Madis Sassiad, CEO, FocusIT, Estonia
ORIGINS OF THE PROJECT
Businesses and organisations are increasingly using information and communications technologies. For individuals, this means a need for new skills and knowledge. Advances in ICT user can either be seen as an opportunity for advancement or a treat against job security. For E-business and the effective development of human capital, people and organisations must be aware of and understand new work methods and to believe in the potential benefits of same. The target group for the new education and training is made up of individuals who work in the sale and distribution of products and services for business use. The target sectors are business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) companies import/export operations, manufacturing, warehousing, sourcing and distribution companies.
The eBCM-VET project addressed these challenges by setting up an educational and training programme in the area of E-business. This is a holistic programme which refers to the E-business Community Model, or eBCM. Organisers of the programme analysed the need for education and training in the area of E-business in the relevant target groups and sectors. The information was used to design and test various educational and training methods and materials. The method used to deliver the knowledge was the train the trainers concept.
Table 1 shows the products that have been made available.
|
Product |
Content |
Results |
Language |
|
Needs analysis (analytic report) |
Field study conducted in partner countries on the need for E-business education and training in the relevant sectors |
Website, paper |
English |
|
Learning objects (curriculum) |
11 learning objects (chapters) about E-business, along with one chapter on ongoing learning |
Text, slides, Website, paper |
English, Estonian, Finnish, Romanian |
|
Trainers manual (training pathway) |
A guide for trainers on conveying the curriculum, including a train the trainers course programme, assessment forms and a template for an individual trainee study programme |
Website, paper |
English, Estonian, Finnish, Romanian |
|
Training tool |
A Web-based training tool providing access to training materials and ensuring easy navigation |
Website, paper |
English, Estonian, Finnish, Romanian |
PUTTING RESULTS TO PRACTICE
Work on the project was completed early in November 2007, with preliminary results presented at a conference in Romania the previous month. The results were also presented to stakeholders in the participating countries. An implementation plan is now being developed, and it will be presented as part of the projects final report.
As far as future challenges are concerned, the fact is that even as E-business evolves, training materials must develop, too. Utilisation of the training materials and methods will require a bit of customisation for specific sectors. The Web-based training tool is only informative at this time, but it could be made interactive and linked to a database. Training materials have been developed, tested and produced. They can now be put through the process of credit transfer validation. We will announce the results of this process as they become available.
All of the materials can be found at www.ebcm-vet.net. Use of the materials is free of charge, but please notify the ETEB (European Network of National Test-beds for E-business) organisation if you are planning to put them to use. The address: gudbjorg@eteb.org.
REFERENCE
1. Sassiad, M. E-Business Community Model and Its Role in Future Education, Baltic IT&T Review, No. 4(43), 2006.
Authors contacts: +372-611-7575, madis.sassiad@focusit.ee
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