Upskilling Remote Educators and Workers: Considerations on a European Certification Scheme

Abstract

Purpose: The past decades have been marked by significant changes in the way we teach, learn, and work. Technological advancements, economic crises, unexpected events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, and the increasing popularity of online education are only a few factors that led to the increasing preference for remote work and education. This generated the need for upskilling educators and remote workers and managers, as working and teaching in remote and hybrid contexts requires numerous skills from diverse fields, which significantly differ from the skills specific to the profession itself. In this context, development of a certification scheme for remote educators, workers, and managers represents a pertinent need.

Study design/methodology/approach: This paper comprises the scientific process of identifying the skill gap of remote educators, workers, and managers, followed by the methodological aspects of developing the training programme. Furthermore, the article presents the result of the training programme, followed by consideration of the importance of certification as the final achievement of the training programme.

Findings: The methodology proposed enabled conception of a comprehensive and well-adapted set of courses, each designed respecting the particularities of the trainees’ profile (learner persona).

Originality/value: The programme is part of the EU co-founded project VirtualEDU (“Upskilling and certification scheme for virtual educators”, project number 2022-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000086331).