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Keeping pace with technological innovation: continuous training

From October 26th to October 28th 2017, a seminar on "Keeping pace with technological innovation: continuous training" was held in Bergamo, Italy, organized by FLC (Fondazione Luigi Clerici) with the support of the EZA and the European Union. The seminar was part of the EZA project coordination on the topic "Digital work environment - technological developments and changes at the workplace".

On October 26th, Dr. Cesana (Director General of the Luigi Clerici Foundation) opened the seminar and showed how the topic should be tackled.

Given the accelerating pace of technological and digital change in Europe and the way in which work interacts with technologies, the importance of discussing education and training in the digital economy is obvious.

The new technologies are increasingly ubiquitous and not only determine new ways of working, but also create new professional profiles in all economic sectors. Therefore, new knowledge and skills must be developed within companies in order for them to be internationally competitive. The growth of the digital economy can create new jobs. In view of the speed of the introduction of technological innovations in companies, the training of employees seems to be of central importance. This applies both to basic training and at the workplace. This area includes training that has the character of development and completion (updating and perfecting) of already acquired professional skills.  

The seminar therefore carried out an analysis of the ICT world, which dealt with the effects on working life and training according to the different situations in which technological innovations take place.

The focus is often on the sociological aspects of new technologies and the problems associated with telework and mobility. Although this consideration was not lacking in the seminar, attention was also focused on the new professional profiles and new skills associated with the needs of companies. A problem that is still open today relates to the maturation of the relationship between the world of work and the school sphere: it is a gap in skills that exists between the labour market and school.

Each area requires very specific skills and one has to work with young people in the right direction. For this reason, the topic raised is that of orientation: it is necessary that a young person who leaves secondary school should be directed to a high school by a counsellor who is familiar with the labour market.

Another central theme is the new "forma mentis" (mindset) of learning: the use of new technologies in teaching with young people is not only a question of tools, but more a question of teaching methodology. A topic discussed at the seminar concerns the introduction of new methods for young people in order to create a new "Forma mentis".

Another important topic was the shortage of skilled workers in the area of technologies.

Mother Gabriella Grassi emphasized how important it is to work on the holistic education of the person, not to forget and omit the human aspects, but also to note that it takes people who are able to enter an increasingly technologically oriented labour market with all the necessary skills. Therefore, schools, training institutions and the world of work must necessarily maintain a constant dialogue and exchange.

Assessor Valentina Aprea, in her lecture, emphasized the need for training. In order to meet the educational needs of current students, guided, progressive and significant experimentation with digital potential is necessary.

On this subject, the contribution of Dr. Patrizia Graziani, headmistress of Bergamo, emphasized in her contribution the importance of the competences requested by the European Parliament. Among the eight most important competences, the digital is characterised by its transversality, and by "knowing how to use information society technologies for work, leisure and communication with confidence and critical spirit".

Professor Haus's presentation emphasized the idea of the "supply chain". The training of new job profiles that can be integrated into the productive structure at different functional levels requires a training offer with differentiated possibilities in terms of quality and quantity of preparation and experience. The integration between the courses, ranging from secondary schools to university courses at different levels, makes it possible to define veritable "supply chains" that specialize in subjects that offer students a well-characterized path, with the allowed flexibility of withdrawals at different intermediate levels. The "rooting" of the supply chains in the various arrangements and training processes is the prerequisite for the success of students' careers.

Subsequently, 4 contributions from technology partners were presented, who had the topic "Innovation in Didactics" as a guide:

  • Angelo Dalessandri - Apple Distinguished Educator
  • Chiara D’angelo - Samsung Solution Evangelist
  • Luca Lepore - Cisco Networking Academy Program Manager
  • Alessandra Santacroce - Director for Institutional Relations - IBM Italia Spa

Several valuable tips, some of which are listed below, are the best way to present the topic of the seminar: Apple's Angelo Dalessandri has highlighted how education, technology and new content provide the necessary and distinctive elements for entering the world of work and its progress, emphasising how to support future careers through accessibility features, coding projects and continuous training.

The presentation by Dr. Luca Lepore was also interesting, emphasising the gap in digital literacy in Italy and presenting some figures representing the current situation - 57% of people have no digital skills, 19% of people have advanced digital skills and 24% of people have basic digital skills. This shows that the world of education and training is not yet up to date, nor can the demands of companies for people educated in the ICT sector be met. Cisco therefore carries out some interventions through training programs called Networking Academy Program Overview. A teaching programme focusing on information technology (ICT), networking and soft skills.

Cisco works with governments, non-profit organizations and 10,000 schools and universities worldwide. The courses are held both in attendance and at a distance using cloud-based platforms.

Students with different levels of school preparation acquire practical skills and abilities that are indispensable for working on the Internet of Things (IoT). 1 million students are registered each year. In general, reports were received from companies in the ICT sector dealing with various aspects related to the new emerging professions needed by the labour market.

The dimension of training and the importance of introducing teaching methods that favour a different and competence-oriented approach to knowledge without neglecting the importance of developing cultural axes were examined.

One methodology addressed was that of "coding", a methodology borrowed from (computer science) that develops cognitive and useful skills to deal with any kind of problem, even with a high degree of complexity, and consequently, the people trained by this type of approach will be able to fit into any working context.

After the lunch break, a round table was started at which European models were compared and took part:

  • Lithuanian experience - Jelena Soms - docent - Labour Federation - LDF
  • Spanish experience - Elizabeth Diaz - Manager of social policies - Spain - FundacióPrivadaTrinijove
  • Portuguese Experience - Ana Isabel Valente - Manager at Cifotie - Portugal - Cifotie: International Training Centre for Industrial and Energy Workers (Centro Internazionale di Formazionedei Lavoratori Industria e Energia)
  • Romanian experience - Catalina Bonciu - President of the Union of Educators University of Bucharest - Romania - University of Bucharest "Alma Mater"

On October 28th, Dr. Cesana resumed work and presented other experiences of European partners who have contributed new ideas to the seminar, including:

  • Portuguese experience - Maria Reina Martin - Manager of Social Policies - Portugal - Fidestra
  • Lithuanian experience - Tomas Kazlauskas - Information Technology Manager - Lithuania - JSC Joint Stock Company "SDG" Saugaus Darbo Garantas - Warranty and safety at work

The seminar ended with a round table discussion of the confrontation and the considerations of all participants.

Conclusions

The seminar was an experiment in choosing to make a contribution that addresses the peculiarities of some less narrow sociological aspects.

The Luigi Clerici Foundation plays an important role in the growth of young people so that they grow up with a sense of responsibility, the basic principle for growing as employees of the future.

The trade union part has a very high responsibility in the changing world of work. It is like an unstoppable background in which we have to put ourselves in with a great sense of responsibility. The structure of the labour market has changed and today's young people receive no comparison and no answers from the trade unions. Today, a training path in mechanics means training that uses new technologies (Cad, 3D printing as an example). The view of the social partners and the social dialogue should broaden to these aspects.

IBM, a large multinational ICT company, for example, uses a mechanical contract because it has manufactured mechanical devices in the past, but today this contract reveals limitations and should be updated.

The seminar also highlighted the importance of the human dimension and values as a fundamental element for responsible decision-making, but above all as a crucial element in ICT work. Take for example the relationship dimension: soft skills, such as relational or problem-solving factors, determine the results when using new technologies. Emotional intelligence must be further developed in the tasks involving the use of technology, and this will be the real challenge: to continue to make an education that is not only professional but also a holistic formation of the person. This issue must be at the heart of the analysis among the social partners, also in relation to impact and training in the digital world.