Cedefop and the OECD are organising their third joint symposium on “Apprenticeship and Digital Transition” on 15 and 16 June 2023 in Thessaloniki.
The event will bring together policy-makers, social partners, practitioners and researchers from all over the world and explore the links between apprenticeships and the digital transition, as well as their impact on policy making. It will also present materials with new evidence or analyses of the challenges and opportunities that digitalisation has already brought, or may create in the future, for apprenticeships. The presentations of these materials will be reinforced by presentations by Cedefop and the OECD, panel discussions and questions and answers with participants.
Apprenticeship and Digital Transition
Digital technologies have the potential to foster sustainable and inclusive growth, promoting innovation, efficiency and improving services. Digitalisation and automation, supported by advances in robotics, artificial intelligence and other digital technologies, have an impact on employment, change skills needs and potentially lead to skills mismatches. They also support the development of new forms of work and learning, such as platform or gig work, remote ICT-based work, distance or blended learning and crowd learning.
As new or redefined skills may be required, apprenticeships – which are closely linked to the labour market – can offer opportunities to develop the right skills needed for the digital transition, both for young people in initial education and for up- or re-skilling adults. It can support and encourage the transformation processes triggered by digitalisation, at least in terms of new or redefined training content/learning outcomes. At the same time, digitalisation is an opportunity to adapt apprenticeships to the new forms of training triggered by new technologies.
The symposium will explore the link between apprenticeship and digital transition, in two directions.
(a) What is the impact of digitalisation on the demand for apprenticeships (e.g. new or redefined skills, occupations, programmes, curricula, etc.)
(b) What is the impact of digitalisation on the supply of apprenticeships (e.g. teaching and training methodologies, training of teachers and trainers on the use of new technologies, etc.)
Pre-registration is now open to express your interest in attending the event in person. The provisional agenda is set out below
Agenda
Please note that the times indicated are indicative. The final agenda will be announced 2 weeks before the symposium.
Thursday, 15 June: 10.00 – 17.30
- Opening speeches
- Introductory presentations by Cedefop and OECD
- Presentations
- Questions and answers/debates
Friday, 16 June: 10.00 – 15.00
- Presentations
- Questions and answers/debates
- Panel debate
- Conclusions
As announced, the organisers do not cover any travel or accommodation costs, but offer:
- coffee and lunch during the event on both days,
- scheduled bus transfer from Thessaloniki central points to Cedefop’s premises with return, in accordance with the Colloquium programme;
- special rates in specific hotels, depending on the availability of their rooms.
Information for authors/presenters
Cedefop and the OECD received summaries for both modules, following a call for presentations.
A joint committee of Cedefop and the OECD assessed the summaries and the closest closest authors were informed to submit a full presentation. The selected work (a) will be presented during the 2023 Consensus and/or (b) will be included in a next joint Cedefop and OECD publication.
Important steps and dates for authors:
- deadline for submission of the draft full work plan: 1 March 2023
- Cedefop/OECD assessment of the full presentation plan: 2 May 2023
- deadline for submitting presentations for the symposium: 9 June 2023
- event: 15 and 16 June 2023
- deadline for submission of the full text: September 2023 (provisional, tbc)
- expected publication date: January 2024 (provisional, tbc)
The 2023 symposium continues Cedefop’s and OECD’s cooperation on apprenticeships.
You can find out about our previous events and publications:
2021 apprenticeship Symposium for greener economies and societies, and the subsequent publication of presentations.
2019 symposium with next steps on apprenticeships, and subsequent publication of presentations.
For more information on the symposium and short CVs of the speakers, click here
© Cedefop and OECD
