Technological developments will have a major impact on the world of work in the coming years. Scientific studies assume that more than half of all jobs in Germany will change significantly as a result of digitization and the impact of other megatrends. Many employees in Germany will have to acquire new skills in order to meet the changing demands at their workplace or to be able to switch to a new professional field of activity.
Up to now, automation and the use of robots have mainly affected the low-skilled. Now, jobs performed by people with intermediate levels of education are also facing major upheaval. Germany is not well positioned to meet these new challenges: there is a need to catch up in continuously aligning vocational training with workplace needs.
We also need more knowledge about which skills will be needed in which jobs in the future. Building on this, the continuing education system of the future must be developed in such a way that it can respond more flexibly and quickly to accelerated change.
With the help of new data sources and innovative methods, the project aims to close knowledge gaps among stakeholders in the field of continuing vocational education and training – policymakers, social partners, companies and continuing education and training organizations – to provide orientation on future skills requirements and, where possible, to identify suitable transition paths into sustainable fields of employment. This should also provide impetus for further developing the system of continuing vocational training in order to provide the best possible support for the acquisition of new skills.
