Abstract:

Technologies are reshaping work, with fast technological advancements causing skills to depreciate faster than ever before. New technologies create gaps in workers' skill sets, necessitating the acquisition of digital skills and ongoing competence development throughout individuals' working lives. The importance of continuous learning as a component of lifelong learning has been emphasized in Finland. According to OECD (2020), the demographic least likely to engage in training and show interest in skills development comprises of older men with low educational attainment employed in small-sized enterprises in the logistics and construction sectors. Moreover, challenges include the scarcity of tailored short training courses to meet labor market skills demands and motivating individuals with lower levels of education to enhance their skills.

In response, the European Social Fund Plus funded LOSSI project (2023-2024) has taken action to enhance labor market needs-based skills development for this demographic in Finland. The project, involving 7 small enterprises from the logistics and manufacturing sectors employing people with low educational attainment, focuses on collecting information about the skills of their staff and implementing skills development initiatives tailored to their needs. Various training approaches have been employed within the project, including face-to-face classroom sessions, participatory workshops, simulation-based learning, self-paced online training, and hybrid learning methods.

In this paper, we seek to understand how training and learning technologies (LT) should be tailored to meet the needs of both businesses and the working-age population in accordance with their skills requirements.

This paper is based on data obtained from an initial competence survey of employees, thematic interviews with enterprise management, and foresight workshops conducted in 7 project companies. An additional survey is conducted for training providers to gather data on the implementation methods and techniques of training from the perspective of LT. Furthermore, data on learning experiences, related to the usefulness of LT and the application of acquired skills in the workplace, are collected from participants in the training courses.

The initial survey showed that 86% of respondents were interested in developing their skills. The main skills development needs identified were information technology (IT) skills, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and process development, and use of digital tools. Language skills (English) were also identified as an area for improvement.

A survey for training providers and training participants is carried out in April 2024. The results of the surveys were available in May 2024. The expectation is that trainers use a wide range of teaching methods and LT and expect participants to be able to use these technologies when they come to the training. For participants, the assumption is that they are satisfied with the training, but face challenges in using educational technologies. They may also have doubts about how well they can learn with them.

LT enable continuous learning for diverse learners in various settings, yet they don't address all challenges. Continuous learning is needed, from the point of view of LT, it must be implemented so that everyone has sufficient skills to participate and that the training provided meets the needs of companies.

Keywords:

Skills development, continuous learning, learning technologies, lifelong learning.