"Bompeln for smombies" was the headline of a recent report in a German news portal.
This was targete tp ground traffic lights for smartphone zombies. More and more often, people are staring at their smartphones while checking their e-mails or typing messages into a messenger and simply forgetting about their surroundings. In schools, digital whiteboards are being used instead of traditional blackboards. And there are educational films on YouTube.
In factories, too, things are changing, with maintenance staff no longer holding paper or toolboxes in their hands, but being driven automatically to the next "technical patient" by a self-controlling mobile robot, while they use their tablet to find out how the software of a plant may need to be adjusted. Is this the image of people in everyday life, teaching or production as we knew it ten or fifteen years ago? Certainly not. The world has changed.
When new technologies are yesterday's news
The rapid development of technology, increasing internationalization and the now widespread availability of the Internet with data retrieval via smartphone are constantly creating new opportunities to engage with relevant topics and also learning content.
In addition, the "typical target group" of a trainer, the "digital natives", are growing up with smartphones and tablets and are surprised when these media are still described as "new" and perhaps even questioned.
The change has begun
The balancing act poses immense challenges for trainers in particular. On the one hand, they have to meet the requirements of future employees - on the other, they have to deal with a target group that obviously has the greatest affinity for these media, but often has deficits in other academic areas.
In short, the training content will change, as will the didactic approach, i.e., the way in which the training content is taught. Learn a few words at the bus stop, maybe watch a video from sofatutor or the khan-academy on the way on the smartphone - that could well become relevant in the future. So the "where" is also about to change.
4.0 elements in training
A lot has already happened in training at Festo as a result of these developments. Certainly, the steps taken cannot capture the entire complexity of digitalization, but they are important steps in this direction at the Do-It level. Specialist content is experienced and made tangible in various projects.
"New" media are also used in the process. In addition to the instructors' smartphones, tablets or 2in1 notebooks are provided from a device pool that the instructor can access as needed. In some cases, however, the trainees also use their own smartphones, for example to control a small robot via an app. An open guest WLAN is of course essential for this.
Ideas become workpieces
In the context of Industry 4.0, "batch size 1" plays a major role, not least from the point of view of Festo's automation division. This mind set should be shaped at an early stage. Everything is aligned with the customer and should, of course, still be economical. Even if there is only one product and it is only ordered once.
That's why even school trainees and trainees at Festo are already confronted with 3D printers that help them to print out ideas they have designed themselves - if time permits. In this way, ideas become workpieces that can be touched in the blink of an eye.
The familiar and the new grow together
In addition to the need for appropriate equipment, the question arises as to whether new job descriptions might be required for this, or whether - and if so, how - the existing job descriptions can be adapted. Festo does not yet see the need to initiate entirely new job profiles. Rather, the existing ones are being reflected upon and enriched with additional topics and training - for example, in the company's own learning factorydirectly in production.
Trainers in training
Trainers must be proactively prepared for 4.0 topics. They are ultimately the multipliers for the trainees. At Festo, this is called "train-the-trainer". In addition to such training offers, for example, an internal "4.0 Circle" has also been set up in which trainers jointly consider what will be possible in the future, but also relevant and feasible.and feasible in the future. After all, not everything that is possible is feasible, economically viable and, above all, helpful for training.In any case, process competence is very important with regard to technical education and training. In the future, this will be indispensable in order to understand and master the process even in the case of non-transparent technologies. Festo's trainers are already preparing themselves and their trainees for this today. An important tool in this process is afeedback and development system that optimally maps the development of the competencies of each individual trainee.
Industry 4.0 - is it everything or is it nothing?
Technological advancement has always existed and there is unlikely to be a cut-off date when everything suddenly changes. Rather, it is a gradual process - and we are already in the middle of it. These are exciting times for trainers and HR managers. The skilled worker of the future will need to know more, be able to do more and be prepared for far-reaching changes.It will continue to be important to develop technical fundamentals. However, new content and new teaching/learning media will be added. However, the question should be asked whether the new media will solve all theproblems and whether the "brain structure"/neurological developments are evolving at the same speed. Because there are limits to the human being and his receptivity.
It depends on the mixture
Probably an old saying helps: The mixture makes it. Preserve the tried and tested and create the new, which means as much as: The continuation of "old" methods when integrating new technologiescan make sense in some areas. In other areas, however, new methods are also required for the new content. In this respect, it will be a matter of "new learning and new learning" for trainers and trainees in the future. And with a conscious approach to the more or less "new" technical possibilities, we will hopefully be spared the "bombels" to a large extent.
Reading Tip
Ausbildung 4.0: Digitale Transformation in der Berufsausbildung gestalten und nutzen (German)
Author: Stefan Dietl
Head of national/ international vocational training at Festo