Abstract:

The need of dynamically matching educational system offer and job market demand represents a relevant challenge to promote and sustain an inclusive and competitive society in Europe. Stimulating open, accessible and flexible learning on one side and promoting partnerships between public and private institutions on the other one represent the main pillars of the “Rethinking Education 2030” EU strategy and frame (also confirmed in the EASI programme). Furthermore, the ECVET frame boosts the transparency and recognition of the learning outcomes and confirm the need to implement innovative and dynamic tools to improve employment and educational excellence.

SMART (Skill MAtching for Regional development) is a LLP-Leonardo da Vinci TOI project aimed at addressing these challenges with special refer to the competence dynamic alignment in the Andalusia region with special refer to the Tourism Industry (Hospitality, Catering and Travels). The overall objective of the SMART system is to provide a methodology and a tool to harmonize the VET offer with the demand of the Labour market in a timely, effective and localized manner.

The dynamic matching of competences and jobs demand is intended to be realized by addressing two main dimensions:
1) the skill matching model and technology enhanced system design and implementation. in order to be able to identify competences, knowledge and skills required and adapting the learning outcomes in the Educational regional system;
2) the definition of an innovative approach to curricula design and professional scenarios forecasting sustained by a more organic industry-education-institution governance model, based on a trust and knowledge based multi-actor cooperation frame.

The technology enhanced SMART system (and tools) will be ontology based, articulating knowledge, skills and capacities as learning outcomes; the system is envisaged to provide periodic review on how the regional educational output meets the labour market demand articulated in job postings and other strategic sources. The report will provide feedback for the individual VET providers and educational institutions on the compliance of their curricula (in terms of competencies acquired) with the real labour market needs (in terms of competencies required). To this extent, the project aims to contribute to the skill matching frame and challenges by providing: common models, procedures and tools for the competences’ matching process; an ontology-based adaptive tool that maps and validates companies’ and education competences (also boosting the employability dimension); forecasts on new emerging jobs and competences needs in the Andalusian market. The project ongoing evidences also confirm -and highlight- the need of contemporary address institutional (organic cooperation models), methodological (ECVET, ontologies, learning outcomes), technological (knowledge sharing, communication and learning system) issues.

Keywords:

Competence Evaluation, e-learning, Curriculum Design and Innovation, Forecasting of labour market and skill needs, Employability.