BVMW
Munich/Berlin (ots)
Making the potential of digitalization available to everyone fairly, with equal opportunities and in the long term – this is the goal of the education initiative future opportunities, which today launched the Education Alliance for SMEs (Bundesverband Der Mittelstand. BVMW) and the Google Future Workshop in Munich. The inclusive program of training sessions, meetups and other local formats can be completed regardless of prior digital knowledge. The target group is in particular people who do not yet make sufficient use of the opportunities offered by digitization for professional development or their own business. During the presentation of the initiative at the Google office in Munich, the godmothers Judith Gerlach, Minister of State for Digital Affairs of Bavaria, and Katrin Haben Schaden, Deputy Mayor of the state capital, Munich, underlined the importance of digital education for all.
Bavarian State Secretary for Digital Affairs and Patron, Judith Gerlach, explains: “Having the right mindset on the part of employees is the decisive lever for the success of digital change. They must be well informed and have a real desire to use digital tools. Let’s help make it happen together Strengthen people’s digital mindset and digital skills. It doesn’t just help our economy. Our whole society benefits from it.”
Inclusive approach
Four out of five German companies expect their workforce to learn new digital skills. However, not all employees have the same opportunities to acquire the necessary specialist knowledge (cf. D21 Digital Gender Gap Index). This leads to a deterioration in career opportunities, especially for women, although the willingness to pursue further education is equally pronounced in both genders at 94%. This is where ZukunftsChancen comes in with its low-threshold offers to make digital education accessible and attractive for everyone.
“Digital competence is the decisive factor for economic success in the future. Areas such as climate protection and mobility can also benefit from digitization processes. The educational initiative ZukunftsChancen helps to make the potential of digitization locally accessible and at low thresholds. I think it is particularly important that the acquisition of digital skills is as broad as possible. Then our whole society can benefit,” says Katrin Habenschaden, deputy mayor of the city of Munich.
In order to reach as many participants as possible, the free continuing education program is based on a modular system: This includes at least ten training courses divided into three learning paths: 1) Recognize your own potential, 2) Seize digital opportunities , 3) Grow digitally together. In addition to the technical and economic aspects, the course content also includes topics such as “empowerment” or “professional change”, which aim to strengthen the participants’ self-confidence in the face of digital offers.
“Digitalization offers cities, businesses and society enormous and so far underused potential. With ZukunftsChancen, we want to make access to digital education equally and equitably accessible to everyone. This is not a It’s no secret that women have often been disadvantaged in this area as well. We want to change that, with our program we are now making digital education a boss’s business,” says Sandra Fründt, Director of B2B Marketing, Google DACH .
“With our initiative, in addition to our continuing education measures, we want to create a local network in which participants can continuously exchange information. We want to ensure that no one feels left behind, regardless of their background or its level. This is why we are moving forward with our local offers, which do not require any prior digital knowledge and allow easy entry which opens up digital opportunities for everyone”, explains Prof. Dr. Martin Wortmann, Secretary General of the Education Alliance for SMEs.
Before the program starts in a city, local needs are determined to determine the appropriate content and format. This is done through on-site surveys and workshops, which are carried out with partners such as IHK Munich and regional partners of the Bildungsallianz des Mittelstands (BVMW). Additionally, local “role models” such as retailers or mayors will also share their experiences through the program to inspire others to grow their digital opportunities. To this end, ZukunftsChancen offers suitable formats for exchange and networking, such as weekly afterwork formats or expert lectures.
After starting in Munich, ZukunftsChancen is to be used in 10 German cities by 2023. As with the global “Google Future Workshop” initiative, participation in training courses is possible both personally on site and virtually. More information can be found here.
About the Bildungsallianz des Mittelstands – an initiative of the Verband Der Mittelstand. BVMW
The Bildungsallianz des Mittelstands is an association of 22 associations and initiatives from education and business. It is thus the largest education network in Germany, whose members represent the interests of 380,000 teachers, educators and lecturers in the education sector.
About Google’s Future Workshop
The Google Future Workshop was founded by Google in collaboration with numerous partners to help people develop and develop their digital skills through training or to help businesses ensure their competitiveness for the future. Part of the national free education initiative includes permanent training centers in Munich, Hamburg and Berlin, training courses at vocational schools and universities, offers for the education sector and a platform for online learning. The Google Future Workshop is part of the international “Grow with Google” initiative, which aims to help people find jobs, advance their careers or grow their businesses. Since 2014, more than 1.7 million people in Germany have taken the continuing education courses.
Press contacts:
BVMW
Nicholas New
[email protected]
Press Spokesperson for BVMW Education Alliance
Waltraud Eder
[email protected] / [email protected]
Google
Dr. Ralph Bremer
[email protected]
Original content by: BVMW, transmitted by news aktuell