„Digitalisation in commercial vocational training (Digi-KaB) - Changes in qualification profiles and implications for learning and training processes“

Project time: 01.10.2018 - 31.12.2021

Short description:

Initial situation and goals:
Digitalization, or digital transformation, impacts individuals, businesses and society as a whole. Triggers for this process are, for example, disruptive technologies, an increasing interconnectedness in processes and changing ways of thinking. The large number of government activities, notably the implementation strategy of the Federal Government for shaping digital change or the Digital Agenda, underline the importance of digitalization.. This project addresses the effects of digitalization on the world of work and stresses topics such as Industry 4.0, Labor 4.0, Business 4.0 and Vocational training 4.0 which are widely discussed. It is a widely held view that digitalization changes activity patterns and profiles of occupations. However, there is little scientific evidence and knowledge about changes in commercial occupations. Impacts of digitalization on commercial vocational education and training (VET), most notably the adaption of training content and teaching practices in commercial occupations, need to be investigated. The aim of the project is to identify new requirements and competence profiles in commercial occupations by analyzing both already visible and expected changes in commercial workplaces through digitalization. In addition to this analysis, implications will be developed for VET policy management and, to consolidate decisions which will be made at different stages of VET in schools, companies and organizational levels of VET . Finally, based on the identified changes, this project will examine possible modifications of didactical concepts, notably learning processes, the role of teacher and learners and the implantation of digital tools. In this way, teaching and learning under the conditions of digitalization could be promoted.

Procedure:
The project starts with a systematic literature and research analysis. In addition, national and international recruitment advertisements will be evaluated in order to assess the digital requirements of applicants for commercial occupations. Secondly, changes in commercial workplaces associated with digitalization will be identified through interviews with experts who work in the dual system and school based VET sector. The results will be transformed into adapted commercial competence models and incorporated in evidence-based drafts of curricula, teaching-learning processes and examination modalities. Moreover, we discuss and validate the findings of the project in an international Design-Thinking-Workshop by national and international VET experts.

Expected results:
The aim of the project is to identify working requirements of commercial workplaces, which are subject of crucial changes due to digitalization processes. Based on this analysis, authentic and holistic learning environments should be constructed in commercial VET. The identification of new competence profiles enables the development of curricular requirements in commercial VET. It will lead to digital-adapted curricular provisions and corresponding instructional and assessment-oriented instruments. Existing economic didactical approaches will be adapted or modified with regard the digitalization and the associated changes in commercial VET.

Publications

• Seeber, S., Weber, S., Geiser, P., Zarnow, S., Hackenberg, T. & Hiller, F. (2019). Effekte der Digitalisierung auf kaufmännische Tätigkeiten und Sichtweisen ausgewählter Akteure. [Effects of digitalization on commercial activities and perspectives of selected VET-stakeholders]. Berufsbildung, 73(176), 2–7.

Overall direction:
Prof. Dr. Susan Seeber
Chair for Business Education and Personnel Development
Faculty of Economic Sciences
Georg-August-University of Göttingen

Project partners:
Prof. Dr. Susanne Weber
Institute for Business Education
Munich School of Management
Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich

Prof. Dr. Matthias Schumann
Chair of Application Systems and E-Business
Faculty of Economic Sciences
Georg-August-University of Göttingen

Project team members:

Institut für Wirtschaftspädagogik:

• Patrick Geiser, M.Ed.
• Lina Röttger, B.A.
  

Digitalisation in commercial vocational training (Digi-KaB)

Funded by