- 2019Implementation
- 2020Implementation
- 2021Implementation
- 2022Implementation
Background
The increasing importance of digital tools and applications at work and in everyday life, the prominent role of information and data in new business models and the changing forms of communication place a wide range of new demands on everyone. Enabling people to handle these applications, data, information, media and communication technologies competently will be a central task and challenge for education and vocational training.
A clear picture of what, to what extent, why and for what it is required, is an important framework condition for the development of digital skills.
Objectives
- acceptance: the Austrian DigComp competence framework should become and remain a work base for the development and improvement of the digital competences of all citizens which is as widely accepted, as broadly understood and as coherently interpreted as possible;
- updating: the Austrian DigComp competence framework and the application scenarios derived from it are to be updated continuously and, if necessary, expanded by the task force to keep pace with the dynamics of digitalisation and its opportunities and challenges;
- networking: initiatives, measures, best practice and new ideas should be exchanged and connected as broadly and intensively as possible through an implemented task force and its members;
- quality management: the members of the task force ensure the quality and coherence of all measures with their participation in specific DigComp implementation and accompanying projects (funding programmes, research projects, working groups, referencing, evaluation and certification measures etc.);
- development and implementation of scientifically reliable validation tools in the form of a system of competence certificates for the classification of digital competences according to the DigComp model.
Description
In 2019, the Federal Ministry of Digital and Economic Affairs (BMDW) published the Digital competence model for Austria (DigComp 2.2 AT). The tool is intended for supporting the assessment and description of personal digital competences and the identification of possibilities for further development. It is based on the DigComp reference framework of the European Commission.
In 2019, the fit4Internet initiative developed a competence check to test everyday digital skills and made it publicly available. The check builds on the competence framework of the DigComp 2.2 AT.
The check is available in two versions (light and advanced), proceeds through different everyday situations and contains self-assessment and knowledge questions. The fit4Internet association was founded by the BMDW together with numerous organisations and leading companies to promote the development of digital skills in Austria.
The TV series Road to digital Austria was launched in cooperation between fit4internet and a private TV station. The series aims to highlight the opportunities and potential of digitalisation, reduce fear of contact and show a diverse picture of the digital world, thus promoting awareness of the importance of developing digital skills. In short documentary spots of around 5 minutes, a wide variety of topics in the context of digitalisation are addressed and presented and important terms are clarified.
In 2020, the technical further development of the fit4internet platform was continued and the TV series Road to digital Austria was expanded.
In 2021, the platform for the development of digital competences based on the DigComp 2.2 AT was further expanded. The referencing of training courses to the levels of the digital competence model on the platform fit4internet is available.
Training providers can assign their course offerings on digital competences to the competence areas and competence levels of DigComp 2.2 AT and thus enable users to search for course content according to their required competence areas and levels.
The TV series Road to digital Austria started its third season in the beginning of 2021.
With the establishment of a State Secretariat for Digitisation in the Ministry of Finance, the responsibility for digitisation agendas in 2022 and thus also the responsibility for DigComp AT moved from the Ministry of Digital and Economic Affairs to the Ministry of Finance.
Since the end of September 2022, a revised version of the digital competence framework has been available in the form of DigComp 2.3 AT, in which three additional competences have been integrated (conscious engagement with digitality, skills for legally compliant digital publication and sustainable use of resources in IT operations).
In addition, the DigComp-Cert certification system for digital competences which is part of the National Implementation Plan (NIP) was piloted and introduced in 2022. The DigComp-Cert certifies the assignment of the existing digital competences of a person according to the DigComp 2.2 AT model. The implementation takes place via an online platform, for which user must register. The assignment process to the competence levels 1-5 was piloted in 2022. DigComp-Cert consists of two parts, a knowledge check (Dig-Cert, requires an appointment at a test centre), and a proof of competence (second part), which can be chosen independently and in terms of form and scope (e.g. certificates, confirmation of participation, degree). After an examination of the submitted proof of competence, a DigComp-Cert certificates are issued and can be shared digitally. Direct transfer to the Europass ist also planned.
Targed groups of the DigComp-Cert are:
- people who want to develop their digital competences;
- people who want to know what digital competences they possess;
- people who want to make their digital competences visible;
- HR managers who want to develop the digital competences of their employees.
Furthermore, the Digital Skills Barometer was conducted for the first time in 2022, a survey-based instrument that provides a representative picture of the digital knowledge of the Austrian population that goes beyond mere self-assessment. According to the results, the average digital fitness in Austria is 41.6%. According to the model, a fitness of at least 60 to 80% is required to be able to move in a self-determined, secure and competent manner in the digital world.
At the end of the year, the Council of Ministers also adopted the Digital Competence Initiative for Austria', an initiative of several ministries with the goal of ensuring that as many people as possible in Austria have basic digital skills by 2030.
Bodies responsible
- Federal Ministry of Digital and Economic Affairs (BMDW) (until 2022)
- Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF)
Target groups
Learners
- Learners in upper secondary, including apprentices
- Young people (15-29 years old)
- Adult learners
- Low-skilled/qualified persons
Education professionals
- Adult educators
Entities providing VET
- VET providers (all kinds)
Thematic categories
Governance of VET and lifelong learning
This thematic category looks at existing legal frameworks providing for strategic, operational – including quality assurance – and financing arrangements for VET and lifelong learning (LLL). It examines how VET and LLL-related policies are placed in broad national socioeconomic contexts and coordinate with other strategies and policies, such as economic, social and employment, growth and innovation, recovery and resilience.
This thematic category covers partnerships and collaboration networks of VET stakeholders – especially the social partners – to shape and implement VET in a country, including looking at how their roles and responsibilities for VET at national, regional and local levels are shared and distributed, ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for VET providers to adapt their offer.
The thematic category also includes efforts to create national, regional and sectoral skills intelligence systems (skills anticipation and graduate tracking) and using skills intelligence for making decisions about VET and LLL on quality, inclusiveness and flexibility.
This thematic sub-category refers to the integration of VET into economic, industrial, innovation, social and employment strategies, including those linked to recovery, green and digital transitions, and where VET is seen as a driver for innovation and growth. It includes national, regional, sectoral strategic documents or initiatives that make VET an integral part of broader policies, or applying a mix of policies to address an issue VET is part of, e.g. in addressing youth unemployment measures through VET, social and active labour market policies that are implemented in combination. National skill strategies aiming at quality and inclusive lifelong learning also fall into this sub-category.
Modernising VET offer and delivery
This thematic category looks at what and how individuals learn, how learning content and learning outcomes in initial and continuing VET are defined, adapted and updated. First and foremost, it examines how VET standards, curricula, programmes and training courses are updated and modernised or new ones created. Updated and renewed VET content ensures that learners acquire a balanced mix of competences that address modern demands, and are more closely aligned with the realities of the labour market, including key competences, digital competences and skills for green transition and sustainability, both sector-specific and across sectors. Using learning outcomes as a basis is important to facilitate this modernisation, including modularisation of VET programmes. Updating and developing teaching and learning materials to support the above is also part of the category.
The thematic category continues to focus on strengthening high-quality and inclusive apprenticeships and work-based learning in real-life work environments and in line with the European framework for quality and effective apprenticeships. It looks at expanding apprenticeship to continuing vocational training and at developing VET programmes at EQF levels 5-8 for better permeability and lifelong learning and to support the need for higher vocational skills.
This thematic category also focuses on VET delivery through a mix of open, digital and participative learning environments, including workplaces conducive to learning, which are flexible, more adaptable to the ways individuals learn, and provide more access and outreach to various groups of learners, diversifying modes of learning and exploiting the potential of digital learning solutions and blended learning to complement face-to-face learning.
Centres of vocational excellence that connect VET to innovation and skill ecosystems and facilitate stronger cooperation with business and research also fall into this category.
This thematic sub-category refers to acquisition of key competences and basic skills for all, from an early age and throughout their life, including those acquired as part of qualifications and curricula. Key competences include knowledge, skills and attitudes needed by all for personal fulfilment and development, employability and lifelong learning, social inclusion, active citizenship and sustainable awareness. Key competences include literacy; multilingual; science, technology, engineering and mathematical (STEM); digital; personal, social and learning to learn; active citizenship, entrepreneurship, cultural awareness and expression (Council of the European Union, 2018).
Transparency and portability of VET skills and qualifications
European principles and tools, such as EQF, ESCO, ECTS, Europass and ECVET, provide a strong basis for transparency and portability of national and sectoral qualifications across Europe, including the issuing of digital diplomas and certificates.
This thematic category looks at how individuals are supported in transferring, accumulating, and validating skills and competences acquired in formal, non-formal and informal settings – including learning on the job – and in having their learning recognised towards a qualification at any point of their lives. This is only possible if qualifications are transparent and comparable and are part of comprehensive national qualifications frameworks. Availability of qualifications smaller than full and acquirable in shorter periods of time is necessary; some countries have recently worked on developing partial qualifications, microcredentials, etc.
This thematic sub-category refers to the application of EU transparency tools that allow recognition of qualifications among EU Member States (EQF, Europass, ESCO, ECTS). Among others, it includes linking national VET platforms and databases to Europass in accordance with the Europass Decision and EQF Recommendation and the use of the ECVET principles and tools, such as memoranda of understanding or learning agreements applied in mobility actions. The sub-category also covers measures on recognition of foreign/third-country qualifications for specific target groups, e.g. migrants or highly skilled professionals.
This thematic sub-category refers to validation mechanisms allowing individuals to accumulate, transfer, and recognise learning outcomes acquired non-formally and informally, including on-the-job learning, or in another formal system. In case they are not automatically recognised, a learner can have these learning outcomes validated and recognised through a particular process with a view to obtaining a partial or full qualification. This thematic sub-category covers such provisions and mechanisms.
European priorities in VET
VET Recommendation
- VET as an attractive choice based on modern and digitalised provision of training and skills
Osnabrück Declaration
- Establishing a new lifelong learning culture - relevance of continuing VET and digitalisation