Adapting Apprenticeships to the Digital Transformation of Education and Work from the Perspective of In-company Trainers

In a current research project, the aim was to identify how VET programmes are adapted to what is required of human labour in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). Since the digitalisation trend and its implications are contested, this paper focuses on already observable digitalisation effects from the perspective of in-company trainers. It combines a document analysis of apprenticeship curricula, semi-structured interviews and two focus group interviews. The document analysis shows that vocational curricula are mainly competence-based, giving trainers freedom to adapt their apprenticeship programmes within the given framework. Data based on interview with 16 trainers gives detailed insight into their perceptions and adaptation procedures at micro- and macro-didactical levels. Strategies used by trainers to adapt their apprenticeships were identified as stabilisation, integration and academisation. These findings reveal that adaptation activities are either reactive to the demands of the digitalised world of work or proactive, enabling learners to shape the implementation of digital technology. This confirms that the adaption processes linked to the 4IR should involve setting educational goals and designing curricula and didactics in a holistic sense.