iStock / industryview
Qualifizierung und Arbeitswelt
How can companies and vocational education institutions co-create innovative learning environments that truly meet the needs of Generation Z and Alpha? This question shaped the webinar hosted by the German project partner e-mobil BW. Part of the EU project Voltage, the webinar brought together experts from both industry and education to exchange perspectives. Best practices from both sectors demonstrated how future-proof training formats can be designed and implemented in real-world contexts.
In his keynote, Denis Davidovac, Youth Secretary for Baden-Württemberg’s metalworkers’ and industrial trade union IG Metall, explored the learning behaviours and values of Generations Z and Alpha, highlighting that traditional training formats must evolve towards participation, flexibility, and purpose-driven learning. Using relatable learner personas, he illustrated how young people learn through digital, interactive, and social formats. His key message: Don’t talk about young people – talk with them. The future of learning is not delivered but co-created.
Using the Transformation Case of the IAV GmbH, Julian Eckstein, Key Account Manager at StackFuel GmbH, a training provider that offers practical, data-oriented upskilling programs, showcased how future-proof learning empowers employees to actively shape change. The case illustrated IAV GmbH’s shift to a collaborative transformation approach, where qualification was developed with employees, not for them, resulting in stronger employee engagement, a growing learning culture, and a scalable model for workforce transformation. Julian Eckstein emphasized that it is not about predicting the future, but about teaching people how to learn, not just what to learn.
From the education perspective, Dr. Sebastian Anselmann Research Assistant at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), highlighted the need for co-creative curriculum design and technology-enhanced, learner-centred approaches to make vocational training more relevant and adaptable.
He showcased two key initiatives: the project MIKA (Media and IT skills for training personnel) and the Learning Factories 4.0. The MIKA project strengthens educators’ digital and media competences through modular, blended learning formats based on European and national frameworks.
Learning Factories 4.0, meanwhile, enable experimentation with new models of continuing education in digitalized production settings. Combining technology, practical application, and strong didactic concepts, they create innovative environments for lifelong learning.
As the automotive industry transforms toward electrified mobility, the battery industry has become a strategic core of this change. This shift demands agile learning environments that help companies and training institutions keep pace with rapidly evolving technologies, safety requirements, new job profiles and generations such as Gen Z & Alpha. The Erasmus+ project Voltage supports this transformation by bringing together industry and vocational education to co-create innovative learning approaches specifically for the battery value chain. By aligning skills development with real industrial needs, the project strengthens Europe’s ability to build and maintain a future-ready workforce for the fast-growing battery and e-mobility ecosystem.
November 25 | 13:00 – 14:30: Strengthening VET Teacher Competence in Emerging Industries