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Thetimestheyarea-changin’

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Thetimestheyarea-changin’

Thetimestheyarea-changin’usedtosingBobDylan-sinceheisaNobelPrizewinner,wecannameit-afewyearsago:“Thewatersaroundyouhavegrown”

Infactitisthetypicalcommentthatcanbemadeateveryperiodofhistory.

Last July, 11th and 12th, I attended theconference, the summit, of theEuropean Entrepreneurship EducationNetwork.AtthePanellistSession,attheend of the second day conference,Shyamal Majumdar, the Head of theUnesco-Unevoc for Technical andVocational Education and Training,highlighted that theparticularityofourtime was not that the times were

changingbutthespeedofthesechanges.Inhisdailywork,hetravelsaroundtheworldandknowswellwhatheistalkingabout.

Then, another panellist, Joe Dablaere, CEO of Accenture, reinforced Shyamal’s words,commenting that a high percentage of the current services at his company didn’t exist 5yearsago.Theyarerenewingtheirportfolioofservicespermanently.

When talking about changes and transformations, the CEDEFOP mentions five mayorchanges:Unemployment,Globalization,Migrations,AgingPopulationandtheTechnologicalAdvances.

Let’s focus, for today’ssession,onthe lastone, theTechnologicalAdvances, specifically inwhat isknown,since2010,asthe Industry4.0concept.Thisembracesdifferentelements:theadvancedmanufacturingmaterialsandprocesses,thesmartmanufacturingsystems,theconnected factory and the sustainable manufacturing. And let’s pay attention to one oftheseveryrelevantparts,BigData.

Recently,atthebeginningofAugust,Icouldwatch a TV documentary on the relevanceof Big Data in future years. It was titledDeluged by Data, very interesting andclarifying regarding the changes which aretaking place; I think it can be watched onYoutubetoo.

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Apart from showing a few striking facts about the quantity of data being stored, thedocumentarymentionedtheconceptoftheDataRevolutionandthebroadtypeofactivitiesthat nowadays are being alreadymonitored by different types of devices: smart phones,wristbands,watches,andsoon.Italsocommentedonthenewbusinesseswhicharebeinggeneratedduetothedemandofdata,mainly inthefieldofthewearableandimplantabletechnology.

Looking at it with a certain perspective, I canremember a number of jobs existingwhen I was aboy and which have already disappeared: TheGrinder,theHorseman,theStreetPhotographer,theBlacksmith,etc.

Big Data technologies, among others, are alreadycausinganenvironmentofuncertaintywhichcompelustofacenewchallenges,nowopportunitiesandupto now unknown jobs. Only in the last three yearsmore than 10million new jobs have been created.Most of them originated due to the emergence ofthenewtechnologies,butnotallofthem.Thetattooartist,forinstance,duetonewfashionsorbelieves.

Insomecases,existingjobsdisappearandarereplacedbyrobots,liketheAmazonRobot.

Regarding the new opportunities caused by the technologies, some cases are reallyastonishing, like the success of theweb “Aceros deHispania”, an online business, awebwhichimpliestheparticipationofsmalltownofTeruelprovince,intheglobalmarket.

Theeffectofthechanges,oftechnologyonusisevenbiggerthatwecanrealizeatafirstsight.Inanarticleon the Spanishpress, I could readanopiniononhowthecontinueduseofthumbsonscreensmay alter the functioning of our brain.On the documentary Deluged by Data, which Imentioned previously, members of QuantifiedSelf group talk about the real possibility ofbecoming Cyborgs in a near future just by

inserting inourbodies somerobotic implants tocanalizedata.They talkedalsoabout therisk of becoming a kind of posthuman beings to whom data will be more relevant thaninstincts.Finally,KlausSchwab,founderoftheWorldEconomicForumandauthorof“The

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Fourth Industrial Revolution”, seems also convinced that we are at the beginning of arevolutionthatisfundamentallychangingthewaywelive,workandrelatetooneanother.

AtthisstageandfocusingonVET,ourmatterofconcern,twoquestionscometomymind,two questions that I want to reflect upon with you: If we want to improve the prestige(placingVETasafirstoption,asmartoption)andtoincreasetheaddedvalueofVET,whatshouldwechangeinourVETsystems?Whatshouldremain?

To start with, we should start reflecting onthe current role of the VET systems inEurope. I would say that we should have inmind, at least from my local, Basqueperspective,thedoubleroleweplay:Ononehand,we are requested to favour inclusion,labour, social, cultural inclusion, consideringthelowerlevels,Europeanlevel1,2and3,ofVET.Ontheotherhand,weareexpected topromote innovation in the industrial tissue,attheSMEs,throughEuropeanlevels4and5mainly. Do we agree with this perspective?

This reflexionshould takeus toabetterunderstandingofourselves, tobetterknowsomecurrent difficulties of the VET systems: lack of prestige, not being a first option formanystudents and families, or the latent confusionon terminology anddefinitions: VET,HVET,TVET,PHE.

Frommy point of view, we have to consider the VET system of the future as somethingdifferent and richer in meanings. It has to be a Framework of Training, Innovation andEntrepreneurship, integrating the system of European Qualifications and ProfessionalTrainingandleadingtoasetofCertificationsofCompetences,TitlesandAwards.

Tomanagethisframeworkproperly,wehavetorethink the responsibilities on education andtraining.TheStrategicTriangleisamodelwhichis becoming popular and there are a fewprojects dealing with the idea that VETinstitutions and teachers should bettercooperate and collaborate with students andindustries, the world of work, to improveemployabilityandreinforcethecompetitivenessofEuropeanVETcentresandSMEs.

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Ontheirbehalf,manyEuropeancompanieswhichhavesufferedtheeffectsoftheeconomiccrisis have shown stamina and determination changing their business models, theirproductionprocessesandproducts inorder to remainalive in theglobalmarket.ManyofthemunderstandbetternowtheneedforcollaborationontrainingandparticipateactivelyinVETdynamicsliketheDualSystemortheWork-BasedLearning.

Regarding the students,we are all awarethat a new generation is coming andentering our VET centres, a generation,some called them Millennials, with verydifferent characteristics to the previousones and who are demanding a biggervariety of active learning methods. Theyarestudentswhodon’tvalue informationby itself, as they can find it everywhere,students who like to interact with oneanother,andwholiketobetreatedatapersonallevelbytheteachers.ThesocalledFlowChannel,takenfromthevideogamesstrategies,seemstobeapromisingideaofthetypeofpracticestheyaredemandingfromVETteachersandschools.

With regard to VET authorities and institutions, apart from nice polices and glamorousdeclarationsweneedasoundinitialteachertraininganddevelopmentsystemtospeedupthe generational replacement, support and investment on new spaces and new buildingsandamorecourageousbetoninnovationandentrepreneurship.

Intheend,IbelievethatthelabourmarketwillfinallyhaveabiginfluenceonthefutureofVETand,onthisrespect,wehavetotryandinfluenceEuropeanandnationalpubliclabourpolices and demand an improvement of the workers’ status, hindering the loss of theirlabourrights,requiringdecentwagesandnotallowingprecariousemploymentconditions.

To match the initial approach of turning the VET system into a Framework of Training,EntrepreneurshipandInnovation,furtherproposalscanbeasfollows:

Firstly,wesuggestadoptingnew learningmethods and processes, mainly, the ideaof implementing Challenge BasedLearning, a very innovative approachwhich demands a great organizationaleffortbutcanreachverygoodresults.

Secondly,theentrepreneurshipeducation

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mustbereallyimplementedateveryVETschool.ThereisalreadyawideexperienceacrossEuropeon thisaspectand the focus shouldvary fromcreatingnewreal companiesat theVETcentresandpromotingtheentrepreneurialcultureamongstudentstothedetectionandtransfer of promising practices, teacher training and the development and valorisation ofentrepreneurialskillsandattitudes.

Thirdly, the introduction of innovative services to SMEs, linked with the Industry 4.0concept, in the services portfolio of the VET centres. The daily contact with companiesaccelerates the transfer of knowledge and increases the possibilities of cooperation,enhancingthetrustbetweenbothtypesoforganizations.

WhatIcallSmartVETisareminderformakingusawarethat regardingthe use of ICTs in the educationalsystem there is still a long way togo. Few centres are takingadvantage of the possibilitiesofferedbytheInternetofThingsto

renew their buildings and facilities turning them into more efficient and sustainableorganizations.Westill lackVETeLeaderswhocareabouttheorganisationalarchitectureofthe computer system at their schools and compromise with the provision of onlineprogrammes,thesupportofsmartclassrooms,smartteachers,smartstudentsandwiththeimplementationofadvancemanagementsystems(processes,financesandpersons).

TosupportandfavourthefulfilmentoftheDigitalSkillsandJobsCoalitionGoalsby2020,initiativessimilartothatproposalofSmartVETmustbeundertakenonalargescale.

ForunderpinningtheSustainabilityofourVETinstitutionsIputforwardtheideaofadoptingnew policies in that field regarding the implementations of new projects in the area ofAquiculture,WaterandEnergy,Building,Furnituremaking,etc.

On introducing someof these proposalswe’ll becomedynamic organizations able to facefuturechallengesand thedemandsofnewqualifications from thecompanies,andwillbemoreefficientonpreparingstudentsforjobsoftomorrowwearenotyetawareoftoday.

Theagilityanddynamismmustalsoreachtheprovisionofprogrammes,adjustingthemincontents,methodologies,equipment,butalso in lengthtothenewrequestsoftheLabourMarket(SpecializationProgrammes).

Anexample Ireadaboutonthepress isthatoftheDYE.org -https://diy.org-acommunityaimingattransferringinnovativeskillstothepupilsatearlystagesoftheeducationsystem.

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Among the mentioned innovativeskills, we have to include not onlytechnicalskills,inordertocompleteagood set of professional skills to betransmitted to our VET students,wehave to include also the transversalskills.Therearedifferentmodels,andtheselectionof theskillsvaries fromone model to the other (Teamwork,SenseofInitiativeandEntrepreneurship,Communication,CriticalThinking,Problemsolving,CivicandSocialCompetence,learningtoLearn),thereasonisthatthedemandonskillsalsovarieswiththeyears,asnewtechnologiesandnewjobsrequirenewqualifications. Inanycase,thoseseemtobethemostvaluableones.Atleast,theyarethebestpaidforandthemostneededtosucceedinenvironmentsofeverincreasingcomplexity.So,payingthedueattention to the transfer of these skills we are hitting the bullseye, as we are educatingstudentsforthechangestheyaregoingtolivethroughouttheirprofessionallives.

A scheme that should be established to reinforce the transfer of “skills for a time ofchanges”,andthatIshouldalsocomfortablyincludeintheinitialgeneralFramework,isthatof the Career Guidance, a very complex work indeed as it needs the interdisciplinarycollaborationofdifferentadministrationsordepartments.ToimprovetheCareerGuidanceservicesofferedbythedepartmentsofEducationandTraining,thedepartmentsofIndustry,Employmentarerequiredcollaborators.

But,apartfromallthesechangesandsuggestedproposals,isthereanythingthat,inspiteofall,shouldremain?

Definitelyyes!Wearenotstartingfromscratch,andatdifferentlevelsofgovernance,thereareachievements,initiativesandprojectsinprogressthatshouldbemaintained.

TheUnevocNetworkhasstarteditsactivitiesatinternationalleveland,personally,weareverypleasedatTknikaofhavingbeenpickeduptocollaborateintheNetworkandthinkthatthisisaverysensibleandsensitiveinitiativeinthefieldofVET.TheThreePillarsofPriorityAreasbroadenourvisionoftheVETfieldandaddvalueandnewperspectivestotheworkwearedisplayinginthirdcountries.

AtEuropean level, theVETpoliciesarerunbytheSkillUnitoftheDGEmployment,SocialAffairsandInclusionand itsguidelines,tools,measuresandprogrammesareveryrelevantfor the VET sector. The objectives fixed by the Riga Declaration are really helpful, theinitiatives promoted to fulfil them and the monitoring of the achievements very

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encouraging. Then, we have also the New Skills Agenda for Europe initiative, whoseproposals,liketheInitiativeonGraduateTracking,areveryinspiringforVETinstitutions

IntheBasqueCountry,theorganizationrunningtheVETSystemisaViceministry,sowecanimagine the value thesepoliceshave for theBasqueGovernment.Wehave a traditionofwell-designedVETplanswhichhavebeenaninspirationfortheVETcommunity.Nowweareexpecting for theapprovalof theNewVETActand the5thVETPlanwhichwillbringnewresourcestotheprojectsweareundertakingnow.

At Tknika, we are involved in some interestingprojects, growing and introducing innovations,like the newArea of Sustainability, which turnsourworkhighlymotivating.

Iwouldn’t like to finishthispresentationwithoutdoing a serious call for the need of focusing ourteaching approach on Values. Foremost, weshouldfocusongettingValues-drivenstudents.

It is embarrassing and disturbing to thinkthat after spending fivedaysof theweekatsome of our VET centres, some of ourstudents could go fighting each other at afootball field o to drinkwithout control dueto the lack of references, expectations andvalues.Values,asskills,seemtoevolvealso,butinanycase,weshouldengageonkeepingthe good values of this western culture.Thereisalotatstake!

I’dalsoliketobringtoyouthisfamousquotebyTSEliot:

Whereisthelifewehavelostinliving?

Whereisthewisdomwehavelostinknowledge?

Whereistheknowledgewehavelostininformation?

It is the typeof thought that comes tomymindwhen thinkingabout thepromiseof theICTs, thepotentialofBigDataandthe like:Will theymakeuswiseenoughto turnall thegenerated data into information, to get valuable knowledge from this information, tobecomesensible,reasonableenoughbasedontheacquirednewknowledges?

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Because we have to admit that there is a dark side on new technologies, on internet, apotential danger: thedarkweb, themisuse of the social networks, loss of privacy, cyberbulling,cybersecurity,etc.

Progress in the control of newtechnologies doesn’t necessarily meanprogress in the state of comfort of thepopulation.Onthecontrary,technology,robotics canbeusewithevil intentions:Createanewgenerationofsoldiers,etc.

Ontheotherside,someworryingtrendsare emerging in western society andeconomies. In someactivities,VET titlesseem to be losing relevance (restoration, nursing homes, etc.) The quality of professionalservices gets worse and salaries fall. In other occasions, over qualifications are beingrequested by companies just to perform unskilled jobs. Job opportunities for the lowestqualifiedarescarce,whichcausespovertyandsocialexclusionandisasourceofundesirableproblemslikeradicalism.

Tofightthesechallenges,myfinalproposalistousetechnology(andtheknowledgewegetthrough it) to improve the transfer of values and fight Unemployment, Migration andGlobalization.

Doingso,wewillmanagethesebigchangesinaproactiveway(wewillgeneratechanges)andfulfilourdoublecommitmentinVET:ToTrainandEducatetheyounggenerationforabetterfuture.

All these reflexions can be summarized presenting them as new paradigm for themanagement of the VET sector. Sowe can talk about concept like Value VET, Open VET,SmartVET,InnoVET,SkilfulVET,Reg-VET,Inter-VET,etc.

A paradigm which comprises several proposals, as described in the PowerPoint of thissession.

Finally,acoupleofthings:

Quality!Qualityisaguaranteeforsustainability.Atthisshop inDax, France, they have been makingmuffins,onlymuffins,forages!Amuffin,oneeuro.Noneedforchanges, new technologies or new products, just well

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donetastymuffins.

Inanycase,wecan’tallownabakery!So, coming back to Bob Dylan’s song,rememberhisrequest:Youroldroadisrapidlychanging,please,getoutofthenew one if you can’t lend your hand,forthetimestheyareachanging!

Joppapisaremarkableproject.Youareoffering new tools, newprocesses andnew ways of getting information andcommunicatetothenewgeneration.

You,Joppappartners,arelendingahandinthistimeofchanges.Thankyou!

Tknika,1thSeptember2017

InternationalizationArea