Learning factories 4.0 (facilities that mirror industrial environments where basic principles for application-oriented processes can be learned) have great potential for the further training of skilled professionals, especially if the educational concepts and general conditions are optimised. This is the conclusion drawn in a study conducted by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The study recommends closer cooperation between vocational training institutions and companies, for example when designing and advertising educational programmes. Another recommendation is to improve the integration of further qualification measures into the day-to-day activities of vocational training institutions and to open the courses to in-company instructors.
Against the background of the strong degree of digitalisation and the defining influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the world of manufacturing, learning factories 4.0 are seen as the teaching environment of the future. These facilities, which are integrated either into companies or vocational training institutions, offer realistic simulations of modern production environments, similar to flight simulators for the training of pilots. In Baden-Württemberg alone, there are currently 43 such learning factories at vocational training schools. However, a study conducted at the KIT Institute for Vocational Education and General Education (IBAP) in cooperation with the University of Education PH Schwäbisch Gmünd and Allianz Industrie 4.0 Baden-Württemberg, and supported by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for Economy, Work and Tourism, found a significant discrepancy between the high expectations of these facilities and their actual performance. “The potential of vocational learning factories is far from being fully utilised, as vocational schools lack the necessary framework, which has not been supported by any institution implementing further education programmes to date”, says Professor Lars Windelband, head of the study and chair of Vocational Education at IBAP.
Using case studies, interviews and workshops with experts, the researchers from Karlsruhe examined the current use of learning factories. They identified both obstacles and challenges, as well as examples of successful implementation. The finding that both the framework offered by vocational schools and the cooperation between schools and companies needed improvement led to five specific recommendations for action:
- Changing the framework at vocational schools to relieve teachers and make teaching workloads count towards further qualification
- Opening further training courses to in-company instructors in order to harmonise educational content
- More networking between vocational schools and companies in order to reflect the needs of companies in offers made to different target groups
- Centralised or decentralised platforms for the distribution of further education programmes
- Trying out alternative operator models for the long-term support of vocational learning factories
Convincing teaching methods are of critical importance for the success of vocational further education in learning factories. As part of the project WB@Lernfabriken, (vocational further education at learning factories) researchers have now developed a three-step didactic concept. The goal of the first step is to convey basic knowledge and competence regarding Industry 4.0 and AI in order to raise staff awareness for digitalisation and interconnected production spheres. The second step aims to provide skilled technical professionals with basic digital competence. The third step focuses on providing expert knowledge concerning specific operational challenges, such as the optimisation and maintenance of systems.
“Vocational learning factories”, as the head of the study Windelband sums up, “are facing significant structural challenges. However, if they succeed in bringing their added value into play against other providers of further education, they can – and this is especially true in the context of the current technological transformation of industrial manufacturing – become the ‘beacons of further education’ as which they were originally conceived.”