Thinking Green & Digital: European Vocational Skills Week 2020
Historically, the role of vocational education and training (VET) in tertiary education has been undervalued. Until relatively recently, VET was associated with apprenticeships for specific trades, like car mechanic or electrician, and tended to carry with it a blue-collar stigma.
In today’s world, that’s changing. Coupled with digital skills, the practical skills that VET can deliver are highly relevant to jobs in some of today’s most cutting-edge areas, including information technology, robotics, and engineering.
The Skills Gap In Europe
Did you know…? According to the European Commission’s (EC) Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2020, 42% of Europeans lacked basic digital skills as of 2019. However, 82% of all today’s jobs require digital competency. Moreover, this lack of digital skills is compounded by a shortage in tech talent. DESI 2020 reports that in Europe, 64% of large enterprises and 56% of SMEs reported a shortage of ICT specialists during 2018.
Read more: Is Education Today Delivering the Skills We Need Tomorrow?
Watch: Huawei’s Angeliki Dedopoulou and Dr. Costas Argyrides, the Cyprus Ambassador for the EC’s Vocational Skills Week (EVSW-2020), talk about the importance of digital skills, VET, and closing the skills gap in Europe.
Date for the Diary: EVSW 2020
Aligned with the European Green Deal and regional commitment to digital transformation, this year’s European Vocational Skills Week will run from November 9 to 13 under the theme of Green and Digital Transition. Bringing together local and national organisations, it will showcase the latest in VET, raise the profile of VET’s potential benefits, and provide an opportunity to exchange information and good practice across Europe and beyond.
This year’s event is organised by the EC and German Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It will run 100% online and will includes a series of partner activities that will also happen digitally across the EU.
You can join in by organising or taking part in an event or activity, voting in the VET Excellence Awards, or sharing your VET story to inspire others to discover their talent.
Education Is a Promise
Huawei is an official partner of this year’s EVSW. We believe that everyone has the right to education and the equality of opportunity that it brings. And we’ve been seeking to make our commitment to education for all a reality by implementing projects with our partners to bring digital skills to where they’re needed, expanding connectivity in schools, and helping to cultivate the next-generation of ICT professionals.
Read more: Keeping Our Promise in Education
Learn More about What We’re Doing
Vocational ICT Skills
Huawei ICT Academy: Founded in 2012, we’re now partnering with 930 universities to cultivate ICT talent, and aim to train 2 million ICT professionals in the next 5 years. The program has also trained 1,500 teachers worldwide, including 300 in the EU.
Seeds for the Future: Designed for students in higher education who want a career in tech, Seeds for the Future is a global ICT training initiative that we’ve been running since 2008. Last year, we opened a 5G lab for the program at our Shenzhen HQ.
Digital Literacy
DigiTruck: A mobile classroom built from a converted shipping container that brings training in digital skills to remote and impoverished communities. This year, we’ll be expanding the project into France.
SmartBus: A mobile classroom designed to teach European children aged 11-15 how to safely navigate the Internet, avoid cyberbullying, and protect data privacy. So far, the bus has reached 22,900+ students in the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, and Portugal.
At Huawei, we never stop thinking about the future. And that also means future skills and training. We will continue to deliver more opportunities and projects to improve people’s access to connectivity and technologies industry by investing in education and training, so that no one is left behind in the digital world.
Click the link below to explore other projects in which we’re using technology to help make education available to remote, marginalized, and underserved communities across the globe as part of the Huawei TECH4ALL digital inclusion initiative.
Disclaimer: Any views and/or opinions expressed in this post by individual authors or contributors are their personal views and/or opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views and/or opinions of Huawei Technologies.
