Abstract:

Job demands for the skilled workforce are evolving as a result of changing demographics due to aging populations, digital transformations, and increasing flexibility in the job market (Park & Kim, 2020). The craft industry is already facing the biggest labor shortages regarding skilled workers with vocational training, while encountering additional problems, such as the increased likelihood of health issues in older employees due to the physically demanding nature of the jobs (BMWK, 2022; Ervasti et al., 2019). With regard to these extensive consequences and the necessity to retain employees, more data is needed, when it comes to adapting future tasks and educational resources to the needs of vocationally trained workers in the craft industry.

One way to face these challenges is to further the competencies of vocationally trained personnel by implementing life-long learning (Schmid & Pfetsch, 2018). At the same time, the corresponding learning environments need to be designed to meet user needs and ensure both comprehensibility and adaptability with the aim of benefitting individual learning levels. A method to increase the understanding of a target group is the persona method, which is used to characterize typical users with the help of fictitious profiles (Nyström & Sjögren, 2011). This enables a user-centered design, while simultaneously providing the opportunity for customization concerning target group-specific modules.

The craft industry is a sector, which is widely overlooked in this context. Whereas user needs and resources have been investigated thoroughly in higher education, the same attributes cannot be assumed for skilled labor. In this study the persona method was used to map out the needs, preferences, and resources of users in the craft industry in order to meet these requirements when designing a learning platform. A mixed-methods approach was applied via three questionnaires (n = 154), short interviews (n = 42), and an expert workshop (n = 16).

The results convey insight into digital literacy, internal and external motivation, goals, and typical learning situations of carpenters and stonemasons. Five persona profiles were derived from the data. Practical implications for the design and implementation of learning environments within the craft industry are proposed. Factors, that necessarily need to be considered are modules with high practical relevance, adaptability, and flexibility when it comes to completing the modules. Additionally, the learners‘ social environment needs to be taken into account.

The benefits of the mixed-methods approach, i.e. to maximize validity and minimize overlooking typical learner characteristics, are highlighted. Methodological considerations for the persona creation process as well as limitations are discussed. Altogether, the paper provides a mixed-methods approach to gather data, that not only facilitates the definition of realistic personas but also represents a broad range of potential users in the craft industry. These findings are particularly important for trade associations and other stakeholders in this sector, as they provide information on how to tackle the effects of changing demographics with digitized target group-specific learning environments and overcome the lack of skilled workers by retaining and developing competencies of existing employees.

Keywords:

Adult Education, Life-long Learning, Persona, Learning Environment, Digitization.