group of people who directly shape the training: Company training personnel.

At the heart of the project is the development and implementation of a training programme for this target group, which focuses on the order- and competence-oriented training concept "Learning on behalf of customers". The LIKA concept is based on typical work and business processes in the trade - i.e. customer orders - and focuses on complete work processes and customer orientation. Learning and working are linked and digitally supported in the LIKA 4.0 context. The potential of digital media can be consistently used for industrial-technical training.

In this context, the blended learning approach has proven to be viable for the development and sustainability of further training measures for in-company training personnel. According to this approach, a combination of presence and self-learning phases is aimed for the development of LIKA 4.0 further training. As a result, the participating company training personnel will be able to work together with colleagues on site at Alsdorf as well as get to know the LIKA 4.0 concept from home or from the company. This should make a transfer into in-company training practice easier and provide lasting support.

In the LIKA 4.0 project, the "LIKA 2020" initiative, which has already been successfully implemented in practice in the past, and the concept and digital tools of the "competence workshop" are used. In the project context, the main aim is to bring together and further develop the tools developed to date by the competence workshop - competence check, training portfolio and task manager - under the technical and media-didactic umbrella of a training management system. With help of this system, in-company trainers from the skilled trades in particular can then systematically implement digitally supported, order- and competence-oriented training on site in their companies.

The project is supported by the Akademie Zukunft Handwerk (AZH-AG) as the central coordination and transfer office. AZH-AG designs sustainable concepts for the holistic optimization of business processes with the goal of positive development, healthy growth and a solid future for craft enterprises.

The Institute of Technology and Education (ITB) of the University of Bremen takes on the role of vocational and media pedagogical planning, design and evaluation of continuing education. In addition, the ITB acts as an interface between further training practice and IT implementation.

Interlutions GmbH, a digital agency based in Cologne, is responsible for the development, networking and optimisation of technical infrastructures, in particular for the development of the training management system.

Practical transfer and testing are carried out by a total of thirteen supported craft enterprises, which occupy important key positions with regard to the development of innovative skills in the network of the "Akademie Zukunft Handwerk" (Academy for the Future of Craft).

Through a sustainable professionalisation and future viability of the craft enterprises involved in the project in the area of competence-oriented, work process-related and digitally supported training, not only these, but also other companies and other institutions should benefit from the project in the long term. Vocational schools and inter-company training centres can also participate in the implementation in the sense of intensive cooperation between learning locations.