- 2019Implementation
- 2020Implementation
- 2021Implementation
- 2022Implementation
- 2023Implementation
- 2024Implementation
Background
Since 2016, digitalisation of vocational schools is increasingly subject to educational research and policy. For example the BIBB research investigates the impact of digitalisation and industry 4.0 on emerging skills requirements for employees and also for teachers and trainers. More individualised learning, increased use of learning platforms, social media or virtual classrooms will imply different ways of teaching and require teachers and trainers to have increased IT and media competences. The strategy Education in the digital world and the resolution Vocational schools 4.0 (both KMK, 2016) put particular emphasis on four fields of action:
- development of education plans, teaching and curricula;
- initial and continuing education of teachers;
- infrastructure and equipment;
- educational media.
BIBB also addressed this topic in studies and at several events. Furthermore, also the Monitor digital education on vocational training in the digital age (Schmid; Goertz; Behrens et al., 2016) tackles the digitalisation of vocational schools. In 2018, the Telekom Foundation launched also the research project Vocational school digital, supported by Bremen's Institute for Information Management (IFIB). The project aimed to clarify until the end of 2019, which cross-occupational and occupation-specific digital skills vocational school learners need to learn and which conditions vocational schools need to be able to integrate digital media profitably into their teaching and everyday life.
The respective federal states are responsible for the training and further education of teachers.
Objectives
Update teachers' digital skills to respond to the increasing impact of digitalisation and industry 4.0.
Description
Under its Digital pact for schools programme (2019-24), the Federal Government aims to fund the digital infrastructure in all German schools, including vocational schools, to promote the uptake of digital skills. Vocational schools have been gradually provided with high-quality digital equipment including professional administration. This investment goes hand-in-hand with investment of Federal States, promoting digital competences of teachers and the development of new digital teaching concepts. For example, 2020 funding guideline of the Quality initiative for teacher training (Qualitätsoffensive Lehrerbildung, QLB) described in the policy development on Long-term quality initiative for teacher training focuses on the topics 'Digitalisation in teacher education' and 'Teacher education for vocational schools'. This is an important complement to the Digital Pact. A total of EUR 5.5 billion from the Federal Government and the Federal States were foreseen to invest in school digital infrastructures and teacher digital upskilling over a five-year period.
In 2019, the Federal Government continued to fund projects that seek to identify strategies for designing learning processes using the potential of digital media to support successful learning, both of individuals and for groups.
Since 2020, the Federal Government and the Federal States have supplemented the Quality initiative for teacher education with a new funding guideline. Funding focusses on the topics 'Digitalisation in teacher education' and 'Teacher education for vocational schools'.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for powerful digital infrastructures in schools and for digital educational content. Funds from the Digital pact for schools programme (DigitalPakt Schule) for State-wide and cross-State projects amounting to EUR 100 million were allocated to the States for the use of digital educational offers and the expansion of infrastructures to compensate for school closures. The coalition committee has also decided to provide EUR 500 million for schoolchildren who cannot access a mobile device at home and to support schools with online teaching content, as well as EUR 500 million for teachers' equipment (Corona-Hilfe I, II and III). This additional investment funding is intended to improve the provision of digital teaching, learning and communication opportunities for schools, students and teachers: teachers can use the tablets or laptops issued by the school for lesson preparation and the implementation of digital forms of teaching.
Moreover, in 2020 the project Digi Gap, which is part of the programme Digitalisation in teacher education started. It aims to analyse 'digital gaps', in didactic, organisational, individual and technological factors in educational processes, within the framework of systematic research and to generate approaches to closing them for all phases of teacher education as well as in the school context.
In 2021, the Competence Workshop, which was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the Digital media in VET programme, presented a didactic-methodical approach in the webinar series that transcends occupations and learning venues and provides company, inter-company and school teaching staff with basic information on how VET can be planned and implemented at all learning venues in a work-process-oriented, competence-promoting and digitally supported manner.
Two films published in 2021 provide insights into how the projects support and implement the topic of digitisation in teacher education: 'Teacher education in times of corona' (3/2021) and 'Digitalisation in teacher education' (11/2021).
The Digitalised learning in STEM teacher education (digiMINT) project of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) will investigate how the acceptance of digital tools has changed amongst teachers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the results of a survey of teachers about digital teaching tools (EduApps) have been published.
Through a Federal-State supplementary agreement of Corona-Hilfe III, EUR 500 million have been available since January 2021 to enable schools to equip teachers with laptops.
A new approach for prospective and practising teachers is offered by the Mixed reality interactive training (MITHOS) project. In the MITHOS project, vocational school teachers learn how to deal with heterogeneity and conflict situations at school in a mixed reality (MR) environment. By means of sensor technology, a precise real-time recording of social signals from the teachers' faces, bodies and speech becomes possible. The project was developed and is being implemented by a network of universities and IT companies coordinated by the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence GmbH. With funding of EUR 2.47 million, of which 69% is funded by the BMBF, runs from August 2021 to June 2024.
In 2022, HubbS (a hub for vocational schools), a digital platform for the exchange and development of teaching materials and teaching concepts as well as for the communication and collaboration of teachers at vocational schools was under development, based on more than 100 user stories.
Furthermore, in January 2022 the BMBF published a brochure 'Digitalisation in teacher education after the digital turn', within the Quality initiative for teacher education.
As part of the Digital pact for schools programme, vocational schools and VET teachers have been gradually provided with high-quality digital equipment including professional administration.
In 2023, a second status conference of the Digital Pact for Schools took place and the progress report on the digital pact was published, documenting the funding activities relating to the digitisation of German schools. Vocational schools and their teachers are part of the initiative. Information is provided here about the status of the HubbS project. HubbS (a hub for vocational schools), a digital platform for the exchange and development of teaching materials and teaching concepts as well as for the communication and collaboration of teachers at vocational schools was still under development. The launch is expected in 2024.
The Digital Pact for Schools started to be evaluated in February 2023.
The Quality Initiative for Teacher Training (Qualitätsoffensive Lehrerbildung, QLB) expired in 2023. Various projects have addressed the qualification of vocational school teachers in digital education. For more information, see Long-term quality initiative for teacher training.
The project Shaping Heterogeneity and Inclusion - Cologne Strategy for the Future of Teacher Training (ZuS) [(Heterogenität und Inklusion gestalten - Zukunftsstrategie Lehrer*innenbildung Köln (ZuS)] was developed as part of the Quality Initiative for Teacher Training and was funded from 2015 to 2023. As one field of action and aimed at equipping teachers and student and trainee teachers, with the digital skills they need for the classroom, the free 'eTeaching Expert' training programme (Cross-phase online training for teaching in the digital age) was designed. It was already offered at the beginning of the pandemic and continues to be available.
In 2023, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs published the 'Objectives and organisational framework of the pact for vocational schools'. The work of the pact between the federal states and the federal government includes the qualification of vocational school teachers for education in the digital world.
While in recent years the focus has been on training teachers in the technical handling and design of learning content using digital tools (eLearning), in 2024 'soft skills' came to the fore in dealing with developments such as AI, deep fake, data literacy and media use in the digital space in further training courses that overlap with other topics. Further examples of events for teachers include 'Understanding and using ChatGPT as a learning tool', 'Examination interviews as an examination form in the age of AI', but also further training on how social media use amongst young people affects the development of democracy. At the same time, the further developments of digitised technology and its use for schools were discussed. Examples were assistive technologies in the context of inclusion and a further training format for teachers of historical-political education in North Rhine-Westphalia, who were being trained in the use of an app as a tool for creating digital learning spaces in history lessons.
Critical reflections on digitalisation and its impact on schools and society were also taking place at the federal state level, as in the dialogue series Zukunftsdialog Weiterbildung (Future Dialogue on Further Education). This is part of the target programme of the Quality and Support Agency of the State Institute for Schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. The plan is to set up a further training monitoring system and a further training reporting system for teachers in North Rhine-Westphalia. The further training of teachers on the subject of teaching and learning in the digital age is part of the agenda.
In Rhineland-Palatinate, the State Pedagogical Institute supports schools in the digital transformation and offers further training.
The digital information and interaction platform HubbS went online on 5 November 2024 to support vocational school teachers of dual training across all 16 federal states. It offers information, directories, a media library with legally compliant content and a community area. Information on further training is also provided here.
The opportunity for long-term networking is supported by numerous collaboration tools. There is an editor for cross-state cooperation, a cloud for central file storage and video conferencing for quick coordination. The project is run by the Digital Pact for Schools.
One focus of the Digital Pact for Schools is the qualification of teaching staff as part of the digital education infrastructure. At the 2024 status conference in mid-November, stakeholders exchanged views on the current situation. The third progress report which covered the funding activities in the years 2023-24 was published in November 2024. The fourth digital congress took place in November 2024 under the title 'Fake News and Democracy - How Social Media Forms Opinions' and will be organised by the Centre for School Quality and Teacher Education (ZSL).
The Digital Pact for Schools, which is jointly funded by the federal and state governments, expired on 6 November 2024. On 13 December 2024, the federal and state governments agreed to continue the Digital Pact for Schools. The Digital Pact 2.0 is to provide a total of EUR 5 billion for the digitisation of schools by 2030. Funding will cover three topics: the expansion of digital infrastructure, digitisation-related school and teaching development, and the Digital Teaching and Learning initiative, which aims to conduct research on evidence-based quality development in digital teacher training. The training, continuing education and professional development of teachers (VET teachers included) will also be promoted.
Bodies responsible
- Federal States (Länder)
- Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK)
- Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
- German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI)
Target groups
Education professionals
- Teachers
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 both to formal mechanisms of stakeholder engagement in VET governance and to informal cooperation among stakeholders, which motivate shared responsibility for quality VET. Formal engagement is usually based on legally established institutional procedures that clearly define the role and responsibilities for relevant stakeholders in designing, implementing and improving VET. It also refers to establishing and increasing the degree of autonomy of VET providers for agile and flexible VET provision.
In terms of informal cooperation, the sub-category covers targeted actions by different stakeholders to promote or implement VET. This cooperation often leads to creating sustainable partnerships and making commitments for targeted actions, in line with the national context and regulation, e.g. national alliances for apprenticeships, pacts for youth or partnerships between schools and employers. It can also include initiatives and projects run by the social partners or sectoral organisations or networks of voluntary experts and executives, retired or on sabbatical, to support their peers in the fields of VET and apprenticeships, as part of the EAfA.
Modernising VET infrastructure
This thematic category looks at how VET schools and companies providing VET are supported to update and upgrade their physical infrastructure for teaching and learning, including digital and green technologies, so that learners in all VET programmes and specialities have access to state-of-the-art equipment and are able to acquire relevant and up-to-date vocational and technical skills and competences. Modernising infrastructure in remote and rural areas increases the inclusiveness of VET and LLL.
This thematic sub-category focuses on establishing and upgrading to state-of-the-art digital infrastructure, equipment and technology, such as computers, hardware, connectivity and good broadband speed that should ensure quality and inclusive VET provision, especially in blended and virtual modes. It also includes specific measures to remove the digital divide, e.g. supporting geographically remote or rural areas to ensure social inclusion through access to such infrastructure for learning and teaching. It also includes support measures for learners from socially disadvantaged backgrounds to acquire the necessary equipment.
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 focuses on developing and updating all kinds of learning resources and materials, both for learners and for teachers and trainers (e.g. teachers handbooks or manuals), to embrace current and evolving content and modes of learning. These activities target all kinds of formats: hard copy and digital publications, learning websites and platforms, tools for learner self-assessment of progress, ICT-based simulators, virtual and augmented reality, etc.
Teachers, trainers and school leaders competences
Competent and motivated VET teachers in schools and trainers in companies are crucial to VET becoming innovative and relevant, agile, resilient, flexible, inclusive and lifelong.
This thematic category comprises policies and practices of initial training and continuing professional development approaches in a systemic and systematic manner. It also looks at measures aiming to update (entry) requirements and make teaching and training careers attractive and bring more young and talented individuals and business professionals into teaching and training. Supporting VET educators by equipping them with adequate competences, skills and tools for the green transition and digital teaching and learning are addressed in separate thematic sub-categories.
The measures in this category target teachers and school leaders, company trainers and mentors, adult educators and guidance practitioners.
This thematic sub-category refers to all kinds of initial and continuing professional development (CPD) for VET educators who work in vocational schools and in companies providing VET. VET educators include teachers and school leaders, trainers and company managers involved in VET, as well as adult educators and guidance practitioners – those who work in school- and work-based settings. The thematic sub-category includes national strategies, training programmes or individual courses to address the learning needs of VET educators and to develop their vocational (technical) skills, and pedagogical (teaching) skills and competences. Such programmes concern state-of-the-art vocational pedagogy, innovative teaching methods, and competences needed to address evolving teaching environments, e.g. teaching in multicultural settings, working with learners at risk of early leaving, etc.
This thematic sub-category is in line with the EU policy focus on the digital transition, and refers to professional development and other measures to prepare and support teachers and trainers in teaching their learners digital skills and competences. It also covers measures and support for them to increase their own digital skills and competences, including for teaching in virtual environments, working with digital tools and applying digital pedagogies. Emergency measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic also fall into this sub-category.
European priorities in VET
VET Recommendation
- VET as a driver for innovation and growth preparing for digital and green transitions and occupations in high demand
- 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
- Sustainability - a green link in VET
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Digital education and upskilling of VET teachers: Germany. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].
https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/28145