ACTIVITIES

The Skilled Up project period is coming to an end. What has been achieved in 3 years?

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We achieved a great deal. First of all, we brought together the representatives of the wood industry and educational institutions in the Baltic states in order to find out what skills specialists lack the most. To this end, 10 modules have been developed and are already being taught successfully together with partners from the Rosenheim Institute in Germany. Throughout the project, we had the opportunity to monitor, adjust and improve the curriculum, depending on how students see it and, of course, the companies that send students to improve their qualifications.

The project has initiated long-term changes and has had a positive impact on education systems in the Baltics. The transferability of the implemented approaches will provide tools for adopting the results in other countries and sectors.

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What concrete benefits did the participants gain from the project? What feedback did you get?

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During the project, we asked participants (employers, teachers and students) to rate their experience: Almost all participants in all the Baltic countries agreed that the subjects taught were relevant and important as well as preventive for the future. That’s fantastic news for us! Our goal was to give the students a combination of theoretical and practical knowledge that is most relevant to the market. What’s more, bearing in mind that Industry Revolution 4.0 is already here, we see that the market requires an increasingly new approach to production, seeing not only the individual processes but also the big picture. Of course, it is also important to emphasize the "green course of production" and digitalization. We paid a lot of attention to these topics in the training materials and in our experience sharing.

We are sure that the students participating in our project have acquired new, relevant competencies and skills which will help them to continue their successful careers.

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What role did the AHK play in the project design?

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AHK was not only the project founder, but also led the organization and administrative work. As Germany has extensive experience in dual vocational training, we shared this knowledge with the project participants. Furthermore, we managed the project dissemination and ensured the project’s sustainability. As the largest Chamber of Commerce in the Baltics with a network of almost 400 members, we aspire to build a bridge between the Baltics and other countries. That’s what we did with Skilled Up!

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How do you see the future of Skilled Up?

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We hope that other organizations will also benefit from the program in future, as it can be extended to other industries. In this way, the vast German expertise can be transferred on a European level. We see the dynamics of various industries in the Baltic countries and also hear what specialists are most lacking for companies developing production in the Baltic countries.

During recent years, the development of work-based learning (WBL) has been a priority of vocational education and training (VET) policy in the Baltic states and Europe. However, the main activities and improvements are focused on secondary level VET, and there are minimal elements of WBL and quality assurance (EQAVET) in the next stages, including EQF level 5 VET.

Further promotion should be achieved through various actions, such as creating a sector skills alliance, guaranteeing a further exchange of experience and information, developing a European quality VET training program which aims to improve the skills of the labour force in the wood processing sector in the Baltic states in the future, and similar activities.

The AHK is always interested in supporting educational projects, so I am sure that many interesting projects will follow.

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Thank you!

The interview was conducted by Meta Friedrich