Where education meets the needs of the labour market. 

Devising an educational offer that corresponds with the requirements of the labor market is a challenge for the institutional partnerships of employers and the education sector. A stated by the OECD, a key characteristic of an effective vocational system is that it has mechanisms that ensure that the mix of vocational provision corresponds to the needs of the labour market. Currently in Poland, the so-called fourth industrial revolution is posing challenges to the labour force, which needs training if they are to guarantee their relevance in many sectors that are updating their equipment and systems. The collaboration between employers and educational institutions should allow adapting the competences of industrial companies managers to the challenges which are the result of fast-paced technological changes.

The project uses Vocational Education and Training (VET) to devise and disseminate knowledge about the technological challenges of Industry 4.0, since implementing new solutions requires upskilling employees qualifications. 

Activities proposed within the project underline the crucial role of VET institutions in terms of building a lifelong learning attitude, enhancing professional mobility and upskilling employees. The project offers the chance of devising new educational offers for Jagiellonian University Extension (JUE) and University of Technology in Rzeszów (UTR) in cooperation with Pratt & Whitney (P&W) and IDN. It will concern technological changes such as 3D printing, creating augmented and virtual reality, advanced human-machine interface, cloud computing, etc. and their effect on the social and economical environment. 

The project’s objectives are:

• Acquiring the knowledge about the technological and training aspects of implementing the solutions of Industry 4.0 by 15 representatives of partners’ managing staff during the study visit in Trondheim;
• Devising 3 educational products based on the idea of dual education, including those facilitating social inclusion by education in cooperation with IDN and P&W in the period of April 2020 – March 2021;
• Development and the promotion of VET sector by making available and spreading the offer of continuing education institutions during 6 multiplier events for 150 participants in May till November 2021;
• Knowledge transfer regarding solutions of Industry 4.0 between IDN Norway, JUE, P&W and UTR Those objectives are directly linked to the objectives of the Education Programme.

The idea of dual education, which ensures the cooperation of educational institutions and employers in delivering the theoretical and practical dimension of the learning process, is an approach proposed in this project. The diverse nature of partners in this profile of partners in this project allows us to carry out knowledge transfer about Industry 4.0 and the exchange of good practices with regards to dual education. This project envisages three products that address the above mentioned demand:

1. A Virtual Reality (VR) technology module of studies; 
2. The training program “Competencies of Industry 4.0”; 
3. A training game (thinking skills development). 

The product-oriented approach will guide the experts in devising high-quality outputs. Each product is managed and prepared by one of the different partners in the project and will later be included in the organization’s portfolio and available as OER, which will increase the sustainability of the project. The project also comprehends a study visit in Norway for 15 employees of partner institutions for them to gain knowledge about the Industry 4.0. The VR course of study will be added to the dual studies program. By devising innovative multimedia products the project activities support social inclusion by education. The use of VR technology and cloud software will enable to benefit from the products by a wide range of users, no matter the reduced mobility, economical or geographical limitations. All products will be also available as OER.